Posted By: Garth O'Connell <goconnell@dingoblue.net.au>
Date: Wednesday, 1 August 2001, at 8:49 p.m.
From the Photographic collection of the Australian War Memorial.
Negative Number: 129706
Caption:
JAPAN. 1945. JAPANESE AIRCRAFT, NAKAJIMA B5N2, "KATE" TORPEDO BOMBER WITH SURRENDER MARKINGS, ON THE GROUND. SINGLE ENGINE, TWO SEATER, LOW WING MONOPLANE. (DONOR: MR PETER
SELINGER).
We have many other images of captured Japanese Army and Navy aircraft in our collection. The Memorial had in our collection (later called "Tokyo Rose"), a Ki-21 that flew the Surrender delegation to Labuan in 1945. Unfortunately, this aircraft was scrapped post war. It was recorded as having flown 5 sorties over Darwin and the Northern Territory during the war.
Hopefully this helps,
Regards,
Garth
Posted By: D J Duxbury
Date: Friday, 3 August 2001, at 1:59 a.m.
Following "Green cross flights" have RNZAF connections.
Sept 15, 1945, one Zeke 22 flown Kara airstrip (southern Bougainville) to Piva bomber strip by RNZAF Wing Commander W R Kofoed, DSO, DFC . This aircraft still on display in museum, Auckland, NZ.
Also this date (I think) one Jake (E13A1a) flown Rabaul to Jacquinot Bay by RNZAF pilot (S/L R H F Hickson) with RNZAF passenger. Jacquinot Bay is south of Rabaul, on south eastern coast of New Britain. This aircraft developed a leak in one float a few days later, capsizing overnight and being abandoned.
Sept 18th, 1945, three Zeke 52s and one Dinah (Ki-46-II) had flown Rabaul (Vunakanua) to Jacquinot Bay by Japanese pilots (Navy and Army). Escort provided by six RNZAF Corsairs of No.16 Sqdn. At least two of these Zekes were taken to Australia in 1980s and have been used as basis of restorations.
October 14th, 1945, one Kate (B2N2) flown Rabaul (Vunakana) to Jacquinot Bay by Japanese Navy pilot with escort of four RNZAF Corsairs from No.16 Sqdn. Sakae engine of this aircraft is on display at Musum, Kokopo, New Britain.
All these Japanese aircraft were in the white scheme, although Bougainville Zeke had part of original nose (engine cowling) left exposed. These were all the airworthy Japanese aircraft left on New Britain at the end of the war. Photographs of these machines have been published in several books, including those by Henry Sakaida (with best historical coverage), Don Thorpe, and Charles (Bunny) Darby.
Posted By: Don Marsh <marsh44@fuse.net>
Date: Friday, 3 August 2001, at 5:23 p.m.
Hi All;
As promised, a Sally in surrender markings.
Thanks to Griff Murphey for passing this pic on to me.
-Don
Posted By: Ryan Boerema <ryann1k2j@aol.com>
Date: Friday, 3 August 2001, at 12:05 p.m.
I never knew about the Zeke 22 from Bougainville, I wonder what its story was. Sakaida's book shows the Kate being surrendered at Jacquinot Bay, but it's still in green livery in both of the pictures provided (one shows the white Dinah in the background with green cross and red hinomaru).
Posted By: D J Duxbury <dduxbury@inet.net.nz>
Date: Saturday, 4 August 2001, at 6:24 p.m.
Ryan, you are absolutely right, the Kate WAS in the green scheme. This was the only one of these aircraft that I failed to check on before I rushed off that e-mail. Sorry for causing all the confusion. It wore the tail code "302" and, like all the other aircraft mentioned, was a surrendered aircraft rather than "captured".
The Zeke 22 was at Kara airstrip at the time of surrender, being readied for ferrying to Rabaul. It had been built up from several wrecks at Kara in the last few weeks of the war as a sort of morale building exercise as there were still some 60 to 70 Navy technical air personnel in southern Bougainville with nothing much to do. Apparently the only Zeke suitable for such an exercise had suffered major damage at the time of the invasion of Bougainville (November 1943). A Navy pilot (Petty Officer Sekizen Shibayama) was brought to Bougainville by Jake floatplane in late July to ferry the latest addition to Japanese air power south of the equator to join the "Rabaul air force". However the surrender brought a halt to this plan, and Australian forces began occupying former Japanese areas of Bougainville. They soon discovered (to their surprise) this aircraft at Kara and the RNZAF at Piva was informed of its presence. A couple of RNZAF officers including an engineer officer were flown down to look at it on 14th Sept, and after discussions with a Japanese engineer officer and a demonstration of the engine running, this information was relayed back to Piva. The officer Commanding RNZAF Field HQ, Piva (W/C W R Kofoed) decided that the only alternative to flying out the Zeke was to have it dragged down jungle trails and along bombed-out roads to the coast, then have it transported by barge to Torokina around the coast. As the trouble and expense of this could not be justified to save an obsolete Japanese fighter aircraft, something bolder and cheaper was required. Kofoed, a former bomber pilot in the European and Middle East theatres (mostly in Halifax aircraft) was determined to save the Zeke as a memento of the Pacific war, so excused himself from official duties and was flown down to Kara the following day by RAAF Wirraway aircraft. Then after refueling and a quick inspection he took off and made a sedate 30-minute flight up to Piva with the undercarriage in the down position. He was greeted by hundreds of RNZAF personnel waiting at the strip to see a real Japanese aircraft up close for the first time.
After about a month at Piva where it was inspected by all and sundry, the Zeke was loaded onto the Union Steam Ship Company vessel WAHINE and departed Bougainville as deck cargo on 15th October 1945 for the week-long trip to New Zealand. For the trip the prop and tail plane were removed. It was then barged to RNZAF Station Hobsonville and reassembled by some keen types and was soon being run up, although the condition of the tyres caused much concern. Apart from this the aircraft was considered to be in fairly good order, but the lack of any sort of technical publications whatsoever tested their knowledge and experience somewhat. Nevertheless the Zeke was considered very straightforward and most of the technology incorporated was not in the least bit mysterious. The commanding officer of Hobsonville, W/C A E "Bill" Willis then took it upon himself to test the Zeke, so undertook some taxiing trials on the airfield in early December 1945, and it was at this time he also undertook a brief (10 minute?) circuit of the aerodrome one calm evening. I have a letter from Willis and he says that he undertook this flight at his own risk, authority being on his own say so as CO Hobsonville, but he neglected (?) to enter this flight in his logbook. However it seems likely that this flight was made on 12th December 1945. However condition of the tyres was still causing great concern and in early 1946 the RNZAF occupation squadron in Japan (No.14 Sqdn, FG-1D Corsairs) was asked to try and obtain some new ones. However the Allied prohibition on all things military in Japan seems to have engendered a complete lack of interest among the Japanese to anything military and 14 Sqdn came up with nothing. The arrival of New Zealand's first jet at Hobsonville at this time (a Gloster Meteor III) diverted all interest of the technical personnel away from the unlucky Zeke and it was pushed into a hangar and forgotten. Eventually it ended up (in about 1949/50) on the aircraft dump at Hobsonville, and in April 1953 the Government Stores Board asked the RNZAF if the Zeke was to be included in the sale of surplus aircraft at the dump, which included Catalina’s, a few Sunderland IIIs, a Seafire XV and a Fairey Firefly. Although he could not locate the relevant file, an RNZAF officer (bless his heart) was convinced that the Zeke had been promised to the War Memorial Museum in Auckland many years before (it had been, in 1947) and that they were to take delivery of it "when they had the room to display it". On this officer's say so the Zeke was removed from the sale, and was looked after by the RNZAF for several more years before it was finally installed in said Museum in December 1959. This aircraft is probably the only surviving Zeke 22 in anything like reasonably good condition left in the world, although I stand to be corrected on this statement.
The Zeke's tail code (which was revealed for the first time to the RNZAF when the white surrender scheme was scrubbed off at Hobsonville) was 2-182. Recently, in about 1995 I think, the Zeke was given a major spruce up, and it now appears in a somewhat strange new colour "blotched" scheme, of which I am somewhat suspicious. It had apparently been completely repainted at Kara before the surrender in the dark green scheme, and the underlaying scheme was the so-called light grey scheme, although the RNZAF had also painted in a bright blue colour in the mid-1950s for its appearance at the March 1958 21st Anniversary of the RNZAF.
Hope this is of interest to those keen on surviving Japanese WW2 aircraft.
David Duxbury.
Posted By: James F. Lansdale <LRAJIM@aol.com>
Date: Sunday, 5 August 2001, at 9:40 a.m.
Hi David
You write, "The Zeke's [Mitsubishi A6M3, model 22 Zero s/n 3844, et al] tail code (which was revealed for the first time to the RNZAF when the white surrender scheme was scrubbed off at Hobsonville) was 2-182."
Over the years I have had correspondence with Myfanwy EAVES, who has been very much involved with the restoration of this bird and worked at the NZWM Museum. Myf stated that when the paint on the tail was stripped, it actually carried the individual number of [2-152] in yellow. It was difficult to ascertain the provenance of [2-182].
Are you able to shed any light/documentation on the actual call numbers of this Zero prior to capture?
TIA
Jim Lansdale
Posted By: D J Duxbury <dduxbury@inet.net.nz>
Date: Wednesday, 8 August 2001, at 5:02 p.m.
Jim, good to hear from you. If Myf at the NZWM said that they are satisfied that the tail number of this a/c was 2-152 rather then -182, then I will have to accept that, as the only study I made of it (about 15/20 years ago!) it was all painted up in a god awful "pretend" Japanese scheme of grey and green blotches (before that it was painted a lovely bright medium blue!!!). However I cannot really accept the current scheme, as it was suggested by old pilots who had been at Rabaul as well as even less knowledgeable people. Even the fact that most of the instruments were missing was "explained" (again by elderly Zero pilots who were NOT at Bougainville) that this was because they did not need instruments for Kamikaze missions) whereas the REAL reason the instruments are not there is because they were all stolen whilst the aircraft sat on the dump at Hobsonville in the early 1950s! Also to expect an RNZAF pilot to ferry this aircraft from Kara to Piva without ASI, etc, even in clear weather is quite preposterous, not that he could NOT have done it, but it would go against everything he had learned as a pilot of heavy aircraft over previous six years. Operating a totally unfamiliar (foreign) aircraft without benefit of pilot's notes AND no instruments, even one as easy to fly as Zero, is just too much for me to accept. Also the notes from RNZAF records make no mention of any lack of instrumentation of this flight, and if he HAD made the flight in this manner, then it would have become part of popular legend. My father was at Piva when W/C Kofoed arrived, and my uncle was one of those detailed to guard it whilst at Piva and also on the WAHINE on return to NZ. Also I have spoken to the Engineer officer who inspected it at Kara and he made no mention of lack of instruments, and the pilot who flew it at Hobsonville, and again he did not mention any lack of instrumentation. You may notice that I am gently trying to nip another myth in the bud here, but I know that the staff of the Museum believes the "no instruments" story because it was told by an old Zero pilot, and wouldn't he know? Why would he make it up? Of course this is no real reflection on the integrity of this pilot, but he was not there and was probably recalling the atmosphere at Rabaul among surviving pilots in 1945. He would have been postulating that the same atmosphere prevailed at Kara.
Anyway, I always imagined that -182 was a rather high number to have on a lone Zero in Bougainville, although it is possible that this was the number on the wreck before they commenced the rebuild and perhaps they just repainted it after it was completed to make it look nice? When the RNZAF (and Australian Army) first inspected it it was already in the white wash scheme, so only the Japanese would know what it looked like even earlier. However there is a nice photo of it at Hobsonville in December 1945 in what is almost certainly the original Japanese scheme published in the Profile Publication on the A6M3, the only good photo I have ever seen of it.
Dave Duxbury
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