Editors note: A word of caution is appropriate. Many of the threads in the Nats Project message board tend to digress more than the threads on other message boards. The reader is advised to check the other threads in the Nats Project when looking for information about a specific topic such as paint schemes or specific aircraft types.

 

Pearl Harbor Unit Organization/Codes/Style *PIC*

 

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

Date: Saturday, 28 October 2000, at 4:18 a.m.

 

At the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, Japanese carrier-borne aviation was organized into Kokusentai composed of two, approximately equal size, carrier-based hikokitai each divided into fighter, dive-bomber, and attack aircraft units (tactically called hiko chutai and administratively called hiko buntai). The three Kokusentai in the Pearl Harbor attack were coded as follows:

No.1 Kokusentai: AKAGI hikokitai [AI-...] and KAGA hikokitai [AII-...]

No.2 Kokusentai: SORYU hikokitai [BI-...] and HIRYU hikokitai [BII-...]

No.5 Kokusentai: SHOKAKU hikokitai [EI-...] and ZUIKAKU hikokitai [EII-]

The first carrier hikokitai of each kokusentai was designated by a Roman style I and the second by the Roman style II.

PLEASE NOTE: The painters on each carrier took liberties in rendering the Roman numerals. Examples of these carrier hikokitai designators are evident sans serif or with a single serif at the top and a double serif at the bottom (like the Arabic 1) or even double serif at the top and bottom. Photos must be studied carefully to accurately depict the style to be replicated.

Two examples follow:

AKAGI Style (from a Hickam AFB file clipping, Al MAKIEL Collection)

HIRYU Style (NARA Photo 80-G-22162)

[Editors note: The image is not replicated in the FAQs]

 

Re: P.H. Unit Organization/HIRYU Style Code *PIC*

 

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

Date: Saturday, 28 October 2000, at 4:23 a.m.

 

In Response To: Pearl Harbor Unit Organization/Codes/Style *PIC* (James F. Lansdale)

 

HIRYU style unit code application. All letters and numerals were red (FS-11136) on Zeros and Vals.

[Editors note: The image is not replicated in the FAQs]

 

Re: P.H. Unit Organization/HIRYU Style Code

 

Posted By: Tim Hortman <thortman@epix.net>

Date: Saturday, 28 October 2000, at 7:15 a.m.

 

In Response To: Re: P.H. Unit Organization/HIRYU Style Code *PIC* (James F. Lansdale)

 

Is it me or do the Hiryu "I"'s look like "1"'s? I thought that they were I's, but I can see no difference between the code letter and the number 'one' just after (other than the 'one' is 'fatter'.)

Any thoughts?

 

Re: P.H. Unit Organization/HIRYU Style Code *PIC*

 

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

Date: Saturday, 28 October 2000, at 7:39 a.m.

 

In Response To: Re: P.H. Unit Organization/HIRYU Style Code (Tim Hortman)

 

Yup! There was little consistency even on a single carrier!

Take a look at the Larry HICKEY photo of the starboard side of the HIRANO Zero [AI-154].

[Editors note: The image is not replicated in the FAQs]

 

Re: P.H. Unit Organization/HIRYU Style Code

 

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

Date: Saturday, 28 October 2000, at 7:29 a.m.

 

In Response To: Re: P.H. Unit Organization/HIRYU Style Code (Tim Hortman)

Earlier, I had posted a question about the fonts used in the tail codes. Dave Aiken posted a photo of a crashed PH A6M2. I believe that the tail code was AI-154 but I could be wrong. One one side, a serif font was used but a sans-serif font was used on the other side! I talked with Tennesses Katsuta about this and he pointed out that the crews who painted the tail codes probably had no knowledge of the English alphabet or its usage so issues like this could very easily arise. Since trhe painting was done in crowded hangar decks and they had a few other things to do readying for the attack, discrepencies should be the norm.

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