THE JET AGE RESERVE COLLECTION

JAPANESE AIRCRAFT AT DISPERSAL

As the 150mm depth of the shelves precluded most 1/72 scale twin (and larger single) engined aircraft, the opportunity was taken to field some of the small models that have had little or no public airing since the Jet Age Museum left Staverton in 2000.

For an overview of the Jet Age Reserve Model Collection aircraft at dispersal and in-depth discussion of some of the American built aircraft involved click on the picture above.

Indeed, the Oscar was designed to a set of similar specifications as those of the Zero, but it was more lightweight - but even less rugged - than its naval counterpart. Known for its nimble handling and legendary for its performance in East Asia in the early years of the war, the Ki-43 was designed by Hideo Itokawa, who would later become famous as a pioneer of Japanese rocketry. Although the manoeuverability of the Oscar was quite good, some Japanese pilots complained that it was less maneuverable than the Ki-27 "Nate". This was remedied by the addition of a butterfly flap in the wings, but some pilots still complained.

The total production of the Ki-43 was 5919 aircraft.

The Ki-43 was the most widely-used Army fighter, and equipped 30 sentai (groups) and 12 chutais (squadrons). The first version, Mark I, entered service in 1941, the Mark II in December 1942, the II-Kai in June 1943, and the Mark IIIa in summer 1944.

Like the Zero, the Ki-43 initially enjoyed air superiority in the skies of Malaya, Dutch East Indies, Burma and New Guinea. This was partly to do with the better performance of the Japanese fighters and the small numbers of Allied fighters, mostly the Curtiss P-36 and P-40, Brewster Buffalo, Hawker Hurricane and Curtiss-Wright CW 21 in Asia and the Pacific during the first months of the war.

However, as the war progressed, the fighter suffered from the same weaknesses as the Ki-27 and the Mitsubishi Zero; light armour and less-than-effective self-sealing tanks, which caused high casualties in combat. Its armament of two machine guns also proved inadequate against the more heavily armoured Allied aircraft. As newer Allied aircraft were introduced, such as the Vought Corsair and Grumman Hellcat, the Japanese were forced into a defensive war and most aircraft were flown by inexperienced pilots.

The Ki-43 also served in an air defense role over Formosa , Okinawa and the Japanese home islands. Some examples were supplied to the pro-Japanese countries of Thailand and Manchukuo as well. The Thai units sometimes fought against the USAAF in southern China.

Hayabusas were well liked in the Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF) because of the pleasant flight characteristics and excellent manouevreability, and almost all JAAF fighter aces claimed victories with Hayabusa in some part of their career. At the end of the war most Hayabusa units received Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate ("Frank") fighters, but some units flew the Hayabusa to the end of the war. The top scorer with Hayabusa was Sgt. Satoshi Anabuki with 59 victories.

After the war some examples served in limited numbers in the French Air Force in Indochina against communist rebels.

As the war in the Pacific progressed however, Zeros were painted in the Black Green of the model seen in the cabinet and yellow identification stripes were applied to wing leading edges from 1943 to the end of 1944. The simple red disc of the Hinnemaru also gained a white edge, just as the RAF Roundel was to evolve over the years. From 1942, the mottled scheme seen on the two mysterious Japanese aircraft began to appear although the dark grey or black cowlings on the radial engines continued to minimise glare for the pilots