At readiness in the revetment ‒ The Kawa-mania goes on

[Toryu]

 

On the night of 16/17 March 1945 the 56^th Sentai's Hikōtai-chō (Executive Officer), Captain Jun'ichi Ogata, engaged B-29 over Kobe. After claiming one bomber destroyed he rammed (or collided with) 42-24849 'Mission to Albuquerque'. To observers on the ground it looked as if his Hien had been hit by return fire and crashed flaming into the Superfortress which fell close to Mt Futatabi.*
 

 

It's unknown which fighter Ogata flew on this occasion but it could have been c/n 4693 being prepared for combat here, or a similar aircraft from his Sentai.

 

Please refer to this RFI post for the full background of my Hasegawa model, which has been upgraded with plenty of detail.

 

Pre-flight inspection in the revetment at Itami

Four months later and 30 miles to the North, Lt. Mamoru Tatsuda of the 2^nd Daitai, 111^th Hikō Sentai has just been dropped off in front of his Ki-100-I Otsu.

 

 

Based at Akeno, Ki-100 of the 1^st and 2^nd Daitai were scrambled on 16 July 1945 to intercept a P-51 formation composed of the 21^st and 506^th Fighter Groups. When the fight was over the Akeno pilots claimed six Mustangs shot down against the loss of five of their own number. The American pilots reported 25 aircraft destroyed and had lost Capt John Benbow of the 457^th FS.*

 

 

 

 

My model, brought out by Otaki in 1974, was the last one in a series of Kawasaki fighters that I built in 2021. In order to elevate the kit to modern standards I corrected a few structural inaccuracies and endowed it with every available aftermarket item.

 

 

For my complete Kawasaki collection please visit here.

 

REFERENCES
JAPANESE ARMY AIR FORCE FIGHTER UNITS AND THEIR ACES 1931-1945, HATA/IZAWA/SHORES, LONDON, 2002
JAPANESE FIGHTERS IN DEFENSE OF THE HOMELAND 1941-1944 - VOL.1, LESZEK A. WIELICZKO, LUBLIN, 2014
* KI-61 AND KI-100 ACES, NICHOLAS MILLMAN, OXFORD, 2015

 

[VolkerR.]

Excellent models and great dioramas.

[Fred piket]

I just love the dioramas. The extras you've placed make it realistic.

[Muchmirth]

Lovely job! Very neatly put together and I like the wooden base.

[Zoran Srb]

Very nice Sir, hope to see more from you.

[Keeff]

Very nice work.  I really do like the simplicity - it adds enough interest without losing focus on the main subject.  👌

 

Keith  😁

[Snafu35]

Hello Michael,

 

It's so nice to see a model put in situation.
Congratulations on your achievements, and for sharing.👍

 

Regards,

Eric-Snafu35

[Cadman]

These are great vignettes.