Ki44-II Shoki 47th Sentai (Sakamoto) wing guns

[RichardSuhkoi]

I can't imagine anyone surviving a ramming of B-29 with so many guns pointed at you and the impact energy and so on. I can guess you try to break tail control surfaces so the bomber becomes crippled?

 

[Shinpachi]

I can't imagine anyone surviving a ramming of B-29 with so many guns pointed at you and the impact energy and so on. I can guess you try to break tail control surfaces so the bomber becomes crippled?

As you have pointed out, conclusion seemed to be that normal attack with guns and phosphorus bombs were more effective than ramming

 

[SirFrancis]

I borrowed the book from a library nearby.
The caption says -

"Type 2 fighter (Ki-44) of Shinten Air Control Unit parked at the west corner of the reserve area. The building in the rear left is the sentai headquarters. This no. 32 airframe is the initial production of Type 2-ko or otsu and, originally, belonged to Asahi unit (1st chutai). The strange stain on the rudder is unknown. As Shinten marking can be seen on the side but the gunsight is not removed yet, this airframe is not completed as the air-to-air special attack plane. This photo looks taken from mid-to-late January 1945."

Asahi unit (chutai) tail insignia is in blue but original 1st chutai's insignia was in red. The photo looks red.

Front cover


Photo of question

Hey Shinpachi, great find! well done.........so here is the famous photo of 32. The tail is definitely not all over red as per Hasegawa. As per the rudder....

I found this pic of what looks like a dark rudder on '16'...but I believe and the profiler believes it is 'shadow'.......I wonder if 32's rudder is shadow, made darker still by high contrast.....so hard to tell.

cheers
Francis

 

[SirFrancis]

I can't imagine anyone surviving a ramming of B-29 with so many guns pointed at you and the impact energy and so on. I can guess you try to break tail control surfaces so the bomber becomes crippled?

The Luftwaffe also tried this with Sonderkommando Elbe on one occasion 7th April 1945 with somewhere between 180-200 aircraft. This B-17 was hit by one. Possibly up to 13 bombers were destroyed but over 50 Sonderkommando aircraft were downed. (claimed)

 

[Shinpachi]

Interestingly, in the book, no one tells to which unit No.32 belonged before Ki-84s were deployed when Asahi, Fuji and Sakura were newly named for new units.
I think this airframe originally belonged to 3rd unit of Ki-44s and was on the way of repainting the tail in red to hide the original insignia when this picture was taken.
This is my honest impression

 

[SirFrancis]

Interestingly, in the book, no one tells to which unit No.32 belonged before Ki-84s were deployed when Asahi, Fuji and Sakura were newly named for new units.
I think this airframe originally belonged to 3rd unit of Ki-44s and was on the way of repainting the tail in red to hide the original insignia when this picture was taken.
This is my honest impression

View attachment 752865

I actually like the above colour scheme with the tail colours matching the Drum emblem and nose cone. Since we can't really confirm the colours....why not?

 

[Shinpachi]

I actually like the above colour scheme with the tail colours matching the Drum emblem and nose cone. Since we can't really confirm the colours....why not?

Thanks SirFrancis.
So the insignia was erased IMO

 

[SirFrancis]

Thanks SirFrancis.
So the insignia was erased IMO

View attachment 752932

I like the previous scheme better with the yellow insignia........but I must admit, since I have no decals, the Hasegawa scheme will be much easier! .......
One thing sticks in my mind.... if they were intending to paint the tail all over red...why start painting around the insignia on the rudder? Why not paint all over it? Doesn't make sense.
It may have been a transitional process. They tried the red rudder with insignia for a while, then perhaps later painted all over red...

Also my theory about the dark rudder perhaps being shadow I think is debunked due to that 'over-splash' of paint on the top edge just off the rudder itself...that bit would not be affected by shadow and yet remains dark.....

 

[Shinpachi]

I like the previous scheme better with the yellow insignia........but I must admit, since I have no decals, the Hasegawa scheme will be much easier! .......
One thing sticks in my mind.... if they were intending to paint the tail all over red...why start painting around the insignia on the rudder? Why not paint all over it? Doesn't make sense.
It may have been a transitional process. They tried the red rudder with insignia for a while, then perhaps later painted all over red...

Also my theory about the dark rudder perhaps being shadow I think is debunked due to that 'over-splash' of paint on the top edge just off the rudder itself...that bit would not be affected by shadow and yet remains dark.....
View attachment 752970

I think this is the original paint scheme before November 1944 when the Shinten mission was launched.
Simple and reasonable with full guns as a fighter.

 

[SirFrancis]

I think this is the original paint scheme before November 1944 when the Shinten mission was launched.
Simple and reasonable with full guns as a fighter.

View attachment 752998

Yes that's another option...... good thinking.....

 

[Shinpachi]

I have enjoyd research. Thank you very much!

 

[Wurger]