IJAAF & IJNAF wrecked aircraft #31 - Saipan Pt.3

It's time to present the Zero fighters found on Saipan. The subject is very big and a whole book could be written dedicated to only these aircraft. There are researchers in Japan and elsewhere who have dedicated plenty of time on these Zeros, their serial numbers and their fate. I don't pretend to know as much and certainly don't want to "borrow" their research. Google "Zero Saipan Aslito" and you will find a lot more information. In any case, this series of posts is a chance to collect, organize and present mainly videos of Japanese wrecked aircraft while at the same time identifying specific aircraft and locations.

One of the earliest photos showing the heap (on the left) we saw in the previous post and the Zeros, is the one below.

None of the Zeros can be seen in front of the hangars. Only a few can be seen on jack stands on the left, far in the background (more on these later). Gradually, various fighters were assembled in front of the hangars.

Some were found in entaigo...

...some were inside hangars.

 

Initially they were placed in front of the hangar on the left in a random manner...

...until they formed a row of seven aircraft on the left, a smaller row of three aircraft facing them and a third smaller row of three in front of the hangar. 

 

Here's a bird's eye view of how all the Zeros were lined up.

Let's first identify all the groups.

There are three Zeros in Group 1, all, at least originally, placed on jack stands.

Zero1 is seen below.

 

 

 

Tail number was "8-13". The kanji is actually two parts, the top part "𠆢" signifies that the pilot had the rank of an officer, according to one source. The rest of the kanji is "尾". 

According to this source, it is the first part of the name "尾崎" (Ozaki), and so this A6M5 Model 52 was flown by Flight Leading Seaman Ozaki Mitsuyasu who was a member of the 2nd Daitai of the 265 Kokutai.

The unit was organized on November 15, 1943, in Kagoshima and was originally known as "Kaminari Butai" (Thunder Unit). Around May 1944 their nickname changed to "Okami Butai" (Wolf Unit) and in the beginning of the month the first group of 32 aircraft relocated to the Marianas, followed by the second group of 16 aircraft a month later. Their bases were Saipan, Guam, Yap, Ngesebus Island (north of Peleliu), Peleliu and others from where they attacked enemy ships in the Saipan area.  

According to this site though, the unit has been identified as the 263 Kokutai which was organized on October 1, 1943, in Genzan, nicknamed "Hyo Butai" (Leopard/Panther Unit). On February 21, 1944, the first group of 18 aircraft relocated to Tinian Island in the Marianas but two days later almost all aircraft were destroyed during an air raid. Between the end of February until the middle of March 1945, 49 aircraft relocated to Guam, then to Peleliu for air defence and to take part in the Biak operation. During the Battle for the Marianas the unit was based on Guam Island. July 10, 1945 the unit was disbanded.  

So, as you can see it is not yet clear which unit the "8-13" belonged to. There is also a suggestion that the kanji did not represent the name of the pilot but that of the maintenance group leader.

The "8-13" Zero was originally placed on jack stands but it seems the starboard fell forward and the port probably collapsed. The aircraft had suffered substantial damage and was written off. 

Personally, I think it's an extremely interesting modeling subject for advanced modelers like Panagiotis Koubetsos. Hasegawa has released a kit of this Zero.

Although not confirmed beyond any doubt, I believe the photo below shows a Marine on the starboard side of "8-13".

Zero2 has a tail number "8-17" and the kanji "軍". It's also an A6M5 Model 52 and could also make a beautiful modeling subject, especially if placed next to "8-13".  

 

Zero3 is a small mystery. In the photo below Zero2 (8-17) is on the left while Zero3 is on the right.

IJAAF & IJNAF wrecked aircraft #30 - Saipan Pt.2

Instead of videos we start the post today with two photos of Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" bombers.

 

 

 

The tail marking of one "Betty" is clear; "Z2-901". This means it belonged to the 751Ku which was based on Tinian Island, next to Saipan, from May 1943. In September of the same year relocated to Rabaul. The unit returned to Tinian on February 18, 1944, and five days later took part in the Battle of the Marianas. According to Akimoto the unit used the tail marking "Z2" from autumn 1943 until around Match 1944.Then changed to "51" and again to "751". FAOW mentions that the letter "Z" meant the 21 Koku Sentai and the number "2" signified the second group inside the sentai. 

The origins of the 751Ku were the Kanoya Kokutai, a mixed unit with carrier fighters and "Betty" bombers, which at the beginning of the Pacific War was the second unit of the 21 Koku Sentai. KanoyaKu was renamed 751Ku on October 1, 1942,  and a month later the fighter group became 253Ku while the bombers retained the 751Ku name.

Going back to the photos (top two from here, bottom two from here) it is clear that the "Z2-901" "Betty" was used as a hack since the engines and all the important equipment had been removed. Also, in the second from the bottom photo, a second "Betty" is visible behind "Z2-901". On p.46 of FAOW#59 there is another photo showing the two bombers, and the second "Betty" is without a tail number but has a rudder lock. 

Both bombers were rather violently moved to form a heap of aircraft pieces near the hangars of Aslito Airfield. 

The earliest image of this heap can be seen in a short, about 3-4seconds, fragment in a getty movie. The still below shows the tail of "Z2-901" still fairly intact.

From that point on the condition of the aircraft in the heap started to deteriorate rapidly.

In the photo below, the "Z2-901" is on the extreme right of the heap with the elevators gone and the port stabilizer broken. Note the almost intact fuselage and the port wing of the "Betty" without a tail marking mentioned above (photo NARA, Arawasi collection).

Below is the first video from the getty collection showing the "Betty" without tail marking.

Some stills from the video.

 

 

In the NARA photo another prominent feature is the front of a Showa L2D right next to the tail of the "Betty". This starboard wing and the bent fuselage of the L2D and the "Z2-901" can be clearly seen in the two videos below.

In the stills below note the very different greens of the "Betty" and the L2d and the color of the anti-glare panel on the nose of the "Betty".

 

Unfortunately the full tail of the L2D is not visible except for the last digit "2".

Let's see more videos of the rest of the heap.

 

In the stills below, we can see first a marine taking the chance to paint.

The "Betty" without a tail marking. Note the very small "112" to the right of the "Betty" dorsal gunner...

...and the roller that can be seen on the extreme right of the NARA photo.

Here's another photo of the "Betty" without tail marking in the foreground. 

In the close up below we can see that the number "112" was written on the nose of the L2D!!!

Two more photos of the same "Betty". Note the gradual deterioration of the wreck.

 

Of interest is the presence of another "Betty" behind the one without a tail marking.

Close ups below.

 

It seems the tail marking is "731-??". At the moment I have not been able to locate a "731" unit. Leave a comment if you have any information about this IJNAF unit (not the notorious biological warfare unit).

The last video, from here, is b/w but offers some interesting information about the tail markings.

In the first still we can see the tail of the L2D and it seems that the "112" was written all across the tail of the plane. There are two suspicious white bands above and below the numbers and perhaps there was something more where the hole is.

The second still shows the tail of the "Z2-901" "Betty". Compare the condition of the wreck with the getty still at the top of this page.

Here's a final photo of the heap.

IJAAF & IJNAF wrecked aircraft #29 - Saipan Pt.1

We will start today with the flying boats that were found wrecked on Saipan Island. These were based on Tanapag Harbor with its two ramps. The getty photo below shows the flying boat base under attack.

The ramps still exist today...

...and they are close to the present harbor. 

Here's another photo showing the Tanapag seaplane base or, as often mentioned, Flores Point Seaplane Base, and the Tanapag harbor in the background under attack.

Below are some more images of the area under aerial attack.

We can see that there are five Kawanishi H8K "Emily" and one Kawanishi H6K "Mavis" flying boats as well as at least two Aichi E13A "Jake" seaplanes.

The images below show their position on the harbor and ramps.

 

There are a number of photos and three videos from the getty collection featuring the above flying boats. Let's start with the first video.

The stills start with a search light truck...

...followed by Emily3 in the background. Note that the tail marking is something like "1-???".

Then is Emily1 in the foreground. Unfortunately the tail marking is not visible.

Mavis1 is next and we can see that the tail marking starts with the letters "KE". I don't see any red band so probably this "Mavis" belonged to the 931Ku with tail marking "KEB-?".

 

And finally for the armor fans there is a Type 2 Ka-Mi amphibious tank.

The second video starts with an engine that I haven't been able to identify. Your help would be appreciated.

Then we have a starboard side view of the above mentioned Mavis1 and the last digit of the tail marking seems to be a "9". So the tail marking could be "KEB-?9". 

 

 

After that we can see Emily1 and the tail marking is "1-00?"

Followed by Emily3 with tail marking again "1-0??".

 

Finally a mysterious tail pops up at the bottom of the frame with a tail marking "14-0??". I have not been able to identify the aircraft or the unit.

The third video seems to be continuing from the second as the camera moves to the right.

In the stills we can first see the few remains of Emily5 in the background on the left, then the remains of Emily4 in the foreground. Compare the size of the flying boat with the two Marines standing next to the fuselage of Emily4.

 

The camera moved further to the right and we can see the remains of the big hangar and a lonely "Jake" float....

...followed by what I believe are machine gun bunkers.

A few of these bunkers survive near Aslito airfield.

Let's see some more getty photos now.

The first photo shows Mavis1 with Emily1 right behind it.

The US troops on their trucks pass right by Emily1 with Mavis1 behind them. 

 

Another view of Emily1.

And then we are finally able to see the tail of Emily1; "1-002".

Then the troops move beside Emily3.

While the photographer takes a dramatic shot of Emily4 showing the tail.

Then the photographer moves to the edge of the harbor taking a shot of the "Jake" beside Emily5 and showing the complete tail marking of Emily4; "1-006".

Below is another photo of the "Jake" seaplane from a different angle.

Let's see some more photos.

The first photo I believe shows the port wing of Emily4.

The engine, perhaps the same we saw in the video, stands at some distance in front of the wing of Mavis1. Note that in the photos at the top of the post taken during a bombing attack, the Mavis still has its wing attached on top of the fuselage. It seems that it fell in front of the aircraft some time later.

This hangar we saw on video three that was located further to the left of the port side of Emily4.

The U.S. Marines stand beside the wreck of Emily1.

The photo below, not from getty but from here, shows Emily1 on the left in front of the U.S. marines and Mavis1 further ahead.

Another photo of Emily1 from here. This one is rather interesting as it shows the radar antennae on the nose of the flying boat.

I also found one more photo of the engines of Emily1 on the net...

...and two more photos of Emily3.

A classic, official USMC photo of Marines standing next to the wing of Mavis1. The sheer size of the wing is amazing.

As we saw above, there are at least three "Emily" flying boats where the tail marking is completely or partially visible. They are Emily1 "1-002", Emily2 "1-0??" and Emily4 "1-006". According to one Japanese source, these flying boats belonged to the "1 Koku Kantai" (1st Air Fleet) but I have not been able to find more information about this particular unit. This post will be updated when more information becomes available.