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The Kugisho D4Y (or Carrier Dive Bomber 'Suisei'), developed by the Naval Air Arsenal at Yokosuka, was the last scout bomber of the crumbling Imperial Japanese Navy. The design is amazingly compact when compared to its precursor, the Aichi D3A. There is a strong contrast in philosophy to US Navy dive bomber development which advanced from the fragile Vought SB2U to the monstrous SB2C Helldiver. Even with an internal bomb bay the Suisei is no larger than the SB2U! Folding wings were not needed for handling this little aircraft on carrier elevators. My model represents the D4Y3 variant with a Mitsubishi Kinsei 14-cylinder radial in place of the earlier Daimler-Benz in-line derivative. リ-266 belonged to the Hyakuri Kokutai, an operational training unit. It was involved in at least one combat mission in November 1944 flown by Lt(jg) Kiyoshi Arasu. I bought the FineMolds box in the mid-nineties and found the price unreasonable. All the more so as the kit proved less satisfactory than I had expected. A number of adjustments were necessary and I used available after-market parts to upgrade the model. I hope you enjoy this unconventional subject. A Japanese airplane enthusiast for many years I admire the elegant lines of their designs, and it's a pleasure to share the pictures. ハッピーモデル構築 - Michael References Japanese Navy Air Force Camouflage and Markings WWII, Donald W. Thorpe, Fallbrook, 1977 Navy Carrier Dive Bomber "Suisei", Famous Airplanes of the World No.69, Tokyo, 1998 Kugisho Carrier Dive Bomber "Suisei", Mechanism of Military Aircraft No.11, Japan, 2011 The IJN Carrier Bomber Suisei - D4Y Series Photo & Illustrated, Model Graphix 23079, Tokyo, 2012 Imperial Japanese Army & Navy Airplanes Illustrated - Book 2, Model Art, Tokyo, 2016 The Dark Green Paints of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force, Nicholas Millman, 2016 The Imperial Japanese Army Air Force had fine airplanes, too. Click here
