Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah"

Dinah Interior color

 

Posted By: Pablo Maloberti <pablogmalo@speedy.com.ar>

Date: Thursday, 19 September 2002, at 11:53 a.m.

 

I'm about to start building Tamiya's recon Dinah and wonder about interior color.

Acording to Tamiya instructions it's all in a yellow-green mix, including wheel wells. But in an article in an old FSM magazine someone painted the inner fusalege in aotake, and the rest (floor, seats...) in the green mix.

So how should it be? Is Tamiya mix ok for the interior color?

 

For what it's worth/SAC green

 

Posted By: Peter, <f14peter@yahoo.com>

Date: Tuesday, 24 September 2002, at 10:52 a.m.

 

In Response To: Dinah Interior color (Pablo Maloberti)

 

I painted the interior of my recon Dinah with MM enamal SAC bomber green. It's a lighter shade of green, not much saturation, and you might say that it has a hint of yellow.

 

I primarily picked it because; It was close enough for me; It's a different shade of green than it seems like all other planes have; And it was on hand. My dedication to color accuracy (If it's close, it's good enough for me) may not be as high as yours, but I was satisfied with the color.

 

Re: Dinah Interior color

 

Posted By: Grant Goodale <grant.goodale@sympatico.ca>

Date: Thursday, 19 September 2002, at 12:03 p.m.

 

In Response To: Dinah Interior color (Pablo Maloberti)

 

Mikesh lists the interior colour as being between FS 34127 and 34098. Since it is a Mitsubishi aircraft, you could either go with the Tamiya mix or else use ModelMaster Medium Green (FS 34102) straight out of the bottle.

 

or Mr.Color126 *No Text*

 

Posted By: Elephtheriou George <arawasi_g@hotmail.com>

Date: Thursday, 19 September 2002, at 8:32 p.m.

 

In Response To: Re: Dinah Interior color (Grant Goodale)

 

Re: Dinah Interior color

 

Posted By: Dave C. <dvdcl@hotmail.com>

Date: Saturday, 21 September 2002, at 12:48 a.m.

 

In Response To: Dinah Interior color (Pablo Maloberti)

 

Is the Gunze Sangyo FS 34102 Green good also? Or does the Testors Model Master FS 34102 Green a better match? I am also building a Dinah also by the way. About the wheel wells, were they painted interior green also as the Hasagawa kit instructions specify?

 

Re: Dinah Interior color

 

Posted By: Grant Goodale <grant.goodale@sympatico.ca>

Date: Saturday, 21 September 2002, at 7:40 a.m.

 

In Response To: Re: Dinah Interior color (Dave C.)

 

I do not have that Gunze paint so I cannot comment on the colour matching. However, if both paints claim the same FS number, they *should* be very close.

 

I am not sure about the wheel wells but I think that they should be aotake.

 

Re: Dinah Interior color

 

Posted By: Pablo Maloberti <pablogmalo@speedy.com.ar>

Date: Saturday, 21 September 2002, at 11:14 a.m.

 

In Response To: Re: Dinah Interior color (Dave C.)

 

I found this pics of a restored Dinah.

http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/dinahdm_1.htm

Here the wheel wells seem to be painted in aotake.

 

The Color of Dinah! Part 2 *PIC*

 

Posted By: James F. Lansdale <LRAJIM@aol.com>

Date: Sunday, 8 September 2002, at 2:14 p.m.

 

When the First Air Commando Group (then known as the "5318th Provisional Air Unit") arrived in the CBI theater of operations, armorer, J. Buckley ("Buck") RADER, investigated the wreckage of a Mitsubishi Ki-46 II Dinah that had been shot down by RAF Spitfires. One of these Dinahs (shown below) was attached to the No.18 Dokuristsu Hiko Chutai.

 

Editors note: Picture at http://www.j-aircraft.com/jiml/ki-46_2696.jpg

 

Photo: NARA via Buck Rader and LRA.

 

"Buck" souvenired the access door for adjusting the elevator control cable located on the starboard, rear fuselage of the Dinah (as shown in the photograph below, just aft of the so-called "combat stripe"). Note that the round access door has been un-latched and is hanging by the attached chain below the open port.

 

Editors note: Picture at http://www.j-aircraft.com/jiml/ki-46_gasmata_b.jpg

 

Photo: Dr. Charles Darby via LRA.

 

Buck submitted this access door for analysis. It measured 8.8 cm.

 

Editors note: Picture at http://www.j-aircraft.com/jiml/ki-46_2696_cover_a.jpg

 

The outside surface (as shown above) is painted in a gray-green (hairyokushoku) color which is a close match to FS-14201/16350 (Munsell 5 Y 5/2) with gloss black kanji stencils.

 

Editors note: Picture at http://www.j-aircraft.com/jiml/ki-46_2696_cover_b.jpg

 

The inner surface (as shown above) has the letters "SDH" stamped in the metal and it is painted with an opaque, lusterless, dark blue-black primer which is a close match to FS-35042 (Munsell 5 B 2/1).

 

Credit: Special thanks to J. Buckley Rader and Dr. Charles Darby.

 

Re: The Color of Dinah! Errata? *PIC*

 

Posted By: James F. Lansdale <LRAJIM@aol.com>

Date: Monday, 16 September 2002, at 4:50 a.m.

 

In Response To: The Color of Dinah! Part 2 *PIC* (James F. Lansdale)

 

Joe PICARELLA, Senior Technical Artist, Flight International Magazine, wrote to say:

 

"Dear Jim,

...

I saw your interesting items on the Ki-46 on J.A.com. I hope that you do not mind me saying but there are several inaccuracies in the description of the item shown.

 

1. The item that you show is wrongly identified as to it's original location. You show it to be the access door aft of frames station 25 (8,350mm). This is actually the "lifting tube" access point, though to be precise there is no lifting tube fitted to the Ki-46. Instead there are two built-up support 'eyes' fitted to the 'working' face of said frame station 25. These eyes were covered by the standard 'snap catch' door found on the Ki-46...

 

While it is true to say that the trim cables do pass near to the Port side access panel, there are in fact no turnbuckles or adjustable connections within working distance. Only a tufnal fairlead is within reach, but this is a fixed item. Either way, aircraft built earlier and later than the one you are referring to carried the "snap catch" cover at this lifting point.

 

2. The Door that you show is marked as 'Control Cable, Balance Tab, Elevator'. The only location that this would be found on the Ki-46 is on the underside of the tailplane...

 

While I am happy with this location, the paint and type of stencil. The shape and size of this panel does cause me some concern. The aircraft you show, C/n 2696, was well along the production run of 'standardised' K-46's. All aircraft right from the prototype carried a mixture of the 'snap catch' type covers or round (11 cm Dia) covers with 'Dzus' fasteners for most access points. While these evolved and migrated around the aircraft over the years, the type you show, with an extended radius (or nipple) containing a 'Dzus' fastener is something that I have never seen on the Ki-46. I have a photo of the tailplane underside of aircraft C/n 2406, (an earlier aircraft) indicating that the 'snap catches'were fitted.

 

While it is possible that this is in fact from the Ki-46, and this would make an interesting side note to the 'access and panels' section of the book, I am worried by it, especially since it does match a control access cover found on the Ki-51 tail cone."

 

I defer to Joe, who knows far more than I about Dinah's anatomy! (;>)

 

Buck RADER may have been mistaken about the aircraft type he souvenired in Burma.

 

Editors note: Picture at http://www.j-aircraft.com/jiml/ki-51_70fcs.jpg

 

If this access cover came from a Ki-51, a Mitsubishi product, then the colors are still indicative of the color application as used by that firm (shown above; Ki-51 assigned to No.70 Fcs, Hollandia, New Guinea, photo by D.G. Cooper via LRA).

 

However, I am still puzzled by the "holes" (shown in the view below) forward of the hanging cover and the larger one in front of the "combat stripe".

 

Where either of these the "trestle here" openings?

 

The cover I scanned may have come from some other location on the Dinah, perhaps under the horizontal tail plane.

 

Thank you Joe and I look forward to your book about Dinah "with the finah linah"!

 

Credit: AWM via Dr. Charles Darby and LRA

 

Editors note: Picture at http://www.j-aircraft.com/jiml/ki-46_gasmata_b.jpg

 

Re: The Color of Dinah! Errata?

 

Posted By: Joe Picarella <joe.picarella@rbi.co.uk>

Date: Monday, 16 September 2002, at 8:26 a.m.

 

In Response To: Re: The Color of Dinah! Errata? *PIC* (James F. Lansdale)

 

While I am happy with this "in-field" promotion, the real editor of Flight international, my boss would no doubt be shocked to hear of my promotion and his fall from grace!

 

Re your concern over the rear fuselage apertures and the "trestle here" markings, the prior mentioned frame station 25, acted as the rear fuselage trestle frame.

The fact that the "trestle here" marking is in front of said aperture stems from the fact that the lifting "eyes" were mounted on the working face of this frame, which in the case of frame station 25 is the rear face.

The "trestle here" stencil is therefore directly on top of the frame centre line, with the centre radius of the lifting "eye" (and therefore the centre of the access panel for the lifting "eye") located 10cm aft of this "working" face.

 

In the field, maintenance crews had the option to sit the aircraft on a support stand, positioned under the "trestle here" markings. Alternately, with the use of a lifting tube and two jacks they could have suspended the aircraft through the lifting tube "eyes".

 

The panel you scanned could have come from a K-46, but I have never seen this shape of closing panel on other Ki-46 aircraft, be them model-I, -II or -III, and as mentioned in the earlier email all standard access/working panels are approximately 11cm in size.

It is of course entirely possible that the standard "snap catch" cover was lost, and a fast fix Ki-51 panel was applied to this individual aircraft.

The fact that this panel is very small is still worrying, as any ground crew worth his salt could have fabricated at short notice a panel for this access point, in a matter of 1 hour or so?

 

Senior Technical Artist

Flight International Magazine

(Established 1909)

 

The Color of Dinah! Part 1 *PIC*

 

Posted By: James F. Lansdale <LRAJIM@aol.com>

Date: Sunday, 8 September 2002, at 12:56 p.m.

 

Until recently, the true colors of the Mitsubishi Ki-46 II Dinah have been confined to color photographs of captured Dinahs, such as the view below provided by the late Al MAKIEL of one at Clark Airfield in 1945.

 

Editors note: Picture at http://www.j-aircraft.com/jiml/ki-46_clarkfield.jpg

 

Photo: Albert F. Makiel via LRA

 

Dr. Charles "Bunny" DARBY provided the following photograph of a No.10 Hiko Sentai Dinah captured at Gasmata, New Britain I. by Australian troops:

 

Editors note: Picture at http://www.j-aircraft.com/jiml/ki-46_gasmata.jpg

 

Photo: AWM via Charles Darby

 

During the 1970's Dr. DARBY discovered and studied many derelict Japanese aircraft in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. On But Airfield, New Guinea, he examined the remains of a Ki-46 II, s/n 2406, which had been assigned to No.76 Dokuristsu Hiko Chutai (76 Fcs).

 

Editors note: Picture at http://www.j-aircraft.com/jiml/ki-46_2406_but_a.jpg

 

Photo: (c) Dr. Charles Darby via LRA

 

DARBY observed that this Dinah had been painted overall gray-green (hairyokushoku) and that a dark green "squiggle" pattern of camouflage had been field-applied over all upper surfaces. The gray-green finish had oxidized to a blue-gray powder in many places. He removed the all-metal rudder trim tab and submitted it for analysis by this author and James I. LONG.

 

Editors note: Picture at http://www.j-aircraft.com/jiml/ki-46_2406_but_b.jpg

 

Photo: (c) James I. Long via LRA

 

See details below of the yellow stripe, which had been applied by a coarse brush, over the trim tab and note the gray-green surface protected from oxidation/weathering by the coat of yellow paint which had cracked and peeled to reveal this layer of paint:

 

Editors note: Picture at http://www.j-aircraft.com/jiml/ki-46_2406_76fc_relic_b.jpg

Editors note: Picture at http://www.j-aircraft.com/jiml/ki-46_2406_76fc_relic_c.jpg

 

The color of this Dinah was analyzed to have been an overall, factory-applied gray-green (hairyokushoku), which, today, was a close match to FS-16350 (Munsell 5Y 6/2).

 

There was a field applied dark-green "squiggle" pattern over the top surfaces which was a close match to FS-34094 (Munsell 7.5 GY 3/2).

 

The yellow stripe of the No.76 Fcs unit marking was greatly faded. The yellow stripe, in its darkest hue, was a close match to FS-33538 (Munsell 10 YR 7/14).

 

Earth Brown paint for Dinah III ?

 

Posted By: Rob Killick <rkillick@mb.sympatico.ca>

Date: Tuesday, 6 August 2002, at 6:32 p.m.

 

I'm hoping to build a Dinah III (Tamiya) 1/48 , but I'm somewhat at a loss as to what type , or who makes a suitable "Earth Brown" for the particular A/C I want to do .

 

Re: Earth Brown paint for Dinah III ?

 

Posted By: Mike Cavel <mcavel@tconl.com>

Date: Wednesday, 7 August 2002, at 9:31 p.m.

 

In Response To: Earth Brown paint for Dinah III ? (Rob Killick)

 

Steve Hustad, a contibutor to Fine Scale Modeler and a frequent winner in many categories at the IPMS nationals, recommended to me Humbrol #160 for the topside brown on a Ki-46III and Humbrol #28 for the underside gray. I haven't built Tamiya Dinah yet, but that's what I'll use.

 

Chokkyo and Dinah Ops in Malaya

 

Posted By: Nick Millman

Date: Tuesday, 30 July 2002, at 12:09 a.m.

 

The "Nitawara Flight Unit" received a citation for its army air co-operation work during the Malayan campaign. I presume Nitawara was the commander but does anyone know which Chokkyo unit this citation referred to? Was it the 83rd Independent Hikotai (consisting of 71st, 73rd and 89th Independent Chutai)?

 

In his memoirs of the campaign Masanobu Tsuji also refers to the "Miyashi air-military co-operation squadron" (sic), presumably another Chokkyo unit and said to be "under the command" of Staff Officer Kawashima, senior staff officer of the "3rd Air Group" (sic - Division). Can anyone help identify the Miyashi squadron?

 

Before the outbreak of war Tsubi flew a clandestine reconnaissance flight over Northern Malaya, taking off from Saigon in a Ki-46, with the hinomaru painted out, piloted by Captain Ikeda (49th Class at military college). At the time the 81st Sentai and 51st Independent Chutai were equipped with the Ki-46 and said to be based at Phnom Penh - the 50th Independent Chutai also operated the Ki-46 from Konpong Trach. Does anyone know which of these units was detached to the Air Divisional HQ and/or provided the aircraft and pilot for Tsubi's flight?

 

Oops! For Tsubi read Tsuji! *No Text*

 

Posted By: Nick Millman

Date: Tuesday, 30 July 2002, at 12:13 a.m.

 

In Response To: Chokkyo and Dinah Ops in Malaya (Nick Millman)