Yet More Hayate Thoughts ~ The Non Standard Schemes Part One

The star-spangled Hayate of Corporal Noburo Naito was brought to attention in the West by the Richard Ward profile (below) which appeared in the Aircam Aviation Series book of 1971 - 'Nakajima Ki.84a/b Hayate in Japanese Army Air Force Service'. It later appeared, similarly presented in a solid dark green colour scheme, in the splendid cover painting by artist Otto Kuhni for Scale Modeler magazine of September 1972  (above), depicting it as the furthest of two hard climbing Hayate of the interesting 520th Rinji Bôju Sentai, one of the few Hayate units to actually qualify as B-29 interceptors. According to an earlier Japanese reference book 'Japanese Military Aircraft and Air War' Vol.4 Corporal Noburu Naito of the Kurata tai (possibly Kurai tai? - see below) had shot down one B-29 and damaged  two.

The 520th originated in the 1st Rensei Hikotai (Operational Training Unit), also coded as the Tobu (Eastern) 133rd unit or Kon (Dark Blue) 520th unit. According to Yoji Watanabe the unit was formed from the 1st Rensei Hikotai at Sagami (now Nakatsu) in Kanagawa on 22nd July 1944 for operational training and to provide an air defence interception capability using shotai (flights) led by instructors and composed of the most talented student pilots fresh from flying schools. The unit had about 100 pilots, mostly 18-19 years old  with "student pilot" Sergeant rank. It was commonly referred to as the 520th Rinji Bôju Sentai (臨時傍受戦隊) meaning  temporary (or special, extraordinary) air defence (interception) unit. The unit was mainly equipped with the Ki-84 but also operated the Ki-27 and Ki-43. After January 1945 they engaged briefly in air defence interceptions but from March they were re-organised into tokubetsu kôgeki tai (usually abbreviated as tokkô tai ) special attack units for the battle of Okinawa (hence the eagle and bomb emblem on the Ki-84 in Mr Kuhni's painting). 

According to Allied intelligence sources the 1st Rensei Hikotai had been formed in April 1944 to provide operational (or advanced) fighter training with Ki-54, Ki-55 and Ki-79 (Mansyu Type 2 advanced trainer) aircraft. The training unit came under the 102nd Kyoiku Hikodan (Training Air Division) headquartered at Gifu and was also noted as using Kagamigahara airfield. From July to August 1945 the 1st was noted as  "training NCO pilots on fighters and light bombers under 52d FDk."  The 10th May 1945 intelligence summary (page II-9) recorded that virtually all of the fighter Rensei Hikotai "are largely equipped with combat type aircraft" and that many "have been used tactically for convoy escort, anti-submarine patrol and interception." According to Mr Watanabe the 520th special interceptor unit was under  direct 1st Air Army command.

Naito's eponymous Hayate was one of the options included in Tamiya's second issue of their 1/72nd Hayate kit FA104  from 1971 and also featured on the box art  (above), but curiously only showing the starboard side of the aircraft. It was  presented both on the box art and in the instructions (shown below) in a mottled colour scheme noted as  being "spotted painting of dark green colour on the blue ground".  Unfortunately the blue overall colour was not elaborated further! The 1st/520th unit marking was a diagonal red band with white border on the vertical fin but each formation painted a distinctive colour on the spinner whilst formation leaders were distinguished by two or three white bands on the rear fuselage. For a brief period some aircraft had the leading edge of the fin painted yellow rather than the diagonal red band. The "coloured" lower portions of the wheel covers frequently shown in illustrations of Hayate from this unit were in reality just the distinctive heavy staining from the lower cowling exhaust outlets which passed over those parts of the covers in flight.

Although Sergeant Noburo Naito was indeed a pilot in the 520th the famous Hayate with the shooting stars on the cowling was in fact the regular mount of his squadron leader 2nd  Lt Toshizo Kurai and appears in photographs in Yoji Watanabe's 'Pictorial History of Air War Over Japan - Japanese Army Air Force' (Hara Publishing 1980) and in the January 2001 Koku-Fan magazine. These show the aircraft with a mottled rather than solid finish and with one and later three white fuselage bands. The Koku Fan photograph shows two  "shooting stars" whilst a photo of the sleeve of Lt Kurai's flight suit in Mr Watanabe's book shows five embroidered "shooting stars" to represent his claims. As was often the case the markings on this particular aircraft probably did not remain static but changed over time with the fortunes of its pilot(s). Also the shooting star emblem might have been a standard "kill" marking within this unit. The colour scheme and markings of Lt Kurai's aircraft were as shown below in the profile and notes from the excellent Lifelike Decals sets 72-013 and 48-013 for the Ki-84 Hayate.

  

Finish is dense dark green mottle over natural metal 

note how mottle becomes heavier towards tail

Lt Kurai's aircraft also featured in a 2002 limited edition issue from Hasegawa of their veteran 1/72nd Hayate kit (below) but in my own example the decal sheet is misprinted and the "shooting stars" consist only of blue discs and red comet tails with no white stars. The aircraft is depicted without fuselage bands and the option to place the "shooting star" decals on both sides of the cowling. A second 520th option in solid dark green colour with two white fuselage bands is also included and a photograph of this machine may be found on page 181 of Kojinsha's excellent Maru magazine special # 8 'Japan No1 Fighter Nakajima Ki84 Hayate'. Interestingly the suggested cockpit interior and wheel well colour for this kit is GSI Creos 331 which represents BS381c # 638 Dark Sea Grey.

In addition to this the markings of this aircraft were featured in 1/72nd scale on Microscale decal sheet 72-167 Axis Aces WWII (below) and in 1/48th scale in Aeromaster 48-616: Ki-84 pt II. Aeromaster's subject is depicted in a plain dark green scheme. A line up photograph of 1st/520th Hayate fighters shows the aircraft in a mix of natural metal, solid and mottled finishes. Lt Kurai was killed on 10 February 1945 when he reportedly rammed a B-29 during the costly raid against the Nakajima assembly plant at Ota.

Microscale depicted the aircraft in dark green mottle over pale green 

with decals for the supposedly red wheel covers

The star-spangled Hayate is a worthy modelling subject, featuring a challenging colour scheme and representing both an interesting unit that pioneered the Ki-84 in its limited B-29 interception role over Japan and a pilot with multiple B-29 claims. Most scale models of Hayate seem to favour the "standard" solid schemes but in this and future Hayate Thoughts articles some different and non-standard schemes will be explored.  Previous articles in this series may be found here and here.

With special thanks to Mr Ryusuke Ishiguro.

Image credits: Otto Kuhni Ki-84 painting © 1972 shown with the kind permission of Challenge Publications Inc.; Richard Ward profile © 1971 Osprey Publishing Ltd; Box art and instructions © Tamiya Inc; Decal profile © Lifelike Decals (with kind permission of Mr Keishiro Nagao); Box art © 2002 Hasegawa Corporation

Japanese Aircraft Models ~ IPMS Roanoke Show 18-19 October 2013

Ken Glass has very kindly shared some of his excellent photographs of Japanese aircraft models displayed at the IPMS Roanoke Show in October this year. The superb models and equally superb photography speak for themselves but unfortunately some of the builders are unknown. If you should recognise your model here please do drop me a line and I shall be very pleased to update this blog with full attribution and any details about the kit and build you might care to share here, thanks.

Expertly finished 1/48th scale Mitsubishi A6M2 from the carrier Hiryu

Impressive 1/48th scale A6M5-K two-seat trainer of the Tsukuba Kokutai built by Kevin Hensel using an Eduard zoom set for the cockpits, Master gun barrels in the cowling, pitot from Aluminum tubing, and some other added details. Kevin notes that the panel wash is not as light as it appears in the photos.

Beautifully finished Mitsubishi G4M2 'Betty' in TAIU-SWPA markings

Splendid Nakajima Ki-27 Otsu of 244th Sentai in Home Defence markings

Lovely 1/48th scale Nakajima Ki-44-II Hei of the 29th Sentai

Simply stunning 1/32nd scale Nakajima Ki-44-II Otsu (Ho-301 armed) of the 47th Sentai in Home Defence markings also built by Kevin Hensel with added Eduard seatbelts, Quickboost exhausts, wired engine and other minor additions.  Kevin also filled and rescribed the fuselage panels on the forward fuselage which he found was the worst feature of the kit due to the way Hasegawa moulded the separate panels.  He says that he probably spent more time on those panels than on any other part of the kit!  Kevin used homemade masks to paint the Hinomaru and the canopy with masks by Montex.

Awesome Kawasaki Ki-61-I of 244th Sentai Hombu 

Image credits: All © 2013 Ken Glass; A6M5-K and Ki-44-II Otsu model details courtesy of builder Kevin Hensel

New Aoshima 1/72 Ki-100 Ko and Otsu

Images of the maquettes and test sprues for the new Aoshima Ki-100 kits via HLJ. Open canopy option is a nice touch and differentiates them from the Fine Molds kits.

Who'd of thunk it? ;-)

Image credit: © 2013 Aoshima via HLJ

Defecting MiG Pilots ~ Part Two

Another MiG-15 pilot who flew his aircraft to freedom was Lt Liu Cheng-szu (刘承司) of the Peoples Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF) of China's 8th Squadron, 3rd Wing, 18th Regiment. The successful flight was made on 3rd March 1962 but was not the first attempt in a MiG-15. On 12th January 1960 Yang Decai (杨德才) of the 4th PLANAF Division flew MiG-15 '6501' from Luqiao (Luchiao 路桥) in China to Taiwan but was killed when his aircraft crashed on landing.

Liu Cheng-szu photographed in 1977

Lt Liu broke away from a flight of four MiG's in 'Red 1765' during a routine morning patrol from Luqiao, having switched on his gunsight and readied his trigger, determined to shoot at any PRC aircraft that attempted to intercept him. He had even considered whether he should shoot out the coastal radar station but decided it was better to hope that his fleeing aircraft would not be detected than to deliberately draw attention to himself. The day before his flight he had enjoyed a haircut and hot bath in preparation for his escape. He planned to take his favourite alarm clock with him but burned all his letters and diary. He couldn't sleep and lay awake in bed thinking "I cannot hesitate. It is now or never". Before dawn the next day as he prepared for his flight the anxiety had left him "I was so calm. I climbed up the ladder to the cockpit and then looked back at the airfield, totally relaxed".

When intercepted by Republic of China (ROC) fighters as he neared Taiwan he felt a rush of fear before nervously complying with the procedures required to demonstrate that he was intending to defect, waggling his wings and descending to the specified altitude. Lt Liu landed at Taoyuan airport in Taiwan drenched in sweat and wondering whether it would be as he had imagined it. Lt Liu's MiG-15 is now on display at the Taiwan Air Force Museum, Taiyuan.

Part One of this mini-series can be found here.

With special thanks to Les Duffin and Don Wiggins.

Image credits: Photos of MiG-15 'Red 1765' courtesy of Les Duffin via Don Wiggins; Liu Cheng-szu via Chang Wang  Publication Service, Taiwan; Map Google

Aviation Graphic Prints

Some of the beautiful colour profiles of Ronnie Olsthoorn which grace Osprey's Ki-44 Tojo Aces are now available as fine quality art prints in Standard (16½"x12"), Panorama (36"x12") or Large (28"x20") editions through the Aviation Graphic website. Having been privileged to work with Ronnie on that book and on Ki-27 Aces I was able to witness the technical skill and meticulous care that went into their creation as well as the superb detail which can only be fully appreciated by viewing the full-size illustrations. These beautiful prints are enhanced by their titles in Japanese calligraphy and the adornment of pilot portraiture and/or emblematic icons together with a description of the aircraft to make very impressive display additions to the walls of any man-cave, den, workroom or study. Very highly recommended. 

Link to Aviation Graphic above or in the Sidebar feature.

Image credit: © Ronnie Olsthoorn and AviationGraphic.com  

Gunka ~ Kato Falcon Fighter Corps

A solo rendition of the war song (Gunka) 'Kato Hayabusa Sentoki Tai' on acoustic guitar.

"With the loud sound of the engine

The Hayabusa go

To the end of the clouds

The Rising Sun shining on our wings

And the Red Eagles displayed on our chests

Are the symbols of our fighters

Cold, wind or intense heat

Are nothing for us

We can bear trials and tribulations

Expert aircraftsmen maintain the aeroplanes

And pray their aircraft do well

With parental feelings for their lovely aeroplanes

With the experience of many air combats

In the roaring sound of the bullets

With the faith in our ultimate victory

And the co-operative spirit to die together if we must die

We grab our sticks from our hearts

After years of fighting

We received seven testimonials

But there were tears in the shadows of our feats

Ah, Samurai were gone

With the spirit to die with a smile

We are proud of our tough eagles to the world

Their wings go through thousands of miles

Whilst observing shining traditions

We will create the new Great Asia

We are the fighter wing of the Imperial Army"

And the film version:-

Plus a link to some more period Gunka on old records and a Gunka website with English translations.

More Hayate Thoughts

When the first 1/72nd scale Ki-84 was issued by Tamiya in 1964 as No.4 in the 'Flight Series 72' series of kits intended to be motorised there was, typically for Japanese kits at that time, minimal consistency in the action-packed box art by S Komatsuzaki, the decal sheet and the instructions. The box art depicted an aircraft of the 101st Sentai in combat with P-38s, wearing an ambiguous dark olive green over what appears to be natural metal. An interesting detail is the Ki-84 in the background which is peeling away with what appears to be a bomb under its starboard wing.  And indeed the kit only contained one droptank and one bomb! The ends of the box displayed the colour profile of a mottled Hayate of the 52nd Sentai.

Battery (and electric motor) not included!

Inside the compact box the instruction sheet, provided as two separate sheets in Japanese and English (above), included a remarkably detailed presentation of the markings of five Hayate-equipped Sentai including the 52nd Sentai example on the box ends but not the 101st bird on the box art! The small decal sheet provided only options for the 52nd Sentai and 73rd Sentai, both tail markings in plain white. Dark brown was suggested as the colour for the propeller and spinner rather than the grey-green of today's convention. Model Art # 283 on Hayate included a chip for the prop colour that was close to Munsell 10 GY 3/2.  This colour had been recorded by Ichiro Hasegawa from Tadamitsu Watanabe, but Kenji Ishikawa who provided input to Model Art # 329 did not concur with that colour. Noboru Shimoune prepared some samples of late war colours, recording the grey-green prop colour as Munsell 5 GY 3.5/2.3 and used on Ki-84, Ki-87, Ki-43 III Ko, Ki-94, Ki-100, Ki-102 and Ki-106. FS 34082 is usefully close to that colour @ 1.87 where <  2.0 = a close match.

Spin-a-Prop Japanese style

Tamiya's Hayate (疾風 - Hurricane - literally rapid wind  but usually translated as Gale) was not one of their better 1/72nd kits, even in the context of its vintage. The cowling was a rather heavy and slab-sided moulding with a heavy lower profile that is strangely reminiscent of the Ki-87. The faults were somewhat redeemed by the separate working flaps and retractable undercarriage - even the small inner doors opened and closed but were fiddly to instal. The Revell Ki-84 (of which more anon) was issued in the same year and, whilst not without its own faults, was somehow a more appealing kit with its superbly evocative Brian Knight box art, displayable engine, sliding canopy and one of the best pilot figures ever moulded.

Detailed English language markings data

Through the kindness and generosity of Joern Leckscheid I was introduced to the catchy 'Song of Hayate Fighter Squadron' over a decade ago. Sit back and enjoy the spectacle of a quartet of Hayate, each in a different colour scheme, rolling down the runway at Akeno for a formation take-off and then making a low pass with the reverberating thunder of their not always reliable Ha-45 engines accompanying that stirring song. You'll probably be humming it for the rest of the day and fishing a Hayate in your preferred scale out of the stash!

Previous Hayate Thoughts here.

Image credits: All © 1964 Tamiya Mokei Plastic Model Co.