Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" In Action - video

On December 5, 1943, the IJNAF and the IJAAF initiated "Ryu 1 Go Sakusen" (Operation Dragon 1), aiming at the port of Calcutta. The brief video showcases a Mitsubishi Ki-46-II "Dinah" coming back from a mission before the primary attack. Unfortunately, the tail markings are not discernible, making it impossible to confirm the specific unit it belonged to; however, it might have been part of a reconnaissance operation conducted one or two days prior, or possibly one of the two 81 Sentai "Dinahs" that departed ahead of the main bombing force on December 5 and released chaff southwest of Calcutta to mislead the early warning radar systems.

Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah"

A photo from the Arawasi collection showcases a Mitsubishi Ki-46-II "Dinah" adorned with the hiragana "あ" (a) in black, representing the number 36 on its tail, on the apron of the Tokorozawa Maintenance School. Note the absence of a fuselage hinomaru and the shape of the pitot tube.

The tail of a Nakajima Ki-27 "Nate" with the hiragana "ほ" (ho) representing the number 5, can be seen on the left.

"Toraware no Nihonki" #14 - Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah", Mitsubishi A6M "Zero", Nakajima B5M "Kate, Aichi E13A "Jake" with Green Crosses

Four days following Japan's surrender on September 2, 1945, the remaining forces still in Rabaul, New Britain, reached out to the Allies to indicate their intention to surrender.

Following negotiations, the only aircraft remaining in operational condition received approval for a final flight from Rabaul to Jacquinot Bay Airfield on New Britain's southern coast. 

As stated by online sources:

"On September 18, 1945 the first flight included Ki-46 Dinah 2783, A6M5 Zero 4043, A6M5 Zero 4444 and A6M5 Zero 3479 escorted by sixteen Allied fighters.

On October 14, 1945 the second flight included B5N2 Kate Tail 302 and E13A Jake 4326."

The Rabaul "Dinah" in Jacquinot Bay Airfield. On the tail, under the white paint, it had a kikusui marking designed by maintenance crew member Sgt Maj Azuma.

According to non-Japanese online sources, the "Dinah" pilot was Capt Iwanaga Nario but FAOW #38 mentions that his name was 2Lt Sato Teruo.
  

This photo taken at the end of the war when various Japanese aircraft had been surrendered to the RNZAF shows a typical dispersal and maintenance area, this time at the RNZAF's base at Jacquinot Bay. Note the RNZAF Ventura in the background, and in the foreground are a surrendered Japanese Dinah (left) and Kate. Photo: Roy Paton

This is the Japanese Ki-46-II 'Dinah' reconnaissance bomber that also passed to the RNZAF after being captured at Rabaul. It was left at Jacquinot Bay by the RNZAF, and may still be there rotting away. Photo: Roy Paton

Here's the story of the aircraft of the "Last Rabaul Airforce" from a Japanese source:

"By late 1943, the only remaining IJAAF reconnaissance units in Rabaul were parts of the 10th Sentai equipped with "Dinah" and the Dokuritsu 83 Chutai equipped with "Sonia." In March 1944, only a single 10th Sentai "Dinah" remained in Rabaul, yet three additional "Dinahs" from Wewak were dispatched to Rabaul to participate in the 17th Army's Torokina Operation. One of the three "Dinahs" suffered damage from friendly anti-aircraft fire and performed an emergency landing, resulting in three operational "Dinahs" from the 10th Sentai remaining in Rabaul. A while later, enemy forces destroyed one of them on the ground, while another was shot down right after taking off. Consequently, just a single "Dinah" was left operational in Rabaul. 

"During that period, the IJAAF conceived the notion of collecting components and constructing several aircraft. Initially, the ground teams successfully assembled two "Dinahs." 

"In a similar manner, the IJNAF succeeded in gathering five Zeros and two "Kates". Numerous tropical diseases afflicted the region, particularly malaria, prompting the "Dinahs" to take 3-4 trips to Truk to deliver medicine to Rabaul. The "Dinahs" achieved great success, and to utilize the leftover "Sonia" pilots, the remnants of the 1st and 11th Sentai chose to collect parts and successfully assembled 5-6 "Hayabusa" fighters, which were designated the "8th Area Army." Embarkments were built as well, but before their completion, all "Hayabusa" fighters and one "Dinah" were destroyed on the ground.

(source: Maru #380)

The three Zeros warming up in Rabaul ( source)

Two of the three surrendered Japanese A6M5 Model 52 Zero aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy on the move.The aircraft were painted in the surrender colours of white with green crosses. (RNZAF Official Photograph) (AWM)

Four surrendered Japanese aircraft after arrival at the RNZAF airfield at Jacquinot Bay. The formation consisted of three Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52 Zero fighters of the Imperial Japanese Navy (including serial numbers 3479 and 4043), and one Ki-46 Dinah reconnaissance aircraft (serial number 2783) of the Imperial Japanese Army. The aircraft were flown by Japanese crews, and departed Vunakunau at Rabaul with an escort of RNZAF F4U Corsair fighters. All the Japanese aircraft wear surrender markings, which consisted of an overall white finish with green crosses for easy recognition. (RNZAF Official Photograph.) (AWM)

A Nakajima B5N2 'Kate' bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy. This aircraft, coded '302', was the last flyable bomber left at Rabaul by the end of the Second World War. The aircraft was operated by the 105th Naval Base Air Unit. Escorted by four RNZAF Vought F4U-1 Corsair fighters, on 14 October 1945 it was flown to Jacquinot Bay by Warrant Officer Kataoka Goro and surrendered. The photograph depicts Japanese ground crew probably at Rabaul preparing the aircraft for its last flight. (AWM)

This is the Japanese carrier-borne B5N2 "Kate" bomber which was also captured at Rabaul in September 1945. It too passed into RNZAF possession and was flown to Jacquinot Bay, but as no shipping space could be found to return it and two Zero's also captured to New Zealand, the three aircraft passed into RAAF ownership. They were left at Jacquinot Bay and according to 'Aircraft of the Royal New Zealand Air Force' by David Duxbury, Ross Ewing and Ross Macpherson (Heinemann, 1987) were still there as late as 1972, along with the Dinah seen below and at the top of this page. Photo: Roy Paton

New Britain, 1945. Japanese Aichi E13A1 "Jake" seaplane in surrender markings of white with green crosses. On 1945-10-14 this aircraft was flown into Jacquinot Bay and surrendered to RNZAF Forces. (RNZAF OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH.) (AWM)

This is the Japanese E13A1A "Jake" reconnaissance seaplane which was captured at Rabaul in September 1945. It passed into RNZAF possession and was flown to RNZAF Station Jacquinot Bay, where a month later it sank at its moorings. The remains are probably still there. Photo: Roy Paton

Hasegawa has released a kit of the Rabaul "Dinah" in 1/72, kit number: 02185

"Toraware no Nihonki" #13 - Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" with Green Crosses 一〇〇式司令部偵察機, 緑十字

According to the original AWM caption:

"Menado, Celebes 1945-10-03. Occupation by Menado Force. Lieutenant Colonel R. A. C. Muir, commander of the force, and Colonel De Rooy, Netherlands East Indies Army inspecting Japanese planes at Langowan. The planes have been painted with green crosses on a white background, the agreed surrender colours."

Unfortunately I have been unable to find more photos showing the tail or information about this Model 3 "Dinah".

Leave a comment if you have more.

"Toraware no Nihonki" #12 - Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" with Green Crosses 一〇〇式司令部偵察機, 緑十字

Another Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" Model 3 Koh adorned with green crosses appears in this frequently reproduced but typically cropped color photograph from the Jeff Ethell Collection. Given that other aircraft are entirely painted white, it appears that in her situation, the painting process may have been incomplete or they might have run out of paint. Interestingly, the "green" cross appears blue in this image, but it might be because of the photo quality. 

Acording to a Japanese source, the site is Irumagawa Airfield but according to Jeff Ethell Collection, it's Matsuyama (松山, now Songshan, Taipei) Air Base, Formosa (Taiwan), 1945 (thank you Gary).

Notable is the range of aircraft models adorned with white green crosses: a Tachikawa Ki-54 Koh, a Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally," and two Kawasaki Ki-48 "Lily." Why are there so many green cross planes? As stated in the earlier post, only the planes that were granted permission to operate in certain missions were painted in this manner. What type of tasks would they be given? 

Contrast the range of types with a comparable variety shown in the photo from the previous post. Is it possible the location to be identical?

"Toraware no Nihonki" #11 - Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" with Green Crosses 一〇〇式司令部偵察機, 緑十字

At the end of war all Japanese aircraft were banned from flying, as stated in one of the surrender conditions. Exceptions were aircraft that were to transport surrender delegations and these planes were to be painted overall white with green crosses instead of hinomaru.

A few years back the attached photo came on sale on Ebay. It features a number of surrender aircraft with a Mitsubishi Ki-46 Model 3 Koh in the foreground. Location is unspecified. The original unit tail marking is partially visible and it could be of the 17 Dokuritsu Chutai (see FAOW #38, p. 46 bottom photo) but I'm not sure because the unit didn't use numbers on its aircraft tails.

Leave a comment if you know more about the location or you have any suggestions about the unit.

"Toraware no Nihonki" #10 - Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" in KMT markings 一〇〇式司令部偵察機, 中華民国国民政府 - video

...Or "Captured Japanese Aircraft". This is going to be a series of posts that will need "audience participation". Therefore, don’t hesitate to comment and share details about the aircraft discussed in these posts.

First up, a very very short clip cut from the same video we saw in the 27 March 2025 post. It features General Albert Coady Wedemeyer arriving at an airfield in Nanking. Of special interest is the Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" in the background with Kuomintang (KMT) Nationalist China markings. It looks to be painted in overall white too.

I don't think I've ever seen a "Dinah" in KMT markings. Leave a comment if you know more about this particular aircraft or other "Dinahs" in KMT markings.

Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" & Tachikawa Ki-54 "Hickory" Kengun (Kumamoto) Airfield 一〇〇式司令部偵察機 & 一式双発高等練習機 輸送機型の丙型 健軍 - video

A color (not colorized) clip featuring a Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" Model 3 and a Tachikawa Ki-54 "Hickory" transport found at the end of the war in Kengun Airfield (Kumamoto).

The NARA photo below shows both aircraft and more importantly the tail marking of the Tachikawa Ki-54 "Hickory". Unfortunately the unit it belonged to has not been identified.

Although more Ki-46 Model 3 "Dinahs" can be seen in the photo closeup below, none seem to have any visible tail marking. The only one with a tail marking that seems to be a "hinomaru" is a Mitsubishi Ki-46 Model 3 Kai Fighter with two machine guns on the nose. Again, the unit has not been identified.

UPDATE: Watanabe Yoji, in "Nihon Boku-sen", p. 190, features a photo of members of the unit saying goodbye to Chofu Airfield, Tokyo, and departing for Kengun. According to the caption, the relocation took place on July 25, 1945, when the photo was taken. Only six "Dinahs" were left behind in Chofu and all together 12 planes reached Kengun in two groups. They only managed to perform a couple of patrol flights around Okinawa before the war ended. So, based on this information we can conclude that the "Dinah" in Kengun, indeed belong to the 17 Dokuritsu Hikotai.

Japanese Airfields, Equipment & more #12 - revised

IJAAF & IJNAF crank engine starter or inertia starter
To be honest, I can't remember ever seeing a Japanese aircraft model with a crank starter sticking out or even placed on the ground. A very small detail that would make any model a little bit more realistic.

Wiki says: 
"An aero engine inertia starter uses a pre-rotated flywheel to transfer kinetic energy to the crankshaft, normally through reduction gears and a clutch to prevent over-torque conditions. Three variations have been used, hand driven, electrically driven and a combination of both. When the flywheel is fully energised either a manual cable is pulled or a solenoid is used to engage the starter."

Ground crew using a crank starter on a Tachikawa Ki-36 "Ida" ground attack and liaison aircraft.

Same scene but this time the aircraft is a Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah".

I bet you didn't know that the Nakajima Ki-43 "Hayabusa" (Oscar) had the crank starter hole inside the starboard wheel well.

One more "Hayabusa" photo, this time a 64 Sentai fighter.

This photo of a Kawasaki Ki-100 gives a very clear image of an IJAAF crank starter.

With the IJNAF fighters, very often, the crank starter was placed in the undercarriage leg as depicted by illustrator Sato Kunihiko in Model Art #857 or Profile #13.

This practice was not uncommon with the Mitsubishi J2M "Raiden" (Jack) too.

Or it was casually placed on the tarmac, like in this photo of a Zero.

A Mitsubishi G3M "Nell" and a Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" have their engines started by crank starters.

A short clip showing a Navy Type 90 Crew-trainer or Mitsubishi K3M "Pine" having its engine started. This is the only video I could spot where the sounds of the flywheel and the starter can be clearly heard.

The girls we saw in a previous post, here, start the engine of a Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah".

Japanese Airfields, Equipment & more #7 - revised

IJAAF & IJNAF tail wheel towbars & draggers

It seems that Kawasaki, at least in their central factories, used a certain type of tail wheel towbar found in a series of photos featuring a Kawasaki Ki-100.

And a Kawasaki Ki-45 "Toryu" prototype. I haven't spotted it in combat unit photos, so I don't think it was that common.

There is also this photo, staged for the camera, showing pilot cadets of the "Rikugun Koku Shikan Gakko" (Army Air Academy or Army Air Officer's School) moving around a Mitsubishi Ki-21 Model 1 Ko "Sally" bomber. The tail wheel towbar is definitely larger than the one seen in the Ki-100 and Ki-45 photos.

Curiously I also spotted a tail wheel towbar lying on the tarmac behind an IJNAF Zero fighter. 

On the other hand, tail wheel draggers were extremely common with types without tail wheels like the "Nate" or with types with more delicate ones like the trainers Tachikawa Ki-9 "Akatonbo" (Spruce) and Tachikawa Ki-55 "Ida". Not uncommon with "Hayabusa" too or other combat types with the tail wheels damaged, for example, during hard landings. The metal frame was pretty much standard but, as you can see in this series of photos, the wheels were not. I don't know if there was a certain manufacturer that built these for the Army but I suspect the crew used whatever spare wheels were around.

For years I was trying to figure out what was inside the "pot" where the tail wheel rested, since in all photos the wheel is already in, until I finally discovered this photo; nothing. The wheel was simply placed inside the empty "pot" and that's it.

Tail wheel draggers were common only with early IJNAF types with tail skids, like this Nakajima A2N, on the deck of an aircraft carrier. It would be preferable to minimize the damage on the wooden flying deck by the metal tail skid, right?

Other than that, I wasn't able to spot even one Pacific War IJNAF photo with a tail wheel dragger.

From April 1944 until the end of the war, a Women's Volunteer Corpse comprising 17 young women, was mobilized to carry out maintenance tasks at the IJAAF airfield of Kasugadai in Choshi City, Chiba Prefecture where a branch school of the Shimoshizu Army Flying School was based.

A movie about them titled "Otome no Iru Kichi" (The Girls of the Air Base) was produced by Shochiku in 1945.

The short news clip from the NHK collection introduces the girls and shows them using a tail wheel dragger to move around a Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah". Note also the ladder, mentioned in previous posts.

Nakajima Ki-43 "Hayabusa" and more pt.7

Let's conclude this series of posts with a few more photos sent over by Radek Pelikán. Thanks a lot!

I'm sure you can recognise by now the various "Hayabusa" fighters featured in previous posts.

Interestingly, we can also see more clearly the "Dinah" placed across from the Ki-43s.

If more material turns up, I will update the posts or add it here.

If you build or you have already built model(s) of these aircraft, send over photos.

IJAAF & IJNAF wrecked aircraft #52 - Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" pt.1 - video

Last weekend I got really excited when I stumbled on a bunch of very short but extremely interesting color videos I had never seen before. We start today with one featuring Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah", from HERE.

As you can see, in the beginning of the video the aircraft in the foreground on the left is a Ki-46-II. Note the lighter color (hairyokushoku) on most of the nose and the fuselage. Note also the brown overall color of the aircraft in the background.

The second aircraft we can see is a Ki-46-III.

I toyed a bit with the color and it gives me a green top camouflage color. Could be brown though...

Then we get a few shots of the rear cockpit. Note the camera on the floor and the interesting overall interior color.

In the last shot above, we can see the exterior of the canopy which is painted in light color. So, presumably this is the cockpit of the Ki-46-II we saw above.