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Some "Strange" looking Japanese aircraft ...

Fri Jul 23, 2021 3:27 pm

These are photos of captured Japanese aircraft right around the time of occupation in Japan.
I'm not sure what a few of these aircraft are. A couple are known but a few are ???
Location and date unknown other than it is indeed Japan.

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This photo below is baffling as well. Seems to possibly be Clark Field Philippines? Or maybe Australia?

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Re: Some "Strange" looking Japanese aircraft ...

Fri Jul 23, 2021 3:33 pm

Nice photos Mark - thanks!

Central in photos 1 and 2 is a Heinkel 112 surely? And the multi-bladed-prop twin is a recce type IIRC. Rikugun Ki-93?

Re: Some "Strange" looking Japanese aircraft ...

Fri Jul 23, 2021 3:36 pm

These were on ebay this past week.

Heinkel A7He1 https://j-aircraft.com/faq/A7He1.htm

Looks like a Ki-93 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikugun_Ki-93

Both China & Philippines received some B-10's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_B-10
B-18's also in the Philippines (USAAC) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_B-18_Bolo

Perhaps BT-15 41-10269 (110269)? http://joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1941_2.html
http://fuselagecodes.com/id1.html
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Last edited by mike furline on Fri Jul 23, 2021 4:44 pm, edited 4 times in total.

Re: Some "Strange" looking Japanese aircraft ...

Fri Jul 23, 2021 3:38 pm

Cool!!

Re: Some "Strange" looking Japanese aircraft ...

Fri Jul 23, 2021 4:19 pm

Sure looks like a wingless Kawanishi H6K flying boat in the background of the first pic.

Wow....

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Re: Some "Strange" looking Japanese aircraft ...

Fri Jul 23, 2021 4:23 pm

Interesting! What a find.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_112#Japan

Japan
The Imperial Japanese Navy purchased 12 Heinkel He 112B-0 fighters, which it designated both as the Heinkel A7He1 and as the Navy Type He Air Defense Fighter. The Japanese flew the A7He1 briefly during the Second Sino-Japanese War, but phased it out of service before the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 in favor of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. Assuming it still to be in Japanese use, however, the Allies assigned the reporting name "Jerry" to the A7He1 during World War II.[28]


Looks very similar!

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Re: Some "Strange" looking Japanese aircraft ...

Fri Jul 23, 2021 8:05 pm

Mark Allen M wrote:This photo below is baffling as well. Seems to possibly be Clark Field Philippines? Or maybe Australia?

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Got an educated guess: three Martin B-12s (33-163, 33-164, and 33-260) are listed in Baugher as going to Class 26 at the training center at Maxwell, AL. Is that "3163" on the tail of the nearest B-12?
Some YP-43s and P-43s went to Class 26 as well; couldn't find anything definite on the B-18A and B-25B/C.

Re: Some "Strange" looking Japanese aircraft ...

Fri Jul 23, 2021 8:27 pm

Mark Allen M wrote:Image

That's definitely a B-25 in the lower right corner. Could it be??? Curious!

Re: Some "Strange" looking Japanese aircraft ...

Fri Jul 23, 2021 8:49 pm

As a kid growing up in Japan while my dad was stationed there in the early '60s, our housing area had a number of those curved semi-buried hangars as seen in photo 5.
It was said the mile long main street was a runway during the war.

Re: Some "Strange" looking Japanese aircraft ...

Fri Jul 23, 2021 10:58 pm

I do believe that's a B-25C or possibly D. The B-25Bs had a retractable tailskid instead of the fixed teardrop-shaped one introduced in the C.

Re: Some "Strange" looking Japanese aircraft ...

Sat Jul 24, 2021 10:28 am

Maty12 wrote:I do believe that's a B-25C or possibly D. The B-25Bs had a retractable tailskid instead of the fixed teardrop-shaped one introduced in the C.

I agree, plus the window just behind the wing looks like it's a C or D, but it's also early enough to still have the meatball in the middle, which greatly reduces the number of planes that could be.

Re: Some "Strange" looking Japanese aircraft ...

Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:59 am

What is that wreck with the twin six-bladed props???

Re: Some "Strange" looking Japanese aircraft ...

Sat Jul 24, 2021 1:35 pm

Malo 1 wrote:What is that wreck with the twin six-bladed props???


Ki-93; see post 2.

Re: Some "Strange" looking Japanese aircraft ...

Sat Jul 24, 2021 3:50 pm

The Vultee Valiant is a bit of a mystery too. The "A61" painted on the aft fuselage is characteristic of those based at Bush Field, Augusta, GA.

JDV
www.fuselagecodes.com

Re: Some "Strange" looking Japanese aircraft ...

Sat Jul 24, 2021 8:59 pm

The BT-15's accident is listed on AAIR as category 4 damage, "Forced landing, out of gas, nose over". This could be more of a nose up judging by how the engine seems a bit misaligned and the missing prop blade.

https://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src ... un1942.htm
(scroll down to the third incident on the 21st)
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