Thursday 23 June 2011

Fine Molds 1/72 IJN Kyushu Q1W1 Tokai 'Lorna' ASW Patrol Aircraft

From Japan, courtesy of Mr Sugar here are some images of his fine build of the Fine Molds 1/72nd scale kit of the Kyushu Q1W1 IJN patrol aircraft. The Fine Molds kit is excellent, still available and very reasonably priced by comparison with many others these days, representing a very good model of this unsung workhorse. The president of Fine Molds described this kit as the most accurate and detailed the company had ever produced.

The Q1W1 was designated 'Navy Patrol Aircraft Model 11 'Tokai' (海) meaning East or Eastern Sea and was developed from a prescient 1942 specification for a low-speed, long range aircraft with three crew members, the ability to make steep diving attacks and to operate safely over the ocean. The first prototype was completed in September 1943 and quantity production was ordered in early 1944. Only 153 aircraft of this type were built and operated mainly over Japanese home waters, around Formosa and along the China coasts. Mr Sugar's model depicts one of the kit options - a radar-equipped aircraft identified as belonging to the Shanghai detachment of the 901st Ku (Kokutai - Air Group) based at Shanghai, China during the summer of 1945. However this unit is identified as the Chushi (中支 - Central China) Kokutai, an Otsu Kaigun Kokutai, at j-aircraft.com. The character on the tail is naka (中) meaning middle or centre, and alludes to the Chinese characters for old China - 中國 (Zhōngguó or in Cantonese Zung Gwok) meaning Middle Kingdom.


The second of two options provided in the kit is for an aircraft identified as from the Saiki Kokutai based at Saiki in Japan during the summer of 1944 and equipped with magnetic anomaly detection gear rather than radar to detect submarines. The Japanese called this equipment 'Jikitanchiki' (磁気探知機 - literally magnetic atmosphere look and find mechanism) meaning magnetic detector and the equipment installed in Lorna was the Type 3 Model 1 KMX (monitoring equipment shown below) based on the Fluxgate Magnometer with a frequency multiplier devised by the Sony Corporation co-founder Masaru Ibuka.



Looking somewhat like a mutated and rather sedate Junkers Ju-88 Lorna's armament was limited to a flexible 7.7mm rear gun handled by the radio operator and the capability to carry two 250 kg depth charges. Some sources report the addition of one or two 20mm cannon in the nose which might make an interesting model. Detection equipment consisted of the Type 3 search radar or the magnetic anomaly detection gear described above. The Type 3, or Type 3 Ku Mk.6 Wireless Telegraph Model 4 to give it its full deceptive title, was an ASV (Air-to-Surface Vessel) radar with the capability to detect a 10,000 ton ship at 51 km from 10,000 ft altitude. The set usually consisted of a Yagi-type forward antenna (mounted on the nose or in this case the starboard wing leading edge) and two fuselage mounted antennae with the transmitter, receiver and indicator units inside the cockpit. This equipment is quite faithfully reproduced in the Fine Molds kit which boasts rather fine interior detail (and superb box art!). The interior detail can especially be appreciated because the kit comes with the option to display the clear canopy with its top hatches open and the rear gun position open for the flexible gun to be shown deployed. However the flexible gun is not included in the kit and must be sourced separately. The kit  does include drop tanks and depth charges (not shown on Mr Sugar's model).


Other than the specific Japanese aircraft interest any collection of ASW/ASV aircraft could include Lorna as representative of the pioneering aircraft and equipment used in this role. For a more in-depth discussion of the search techniques employed by radar and MAD equipped aircraft please refer to this thread at j-aircraft.com which includes photographs of the actual Tokai modelled here - showing both radar equipment and the fuselage 'C' marking on 中-901.

Image credits: Model pics © 2011 Mr Sugar; KMX photo © 2007-2010 Enoki Flying Board; Box © 1998 Fine Molds 

12 comments:

Manuel Gil said...

Beautiful plane and beautiful model.

Dan Salamone said...

Hi Nick,
Thanks for posting this, and also a great job from the modeler who built it. The IJN ASW birds hold a place dear to my heart......

Here is where I bemoan the fact there is not a 1/48 scale kit of this aircraft.....
Dan

Anonymous said...

This model has the "C" stencil on the fuselage with the narrow gap. My understanding was that this was used with aircraft with the magnetic anomaly detector. They would fly in formation far enough apart so that the "C" would appear to be an "O", thus maintaining the correct distance to use their detection gear. But this model is supposed to be the search radar equipped version, so either it's markings are incorrect or I am mistaken about the "C" symbol only being used with MAD unit.

Windswords

Straggler 脱走兵 said...

"Windswords" - please study the thread on this subject at j-aircraft.com (now linked in the blog post) in order to appreciate that the 'C' marking and radar equipment were not mutually exclusive.

Apart from that I hope you enjoyed looking at the model.

Anonymous said...

Hi Nick,

After re-reading the J-aircraft post I believe that the particular version of this plane was equipped with both ASV-radar and MAD equipment, because of the "closed-C" mark and the 60-degree diagonal upper wing formation slashes.

Windswords

Anonymous said...

Oh, never mind. I just got to the end of the (long) thread on J-aircraft and the consensus on the Tokai MAD equipped markings is that there is no consensus. It seems that some had the marking and others did not. It's somewhat unclear if the plane could even be equipped with both pieces of equipment - most think not. In this regard it's like asking what the interior color was on an IJAF aircraft!

Windswords

Anonymous said...

Thank you for Mr. Nick.

The pics is put on your blog.

Sugar

Anonymous said...

A very nice build, Mr. Sugar. Plus this is a kit that is rarely seen finished.

The formation stripes on the wing make me wonder about those present on fighter types. This may be a semantic point, but they are often called out as "command" or "flight leader" markings in references. I wonder if their purpose is actually an aid in formation keeping, naturally applied to the aircraft of the flight commander?

Jeff

Ruy Aballe said...

Hi Nick,

Congratulations to Mr. Sugar, for such a nice build of this jewel from Fine Moulds.
I am most interested in the additional 20mm cannons you mention. Do you know any pictures of this arrangement? Even a sketch would do...
Thanks in advance!
Best regards,

Ruy

Ken Glass said...

Hello Mr. Sugar,

Great work on your Lorna kit build.

Regards,
Ken Glass

Straggler 脱走兵 said...

Hi Ruy

The 20mm armament is mentioned in Francillon ("one or two forward firing Type 99 20mm cannon") but I don't know the basis for it and whether it is reliable. I can't recall seeing a photograph of a Lorna armed this way and I have no idea how it might have been configured, whether as a fixed gun or crew operated but the nose seems the obvious location - in similar fashion to the Ju-88. Was there room in there though? It looks pretty cramped for a 20mm weapon!

Regards
Nick

Ruy Aballe said...

Hi Nick,
Thanks for your swift and comprehensive answer. My copy of Francillon's book is away, at my parents' house.

My interest on the Q1W1 grew after I got the Fine Moulds kit (I also soll the horrid - by comparison - Pavla kit at about the same time). I think a single, fixed gun in the nose area for anti-submarine work makes more sense than a flexible mount, but your point regarding the lack of real estate around there is very sound. A nacelle mounted underneath the nose seems even less plausible though. I'd love to confirm this existence of this (field?) modification. Maybe some Japanese reader of the blog can help us with additional details!

Regards,
Ruy