Foreign Aircraft in Japanese Markings

[proton45]

I guess they didn't test the P-47. Their feet wouldn't have reached the pedals.

"...Their feet wouldn't have reached the pedals."

That's funny because Japanese are short...Japanese people are smaller then "Americans" and that's "LOL"(?)...small people are funny.

 

[Graeme]

One Beechcraft C-17E was imported to Japan and made its first flight there on 29 September 1936.
Tachikawa were very impressed with the aircraft and expected a demand for such a high performance passenger aircraft in Japan. They acquired a license to manufacture it locally and eventually built twenty C-17Es. It proved popular when compared to other single-engine transports in Japan at the time but proved troublesome on Japans unprepared airstrips, playing havoc with the undercarriage retracting mechanism. The wing construction was rather complex, making repairs quite difficult and the Curtiss metal propellers had to be imported from the USA.

One of these C-17Es was used by the provincial police headquarters in Pyong-an Pok-do, Korea, for the Korea-Manchuria border patrol. Named Hayate (Gale) and registered J-ACHE, this aeroplane was armed with a light machine-gun and light bombs. It remained operational in this form from 1938 until the end of the Pacific War.

 

[A4K]

Where did the Japanese Hurricane Mk.IIc come from?
No.488 sqn. RNZAF used the MK.IIb, and No.232 sqn, RAF (according to wikipedia atleast) the 'Mk.IIA' ( - was there a Mk.IIA ??)

Unless they got a captured example of the IIc from the germans, they could only have got it during the invasion of Sumatra, Singapore, or Java, which would put it into the 'IIA' / IIb category.

The 'Mk.I' label on your side profile is probably incorrect at any rate Adler. If what I've read is right, only the Mk.IIb/ IIc carried the tropical filter, unless they retrofitted Mk.I's with them in North Africa - ?

 

[plan_D]

If you're asking if there was a Hurricane Mk.IIA - then yes, there was. It had 8 .303 cal while the IIB had twelve and the IIC had 4 20mm ...

 

[A4K]

Thanks PLan D, I didn't know that.

 

[A4K]

Looking at that Hurricane side profile again, if they've drawn the gun tape patches correctly, then it does appear to be a Mk.IIb with the outer .303 Brownings, which would probably make it an ex-488 (RNZAF) sqn. machine.
Shame the leading edge isn't clearer in the photo to be able to verify.

According to Wikipedia, only 19 out of 88 Hurricanes survived the invasions of Sumatra and Singapore, and of those, only 1 survived the inasion of Java to make it to Australia - apparently they completely underestimated the strength of the Ki-43 force (often incorrectly referred to as 'Zero fighters' as I've read a few times in different books.)

As for the Mk.IIc, it occurred to me over the weekend that the British used Mk.IIcs in Burma, so I'm guessing they got it there. Does anyone know of any pictures of it?

 

[Wuerger190]

Not sure if it's been mentioned before, but those interested in this subject should get this book:
Captured Aircraft by IJN IJA
Very cheap, well worth it.


PS. The various Dakotas posted were of course not captured aircraft but "Tabbys" produced in Japan.

 

[otftch]

ccheese,
I think thats a Thalia transport.
Ed

 

[otftch]

Micdrow,
In the picture of the Me-109 with the Ki-61.Are you sure that's a Ki-61 ?It looks awful short.Could it be a Ki-60 ?
Ed

 

[otftch]

Micdrow,
In the picture of the Me-109 with the Ki-61.Are you sure that's a Ki-61 ?It looks awful short.Could it be a Ki-60 ?
Ed

 

[parsifal]

JAAF also evaluated about 70 Fiat BR 20s, which they used as a stopgap in 1937, pending the delivery of the KI-21.

In 1943 the Japanese transferred about 6 B-10s that they had captured in NEI to the RSAF.

Japanese also captured a number of P-40Bs, H-75s CW21s from the Dutch, and one or two Buffaloes in Malaya. Dont know what happened in the Philipinnes.

I have never been able to determine for sure if the Japs captured any Wirraways when they captured Rabaul in early '42

I have read an interesting story but not sure if its true. The first bombing of Hanoi is credited to some off-duty AVG pilots in Rangoon. AVG had a habit of completely flouting every regulation put up by the British authorities. For example, their standard flying gear, apparently, was hawaiian shirts. They also had a legendary capacity for the consumption of alcohol. Anyway, one night after a heavy binge drinking session, apparently they decided that they wanted to bomb Hanoi, of all places. They convinced a sober (I hope) C-47 pilot to fly them there and then proceeded to load every empty whisky and wine bottle, as well as the numerous amounts of Russian and Chinese ordinance (dont ask me how it got to Rangoon, I am just re-telling the story) into the Dakota. They then flew to Hanoi, (maybe), and dropped this load of ordinace onto their intended victims.

I dont know if this is true, but if it is, its a helluva story

 

[Trautloft]

i red once,that a variant of the Zero appeared on european battlefields, used in ground attack/dive bombing role. i was wondering,because imo the Zero wasnt made for that. is it true that Japan sent the germans Zeros,at least 4 evaulation?

 

[Micdrow]

i red once,that a variant of the Zero appeared on european battlefields, used in ground attack/dive bombing role. i was wondering,because imo the Zero wasnt made for that. is it true that Japan sent the germans Zeros,at least 4 evaulation?

As far as I know the Japanese never sent any aircraft to the Germans for evaluation.

 

[Wurger]

Just like me.I went through some books about Zeke but I found nothing on that.

 

[Trautloft]

i never heard of any sent jap ac either,thats why i asked.but maybe plans? the german sent quite a few,why should the returning subs bring only rubber,wolfram or other rare strategic materials?most of them been destroyed anyway,before they arrived so we will never know about their cargo.
i will research it maybe i misread.
btw,the Kokusai ki-76 Stella looks pretty similar to the Fieseler Storch isnt it?
Kokusai Ki-76 STELLA - liason

 

[Tao-san]

While diggin around in one of my old cds of pictures that I have collected on the web through time I found these and thought you all would be interested. Dont ask for sources because I have no idea where I got these. LOL

I think the profiles are coming from the magazine "Avions" - Lela Presse, probably old #, the signature under each of them is "MM" for Michel Martraix, an illustrator working for this publication.
Here are some other from same source, le last one, Fairchield is not a captured plane, but on the top of the tail fin the logo looks like the Lufwaffe badge !?

Does anybody have information or closer view of the tail of this Fairchild ?
Thank you.

 

[syscom3]

I think the Germans were interested in the "Dinah" as a high speed photo recon plane.

I dont know if any were sent to Germany for evaluation.

 

[Tao-san]

It seems that japan had only one for experimentation and a russian source said that this one was quickly damaged during tests.
Wikipedia give more detailed informations about the Fairchilds : Fairchild 91 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The second Fairchild available in south east Pacific was the plane of explorator Richard Archbold, and it was destroyed by a storm in New-Guinea in 1937. Richard Archbold - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rest the profiled one (1939), I've first supposed that the japanese were helped by Germany to get it, but for Wikipedia it was an official export to Japan.
Could the "badge" has been an old civil company logo, like Pan-Am for example ? I've seen the same on a Sikorsky S-42 tail.
I will try to get a close photographic view, wait and see ...

 

[SABURO]

S

 

[Wurger]