At the start of the iconic 1944 film "Kato Hayabusa Sento-tai," Colonel Kato (portrayed by actor Fujita Susumu) arrives at the 64 Sentai base in Canton, China, from Taiwan, flying a Nakajima Ki-27 "Nate."
The markings on the fighter show that it belonged to the Kyodo Hiko 204 Sentai.
Let's begin with the unit history. The 204 Sentai is a unit that engaged in significant combat during WWII, yet it remains relatively obscure, probably due to the scarcity of surviving photographic material.
On April 8, 1942, the
Kyodo 204
Hiko Sentai (204th Training Squadron), comprising two
chutai equipped with Nakajima Ki-27 "Nate" fighters (a third
chutai was formed in October), was organised at the Zhenxi Airfield near Hakujoshi (present-day
Baicheng) in western Manchuria (present-day Northeast China). Together with the
Kyodo 206th
Sentai, consisting of two light bomber
chutai, it formed the
Hakujoshi Kyodo Hikodan (Baichengzi Training Wing).
In September 1943, due to the attrition of air units fighting in South Asia, the 204th was also ordered to deploy to the Burma front. After returning to Kashiwa Airfield in Chiba Prefecture in October and converting to Nakajima Ki-43 "
Hayabusa" (Oscar) Model II, it arrived at Mingaladon Airfield on the outskirts of Rangoon in late November, via Taiwan, French Indochina, and Singapore. From there, it engaged in the Rangoon Air Battle in early December, the attacks on Calcutta and
Tinsukia in India, the assault on Kunming deep within mainland China, and the offensives on Akyab and
Maungdaw, achieving considerable results.
On February 22, 1944, by Army Order No. 24, the Kyodo 204 Hiko Sentai was redesignated as the 204th Sentai and reorganised into a purely combat unit. With the commencement of the Imphal Operation, the 204th, alongside the veteran 50th and 64th Sentai born of the Burma air campaign, fought in various locations, fulfilling its duties well. However, the operation ended in a crushing defeat for the Japanese forces. The 204th withdrew to Don Mueang in Thailand in early August, entering a period of rest and recovery.
However, by early October, the situation in the Philippine theatre had become critical and the 204 received orders to deploy there. Without sufficient time for full recovery, it moved with 18 aircraft to Nielson Airfield, outside Manila on Luzon Island, on the 11th. During the air battle over Manila on the 15th, six aircraft were shot down early on, and seven more were severely or moderately damaged on the ground, resulting in the loss of the majority of its strength. Nevertheless, it was immediately replenished, and on the 18th, 13 aircraft advanced to Fabrica Airfield on Negros Island. From there, they engaged in ship attacks using bomb armament, the assault on Leyte Island, and convoy escort duties. However, their strength rapidly depleted, and by around November 10, they had no operational aircraft left.
On the 12th, the unit was ordered to return to the mainland. The survivors arrived at Mito Airfield in Ibaraki Prefecture aboard transport aircraft. During the month-long campaign in the Philippines, the squadron lost 17 pilots. After receiving replacements of Nakajima Ki-43 "Hayabusa" (Oscar) Model III at Mito and restoring its strength, the 204th was again ordered south.
By the end of February 1945, it had assembled in Saigon, French Indochina. However, the strength of 24 aircraft upon departure from Mito had dwindled to only about 10 by the time they reached Saigon due to en route breakdowns. The deterioration of equipment from mass production and the decline in crew proficiency were keenly felt. In French Indochina, the squadron primarily provided escort for transport convoys bound for the home islands. In late July, preparing for the decisive battle on the mainland, it moved to Taiwan to join the later-arriving squadrons, but defeat came shortly thereafter.
These two stills from the movie "Kato Hayabusa Sento-tai" give us a very clear impression of the unit's rather atypical marking(s) consisting of a forward pointing "arrow" on the fuselage and, in this case, two white bands and probably the white tip of the tail.
Here's the story behind the forward pointing "arrow". The unit's original base was called "
Chinzei" in Japanese and the same
kanji were used as an older name for Kyushu Island in Japan. A famous samurai archer,
Minamoto no Tametomo who was "known in the epic chronicles as a powerful archer and it is said that he once sunk an entire Taira ship with a single arrow by puncturing its hull below the waterline. It is also added in many legends that his left arm was about 4 inches longer than his right, enabling a longer draw of the arrow, and more powerful shots."(!!!!), used to call himself "
Chinzei Hachiro Tametomo" to denote he was from Kyushu. Therefore the 204 unit marking is an illustration of a "
hane", the fletches of the traditional Japanese arrow.
Note that the particular aircraft has not uniform top surfaces. Either it's uneven older and weathered paint or more likely it's camouflage (or perhaps a combination of both). The camouflage could be light brown patches over the standard overall IJAAF hairyokushoku (gray green) or mustard yellow and light brown patches. Leave a comment with your thoughts on this.
As we saw in the unit history above, in October 1943, the 204 relocated to Kashiwa Airfield, in Chiba, Japan, to change its "Nates" to "Oscars" before being deployed in Southeast Asia. The film "Kato Hayabusa" premiered in theaters on March 9, 1944, just before the date the 204 updated its aircraft. It seems they discovered an old 204 Sentai "Nate," possibly at Kashiwa Airfield, and just incorporated it into the film.
In these two stills, of interest are the two crossing "lines" on the canopy. What could they be?
In the top still we can also see that the "Nate" is equipped on the wing with a gun camera.
It's a 35mm Type 1 Training gun camera manufactured by "
Roku O Sya", later "
Konishi-Roku" (modern day Konica). Photo from
here: DO NOT FORGET to visit the site!!!
The DNK publication "Nippon Rikugun Sentoki-tai Senreki to Hiko Sentai Shiwa" (The Imperial Japanese Army Fighter Group) features 204 Sentai "Nate" artwork by artist Yoshino Yasutaka. Similar artwork has appeared in various publications in the past but without any accompanying photographic evidence. There is some uncertainty regarding how the various 204 chutai were indicated in the markings. Some Japanese researchers mention that the color of the "hane" changed, indicating 1st Chutai - white, 2nd Chutai - red, 3rd Chutai - yellow. Others explain that the whole marking set changed color depending on the chutai.
In the "Kato Hayabusa" movie, we can see that the "Nate" has two white bands on the fuselage around the "hane." Did that indicate different shotai within the chutai or different chutai? There is just not enough photographic evidence to draw conclusions.
During its deployment in Burma, the "Hayabusa" equipped 204 Sentai continued to use the same unit markings, as indicated by these photos featuring a Nakajima Ki-43 Model 2 Koh Late Type captured by Allied forces in the Lashio region of Burma in March 1945. Note that the wing tips are also painted white, perhaps one more unit marking indicating different chutai?
The same aircraft is featured in these two photos that were on sale on Ebay. Note the absence of bands around the fuselage "hane" but also the presence of a thin white band between the "hane" and the hinomaru which seems to have a very roughly applied border. Note that the white paint on the top wing tips is not repeated on the bottom and the white tipped spinner.
Artist Nohara Shigeru included a profile of this aircraft (?) in Model Art #595. If it's the same aircraft the depiction of the spinner is unfortunately innacurate. Perhaps only the very top photo of the four was available at the time the artwork was created?
According to some sources, the unit changed its markings in February 1944, when it was renamed "204 Sentai." This time, they consisted of a thick band running along the forward edge of the tail and an individual aircraft number on the rudder. Again, it is not exactly clear which color combinations were used to indicate the different chutai. The photo features a Model 3 "Hayabusa" found at Matsuyama Airfield, Taiwan, in August 1945.
Again, artist Nohara Shigeru included a profile of this aircraft in Model Art #595.
Fine Molds has released a kit in 1/48 FC05, that features this particular aircraft on the box cover but note the unfortunate iff stripes not following the shape of the wing's leading edge.
Radek Pelikán spotted in his archive another 204 "Hayabusa" photo, this one believed to be of the unit commander Maj Aizawa Torashiro. Thanks a lot Radek!
Nohara-san also included in Model Art #595 a profile of the aircraft of the above aircraft.
Finally, Nohara-san created artwork for one more 204 "Hayabusa," featured in Koku Fan Illustrated #42. As before, I don't know of any photos of this aircraft, so I can't confirm the unit markings or the paint scheme.
