eBay: Japanese airplanes and other hardware.

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Speaking of captured Japanese aircraft, I always wondered what was the origin of the BI-12 ATAIU SEA A6M2


This is clearly one of the later A6M2s due to visible differences like shorter antenna mast, identical to the one of A6M5s (meaning a more modern Type 3 Ku 1 Radio set was present on it). It's also equipped to my surprise with long barreled Type 99 cannons, I know that first ones to receive those were A6M3 model 22s and some late built A6M3 model 32s, but never heard before of any A6M2s receiving them. Though its not impossible since Nakajima continued A6M2 production all the way until mid 1944, they were equipped with CO2 fire suppression system, larger drum magazines for cannons so the switch of the main cannons could be the case ...

If anyone knows something about that particular A6M2, where was it manufactured and where it served as well as where was it captured it would be really nice to hear the story.
 
Nice picture, Hiromachi

Frankly I am not interested in captured Japanese assets but, judging from the paint scheme and appearance, the front one is Nakajima A6M2 and the back one is Mitsubishi A6M3 model 22 as equipped with the adjustable trim tab on the rudder.

Correction:
Sorry the back one is Mitsubishi A6M5. I failed to check the exhaust tubes well.
 
Last edited:
I brought it not because of particular interest in captured aircraft, but being attracted by the Type 99 cannons. Based on what I know long barreled Type 99 cannons became a standard on Japanese fighters by mid 1943, while being issued already at the end of 1942 in small quantities. Priority was given to newly manufactured Mitsubishi A6M3 model 22 and some of the last model 32s received them as well.

But how did that happen that Nakajima built A6M2 had those ? Did Nakajima produce more of such armed A6M2s ? Plenty of questions arise here
 
Hiromachi said:
If anyone knows something about that particular A6M2, where was it manufactured and where it served as well as where was it captured it would be really nice to hear the story.
Click to expand...

The centre section of BI-05 still survives in the UK with the Imperial War Museum; I'm not sure of its present location, either Duxford or the IWM at Lambeth (Terry will know having been to Duxford recently) but it was on display at Lambeth for many years. BI-12 was allocated for shipping to Australia but never got there, so presumed scrapped post war.

This from Phil Butler's War Prizes on these aircraft: "Towards the end of 1945 a number of Japanese aircraft were brought together at a former Imperial Japanese Navy airstrip at Tebrau on the Malayan mainland. This strip was just across the Johore Straits from Singapore. The nucleus of the aircraft were IJN types, which had been based at Tebrau, supplemented by IJAAF aircraft flown from elsewhere. The aircraft were flown by Japanese pilots, with British nationality markings and with the acronym ATAIU-SEA on them."

"It is not known specifically why the flights were made by Japanese aircrew. Most of the flights were for the benefit of the press or visiting VIPs and there is no evidence that performance measurements or equipment evaluations were made. It seams that the flights were intended to confirm the airworthiness of individual aircraft prior to their shipment to the UK for further testing at Farnborough."

The book goes on to state that only four of 64 aircraft allocated to the UK for preservation were sent, including BI-05.
 
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