Warplanes of Japan: Nakajima

Nakajima Warplanes

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Nakajima A4N1-K carrier based fighter used by the IJNAF.  (IJNAF Photos)

Nakajima E8N ship-borne, catapult-launched, reconnaissance seaplane of the Second Sino-Japanese War.  It was a single-engine, two-seat biplane with a central main-float and underwing outriggers.  During the Pacific War, it was known to the Allies by the reporting name "Dave".  (IJNAF Photos)

Nakajima Ki-27 (Kyunana-shiki sentoki)  Type 97 Fighter.  The Ki-27 was the main fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force up until 1940.  Its Allied code name was "Nate", although it was called "Abdul" in the "China Burma India" (CBI) theater by many post war sources.  Allied Intelligence had reserved that name for the nonexistent Mitsubishi Navy Type 97 fighter, expected to be the successor to the Type 96 carrier-borne A5M with retractable landing gear and an enclosed cockpit.  One is preserved in the Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum, Japan.  The Mansyu Ki-79  was a trainer version of the Ki-27.  A Mansyu Ki-79 is preserved at the Satria Mandala Armed Forces Museum, Jakarta, Indonesia.

(CC-BY-SA 3.0 Photo)

Nakajima Ki-27 on display in the Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum, Japan.

(Josephus37 Photo)

Nakajima Ki-27 replica, Tokorozawa Aviation Museum, Tokorozawa, Japan.

Nakajima Ki-43-II Hayabusa, code-named Oscar, IJAAF.  (IJAAF Photos)

Nakajima Ki-43-I Hayabusa, XJ002, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in 1943.  After its capture at Hollandia in New Guinea, it was rebuilt by the Technical Air Intelligence Unit (TAIU) in Hangar 7 at Eagle Farm, Brisbane, Australia.  (USAAF Photo)

Nakajima Ki-43-II Hayabusa codenamed "Oscar", TAIU-SWPA, XJ004, "Racoon Special", Hollandia and Australia.  This aircraft was shipped to the USA, arriving at NAS Alameda, California.  Its ultimate fate is unknown.  (USAAF Photos)

Nakajima Ki-43-II Hayabusa codenamed "Oscar", TAIU-SWPA, XJ005, 84th Aerodrome Squadron.  This aircraft was shipped to the USA, arriving at NAS Alameda, California.  Its ultimate fate is unknown.  (USAAF Photos)

Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa, codenamed "Oscar", post-war.  (USAAF Photo)

Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa, codenamed Oscar, possibly XJ002, Ki-43-II XJ004 or Ki-43-II XJ005 wearing USAAF markings post war in the USA.  One came to the USA, Ki-43 (Serial No. 6430), designated USAAF FE-6430.  This aircraft was on display in the EAA Museum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  It is currently displayed in the Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona.  (USAAF Photo)

(Stumanusa Photo)

Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa (Serial No. 6430), designated USAAF FE-6430, on display in the Pima Air and Space Museum, Arizona.

Nakajima Ki-43 II, P-5017, Chinese Air Force post war.  (Chinese Air Force Photos)

(Ogrebot Photo)

(STA3816 Photo)

Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa on display in the Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots, Minamikyushu, Kagoshima, Japan.

Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa on display in the Museum Dirgantara Udara Yogyakarta, Indonesia.  (Davidelit Photo)

(Articseahorse Photos)

(John Veit Photos)

Nakajima Ki-43-I Hayabusa (Serial No. 750), codenamed "Oscar" was found in dense jungle 6 km from Vunakanau airfield, Rabaul, in September 1945.  This plane entered service in January 1943 and went to Truk as part of the 1st and 11th Sentai.  Later it was moved to serve at Rabaul, New Britain.  The plane had severe front-end damage from its final landing, but was repaired by Japanese servicemen with parts salvaged from a number of other Ki-43s.  It was then forwarded to Australia for the Australian War Memorial.  It was sold in 1954 to New Zealand and is today (airworthy) on display at the Flying Heritage Collection, Everett, Washington.

(Valder137 Photos)

Nakajima Ki-43-IIb Hayabusa (Oscar), Tillamook, Oregon.

(Articseahorse Photos)

(Goshimini Photo)

Nakajima Ki-43-IIb, Seattle Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington

(Alan Wilson Photos)

(Mike1979 Russia Photos)

Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa. This aircraft was rebuilt using the remains from a crash site.  The wing, engine and prop, at least, are genuine. It wears the markings of the 54th Sentai, which it served with on Shumshu island. Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Victory Park, Moscow.

Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa, owned by The Fighter Collection, Duxford, England and awaiting restoration.

Nakajima Ki-43-II Hayabusa, currently on display at the Museum Dirgantara Udara Yogyakarta.

Former ZK-OSC restored to flying condition by the Alpine Fighter Collection in the 1990s, not currently flying.  

Nakajima Ki-43-IIIb, four aircraft are under restoration/rebuild at the Texas Airplane Factory, Meacham Field, Fort Worth, Texas.

Nakajima Ki-44-1a Shoki Army Type 2 single-seat Fighter Model 1A, codenamed “Tojo”, at Akino Army training field, Japan.  (IJAAF Photos)

Nakajima Ki-44-1I Shoki Army Type 2 single-seat Fighter Model 1A, codenamed “Tojo”.  (IJAAF Photos)

Nakajima Ki-44-1I Shoki Army Type 2 single-seat Fighter Model 1A, codenamed “Tojo”, in camouflage.  This a late-war production aircraft with individual exhaust stacks still in IJAAF camouflage with the partially over-painted emblem of a former operator the 70th Sentai on the rudder.  It has separate cowl flaps.  This aircraft is possibly USAAF FE-303, scrapped at Park Ridge ca. 1950, or FE-307, also scrapped in the USA.  (USAAF Photo)

(USAAF Photos)

Nakajima Ki-44-1a (Army Type 2 single-seat Fighter Model 1A Shoki), (Serial No. 2068), codenamed “Tojo”, in the Philippines in TAIU-SWPA S11, USAAF markings.  It is shown here being tested by TAIU-SWPA at Clark Field in the Philippines in 1945 in natural metal finish with pre-war rudder stripes.  The uncoded serial number of this aircraft was 1068 and it was manufactured in July 1944.   This aircraft crashed at Clark Field in the Philippines.  (USAAF Photos).  No complete surviving examples of the Ki-44 exist.  However a wing center section is preserved at the Northwestern Polytechnic University Aviation Museum, Xian, China.

Nakajima Ki-49 Donryu (Storm Dragon), codenamed Helen, in IJAAF service.  (IJAAF Photos)

Nakajima Ki-49 Donryu (Storm Dragon), codenamed Helen, in IJAAF service and with green surrender crosses.  Three Ki-49 Donryu were brought to the USA for flight testing.  Ki-49 USAAF FE-1703 and FE-1704 were scrapped at Middletown, and FE-1705 was scrapped at Newark.  (USAAF Photo)

(Acred99 Photos 1-3)

Nakajima Ki-49 Hellen, wreck on Papua New Guinea.

Nakajima Navy Type 0 Transport and Showa Navy Type 0 Transport, license-built version of the Douglas DC-3.  The L2D series, numerically, was the most important Japanese transport in the war.  The L2D was given the Allied code name Tabby.  This Showa/Nakajima L2D2 was captured in 1945.  (USN Photos)

Nakajima Navy Type 0 Transport and Showa Navy Type 0 Transport, license-built versions of the Douglas DC-3.  The L2D series, numerically, was the most important Japanese transport in the war.  The L2D was given the Allied code name Tabby.  This Showa/Nakajima L2D2 is at Zamboanga in USAAF markings in 1945.  (USN Photos)

Nakajima J1N Gekko, codenamed Irving in IJNAF service.  (IJNAF Photo)

Nakajima J1N1-S Gekko (Serial No. 7334), USAAF FE-700, later T2-700, in the USA post war.  This aircraft is now on display in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Centre, Chantilly, Virginia.  (USAAF Photos)

(Azu Photo)

(Ruhrfisch Photo)

(Sturmvogel 66 Photo)

Nakajima J1N1-S Gekko (Serial No. 7334), USAAF FE-700, later T2-770, restored and on display in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia.

The Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (キ84 疾風, lit. "Gale") is a single-seat fighter flown by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in the last two years of the Second World War. The Allied reporting name was "Frank"; the Japanese Army designation was Army Type 4 Fighter (四式戦闘機, yon-shiki-sentō-ki). The Ki-84 is generally considered the best Japanese fighter to operate in large numbers during the conflict. The aircraft boasted high speed and excellent maneuverability with an armament (up to two 30 mm and two 20 mm cannon) that gave it formidable firepower. The Ki-84's performance matched that of any single-engine Allied fighter it faced, and its operational ceiling enabled it to intercept high-flying B-29 Superfortress bombers.[4] Pilots and crews in the field learned to take care with the plane's high-maintenance Nakajima Homare engine and landing gear prone to buckling. The difficulties of Japan's situation late in the war took a toll on the aircraft's field performance as manufacturing defects multiplied, good quality fuel proved difficult to procure, and experienced pilots grew scarce. Nevertheless, a well-maintained Ki-84 was Japan's fastest fighter. A total of 3,514 aircraft were built. (Wikipedia)

(IJAAF Photo)

Nakajima Ki-84 Type 4 Hayate (1st additional prototype #124) of the Army Air Inspection Section, Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, 1943.

(IJAAF Photo)

The first major operational involvement of the Ki-84 was during the battle of Leyte at the end of 1944, and from that moment until the end of the Pacific war the Ki-84 was deployed wherever the action was intense. The 22nd Sentai re-equipped with production Hayates. Though it lacked sufficient high-altitude performance, it performed well at medium and low levels. Seeing action against the USAAF 14th Air Force, it quickly gained a reputation as a combat aircraft to be reckoned with. Fighter-bomber models also entered service. On 15 April 1945, 11 Hayates attacked US airfields on Okinawa, destroying many aircraft on the ground. (Wikipedia)

(IJAAF Photos)

Nakajima Ki-84 Type 4 Hayate.

(USAAF Photo)

Nakajima Ki-84, Nakajima Ki-43 fighter planes on an Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) base post-war. 1946.

(USAAF Photo)

Nakajima Ki-84, Nakajima Ki-43 fighter planes on an Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) base, Chofu Sentai, post-war. 1946.

(USAAF Photo)

Nakajima Ki-84 wreck on Okinawa, 1945/

(IJAAF Photos)

Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Serial No. 1446), Army Type 4 Fighter, codenamed Frank.

(USAAF Photos)

Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate "White 46” left on the Clark Field airbase, Luzon, Philippines.

(Australian War Memorial Photo)

Nakajima Ki-84 1A, “Frank” Fighter, coded 302.

(USAAF Photo)

Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Serial No. 1446), Army Type 4 Fighter, codenamed Frank, captured in the Philippines, possibly before being painted as TAIC-SWPA, S17 at Clark Field, 1945.

(USN Photo)

Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Serial No. 1446), TAIU-SWPA S17 being transported by the aircraft carrier USS Long Island to the USA post war.  It was test flown TAIU-SWPA at Clark Field in the Philippines in 1945.  It is shown here in natural metal finish with pre-war rudder stripes.  This aircraft had a long post-war career in various spurious finishes including an appearance in the 1954 film "Never So Few".  It was eventually returned to Japan and is now displayed in the markings of its former operator the 11th Sentai.

(USAAF Photo)

Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Gale, allied code name "Frank"), S17 of the Technical Air Intelligence Unit SWPA. This Ki-84 was found at an abandoned airfield in Luzon, Philippines, after the U.S. recapture of the island in January 1945. The first aircraft of this type was disovered on the island of Leyte. This aircraft was operated by the Technical Air Intelligence Unit, South West Pacific Area (SWPA) located at Clark Field, Luzon (Philippines), from the end of January 1945.

(USAAF Photos)

Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Serial No. 1446), Army Type 4 Fighter, codenamed Frank, captured in the Philippines and test flown by TAIC-SWPA, S17 at Clark Field.  This aircraft was shipped to the USA.  Sold to a civilian, it bore Reg No. N3385G.  Restored, this aircraft was returned to Japan and is now on display at the Peace Museum, Chiran.  

After the war a number of Ki-84 aircraft were tested by the allied forces, two at the Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit - South-West Pacific Area (ATAIU-SWPA) as S10 and S17 and a further two in the United States as FE-301 and FE-302 (Later T2-301 and T2-302), scrapped at Park Ridge, ca. 1950.

(USAAF Photos)

Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate, FE-302, Wright Patterson Field Ohio, 23 May 1946.

FE-302 was one of two (Serial Nos. 2366 and 3060) captured at Utsunomiya, Japan, near the end of the war. They were shipped on board USS Barnes (CVE-20) from Yokosuka to the US on 3 November 1945. On 7 December 1945 they were handed to the USAAF, the Office of Air Force Intelligence assigned the Foreign Evaluation numbers "FE-301" and "FE-302". "FE-302" flew for the first time in the US from Middletown Air Depot, Pennsylvania, USA, on 16 March 1946. Delivered to Patterson Field, Ohio, USA, on 20 May 1946, it was transferred to the adjacent Wright Field. It was flown to the foreign aircraft storage area at Orchard Place Airport, Park Ridge, Illinois, USA on 3 July 1946 for storage. The Air Force turned over all assets at Park Ridge to the National Air Museum in 1949, "FE-302" was restored to flying condition by 1963, and returned to Japan in 1973.

(SDASM Photo)

Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate, on display at Chino, California.

(SDASM Photo)

Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate.

(RuthAS Photo)

Nakajima Ki-84 (Serial No. 1446), TAIU S17, following an extensive restoration in the USA and before its return to Japan, ca 1970.  This aircraft was operated and flown by the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California, Reg No. N3385G, before being returned to Japan for display at the Arashiyama Museum in Kyoto.  This aircraft is now exhibited at the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Frank),Tokko Heiwa Kinen-kan Museum, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.  It is the only surviving Ki-84.

(Goshimini Photo)

Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Frank), Tokko Heiwa Kinen-kan Museum, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.

(Bouquey Photos)

Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Frank), Tokko Heiwa Kinen-kan Museum, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.

(Yonezawa-Shi, Yamagata Photo)

Nakajima Ki-84 (Army Type 4 Fighter) Mockup.

(Asisbiz Photo)

Nakajima Ki 84 Kuomintang Air Force markings, 1945.

(USN Photo)

Tachikawa Ki-106, a derivative of the Ki-84. Prototype, constructed mainly out of wood. 3 Built.

Nakajima Ki-87 high-altitude fighter interceptor.  Only a single prototype was competed.  This aircraft was shipped to the USA, where it was designated USAAF FE-155.  It was scrapped at Middletown in 1946.  (IJAAF Photos)

Nakajima Ki-115 Tsurugi (Sabre) one-man kamikaze aircraft developed by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in the closing stages of the war in late 1945.  The Imperial Japanese Navy called this aircraft T?ka (Wisteria Blossom).  An example of the Ki-115 (Serial No. 1002), USAAF FE-156 is stored in the Garber Facility of the National Air and Space Museum, in disassembled condition; another, once displayed as a gate guardian at Yokota Air Base, is reportedly at a Japanese museum.  (USAAF Photos)

Nakajima B5N1 torpedo bomber code-named Kate.  

(IJNAF Photo)

Nakajima B5N1 torpedo bomber code-named "Kate" taking off from the Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier Zuikaku to attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941.

Nakajima B5N2 (Navy Type 97 Carrier Attack Bomber Model 1), codename “Kate.  (USN Photos)

Nakajima B5N2 Kate, green cross surrender markings.  (USN Photo)

Nakajima B5N2 Kate, No. 302, RNZAF, captured in Sep 1945 at Rabaul.  (RNZAF Photo)

(USAAF Photos)

Nakajima B5N2 Navy Type 97 Carrier Attack Bomber Model 1, (Serial No. 2194), codenamed “Kate”, TAIC 6 flying out of NAS Anacostia.  This aircraft was scrapped in 1946.

 (IJNAF Photo)

Nakajima B6N2 in IJNAF service.

Nakajima B6N2 Tenzan (Serial No. 5350), codenamed "Jill", TAIC-SWPA S19, at NAS Anacosta flight tested by US Navy personnel of the TAIC (Technical Air Intelligence Center) after the war. This aircraft was designated USAAF FE-1200.  It is stored with the NASM.  (USAAF Photos)

(www.J-aircraft Photo)

Nakajima B6N Tenzan (Heavenly Mountain), Allied reporting name Jill), the Imperial Japanese Navy's standard carrier-borne torpedo bomber during the final years of the Second World War.  Today only one B6N2 (Serial No. 5350), FE-1200, remains in existence and it is stored at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.  It consists of the fuselage and its engine/propeller (separate) and a vertical stabilizer.  The location of the horizontal surfaces is unconfirmed, however as the aircraft was intact at one time, it is possible that the wings are stored separately.

Nakajima C6N1 Saiun night-fighter variant 30 mm cannon installed type, June 1945, Atsugi Naval Air Base.  (IJNAF Photo)

Nakajima C6N1 Saiun (Iridescent Cloud) carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service, codenamed "Myrt".  Advanced for its time, it was the fastest carrier-based aircraft put into service by Japan during the war.  (IJNAF Photo)

Nakajima C6N1 Saiun (Iridescent Cloud) carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service, codenamed "Myrt".  At least four Nakajima C6N Saiun came to the USA, (Serial No. 4161), USAAF FE-4803 is currently stored with the NASM, FE-4804 was scrapped at Wright Field, FE-4808 was scrapped at Newark, and FE-4809 was scrapped at Middletown.  (USAAF Photos)

Nakajima G8N1 Renzan, heavy bomber (code named Rita), taken as a war prize following the Japanese surrender and painted in United States Army Air Forces markings, USAAF FE-2210.  This aircraft was scrapped at Wright-Patterson AFB.  (USAAF Photos)

Nakajima J9Y Kikka (Orange Blossom), Japan's first jet-powered aircraft, was developed late in the war and the first prototype had only flown once before the end of the conflict.  It was also called K?koku Nig? Heiki (Imperial Weapon No.2).  (IJAAF Photo)

(USN Photos)

Nakajima J9Y Kikka at Patuxent River Navy Base, Maryland, 1946.  After the war, airframes 3, 4, and 5 (and possibly other partial airframes) were brought to the USA for study. Only one example survives in the National Air and Space Museum: a Kikka that was taken to the Patuxent River Navy Base   for analysis. This aircraft is very incomplete and is believed to have been patched together from a variety of semi-completed airframes.  Parts of this aircraft are on display in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Centre.

(FlugKerl2 Photo)

(Mike Peel Photo)

Nakajima J9Y Kikka on display inside the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Museum, Chantilly, Virginia.

Nakajima A6M2-N, Navy Type 2 Interceptor/Fighter-Bomber, single-crew floatplane codenamed "Rufe", based on the Mitsubishi A6M Zero Model 11.  (IJNAF Photos)

Nakajima A6M2-N floatplane, ATAIU, in French hands. At the end of the war France attempted to consolidate its interests in the Far East, including French Indochina (Vietnam).  This Mitsubishi A6M2-N Rufe was photographed at Cat Lai in 1946.  The Rufe was a single-seat float seaplane based on the Mitsubishi A6M Zero Model 11.  This was the last A6M2-N in Japanese military service, recovered by the French forces in Indochina in 1946.  It crashed shortly after this photo was taken, killing the pilot.  (Armee de l'Air Photos)

(USAAF Photos)

Nakajima J5N1 Tenrai experimental fighter developed from the J1N1 (no Allied reporting name).  This aircraft did not enter production, but two prototypes were shipped to the USA.  Their final disposition is unknown.

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