is this a zero ? [Nakajima Ki-43 at Oaks Airfield]

[Wolfsangel]

Hi all

About 20 years ago I was driving in a very remote area of Australia, where few people go, and spotted an aircraft on a farm. I couldn't get too close because of a fence. A guy came out of a shed on the farm and saw me looking at the aircraft and came over to talk to me. He told me it was a Japanese Zero that was forced down when it was attacking Darwin (in northern Australia) in 1942. He allowed me to take a picture, but asked me not to reveal the whereabouts as he didnt want souvenir hunters stealing bits off the plane.

Is he right ? Is it a zero ? Darwin was attacked about 70 times during 1942 & 1943, but only the first two raids in February 1942 were really huge - the same carrier force that attacked Pearl Harbour in December 1941, then sailed westwards towards Australia and attacked Darwin on 19 February 1942, with more aircraft than attacked Pearl Harbour (a few more aircraft were available for the Darwin raid on the day). Could this be a Pearl Harbour Zero ? Can it be assessed from the picture if it was Carrier borne, and an early war model ? Just curious. Later raids on Darwin were from land based aircraft, mainly from japanese bases in Indonesia.

[JD]

No, not a Zero.

Looks more like a Nakajima Ki-43 to me but the two-bladed prop doesn't make sense...

http://www.aviastar.org/air/japan/nakajima_ki-43.php

[Sitzkrieg]

Not a Zero, but an IJAAF Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa (Oscar) fighter.

Edit: Simultaneous posting with JD.


JD, early production Ki-43s had 2-bladed props.


Wolfsangel, are those the remains of a DeHavilland Vampire behind the Oscar?

[JD]

Aaah, thanks. Didn't know that.

[Sitzkrieg]

You are welcome JD.

[mokyme]

That is definitely a very early production model Nakajima Ki-43 Hyabusa (Army Type 1 Fighter) allied code name "Oscar".

Anything is possible, but I doubt it was forced down over Darwin during one of the many raids between 1942 and 1945 as such an event would most certainly have been recorded in the various media of the time. A number of Japanese Zero-sen fighters were shot down and these wrecks were well known at the time - the remains of one is in the Air Force Museum in Darwin.

You say the photo was taken about 20 years ago, so sometime during the 1980's would make this "Oscar" probably the aircraft that was acquired by the late Col Pay in 1985 who had it on his property in Scone NSW up until about 1994 when he sold it to Sir Tim Wallis' Alpine Fighter Collection in Wanaka, New Zealand. The full story about the capture of this aircraft at Vunakanau near Rabaul after the Japanese surrender and its subsequent restoration to 'taxi only operations' in New Zealand can be read in full at http://www.nzfpm.co.nz/article.asp?id=oscar

However, if it is not Col Pay's "Oscar" then it is a very interesting warbird indeed, Wolfsangel.

There were a number of Oscars captured by Allied forces from 1943 onwards some of which ended up at the ATAIU's infamous Hangar 7 at Eagle Farm airport in Brisbane, Australia. ATAIU - the Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit was a US Air Force Unit responsible for the recovery of captured Japanese aircraft and their restoration to airworthy condition so they could be evaluated to provide valuable intelligence on enemy air operations. The story of ATAIU operations at Eagle Farm, Brisbane can be found at http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/usaaf/atiu.htm

I have seen photos of Oscars in the hangar and flying over Brisbane (along with a6m Zero-sen and ki61 Hien fighters) but available information is that the Unit returned to the US sometime in 1944 and all the aircraft were crated and went with them.

I suppose the other (albeit remote) possibilty is that the aircraft was recovered from a Japanese Pacific island airstrip sometime after the end of the war and has languished on this farm until it was either scrapped or purchased by a warbird enthusuast.

The ex-Col Pay "Oscar" is now at the 'Flying Heritage Museum', Seattle, USA see pics here http://flickr.com/photos/spookythecat/2563281379/

Regardless of where this aircraft is today, one thing is for certain Wolfsangel, the original photo you took twenty odd years ago could be worth quite a bit of money if you were to put it up on eBay!

Darryl

[Wolfsangel]

Hi Mokyme

thanks for the detailed info. The pic was taken in 1982, or possibly 1983 at the latest (I left the state in 1983) and not at Scone. I've sent you an email with a bit more info. *Edit* I just read your link - its probably definitley the one that went to NZ and is now in Seattle, as I took the pic near The Oaks (The Oaks is about 250 km away from Scone).

Hi Sitzkrieg

I'm guessing the other remains are of a Vampire, but I am no aviation expert I don't recall discussing the other remains with the guy, as I didn't have much interest in post WW2 aircraft.

cheers
Wolfsangel

[JD]

Yep, that's a Vampire... or rather, was a vampire...

[kgbudge]

Agree. The tail looks too long and slender for a Zero and there are no signs there were cannon in the wings. (Could have been removed, but you'd think there would still be a big hole in the wing edge.) The retractable landing gear rule out a Nate, which would never have been stationed close enough to raid Darwin anyway. That pretty much leaves us with it being an Oscar.

In fairness, most Allied soldiers and sailors and quite a few airmen got in the habit of calling any single-engined low-wing Japanese aircraft a Zero.

[tonyh]

Hi all

About 20 years ago I was driving in a very remote area of Australia, where few people go, and spotted an aircraft on a farm. I couldn't get too close because of a fence. A guy came out of a shed on the farm and saw me looking at the aircraft and came over to talk to me. He told me it was a Japanese Zero that was forced down when it was attacking Darwin (in northern Australia) in 1942. He allowed me to take a picture, but asked me not to reveal the whereabouts as he didnt want souvenir hunters stealing bits off the plane.

Is he right ? Is it a zero ? Darwin was attacked about 70 times during 1942 & 1943, but only the first two raids in February 1942 were really huge - the same carrier force that attacked Pearl Harbour in December 1941, then sailed westwards towards Australia and attacked Darwin on 19 February 1942, with more aircraft than attacked Pearl Harbour (a few more aircraft were available for the Darwin raid on the day). Could this be a Pearl Harbour Zero ? Can it be assessed from the picture if it was Carrier borne, and an early war model ? Just curious. Later raids on Darwin were from land based aircraft, mainly from japanese bases in Indonesia.

No doubt about it, it's an early mark Oscar, as has already been said.



Tony

[Wolfsangel]

Hi all

thanks everyone for your replies - - many people are like kgbudge mentioned, eveything small and japanese is a "zero", (me included ), and the guy at the shed at the tiem must not have been the owner as he was of the same opinion, glad to have it sorted, and hope you enjoyed seeing the picture.

cheers
Neil

[Bob Izzard]

I'd hardly call The Oaks 'very remote', as it's only an hour from Sydney, but anyway...

That's quite an interesting find. An old friend of mine who lives near there has an interest in all kinds of military vehicles etc, I'll have to ask him if he knew who owned it at that time.

[Wolfsangel]

Hey Bob

I was being intentionally diversional with the use of the term "very remote" - I had undertaken not to advise the location to the gentleman when I saw it back in 1982 - as I had already written. Though I thought it unlikely the plane would still be there in 2008, I was not going to give even a vague approximation to a capital city, in case it was. It was easy pickings for would be souvenir hunters, just a shed (or small hangar), a 3 strand wire fence, on a seldom used dead end road, and no houses for many miles. Now its certain that plane is overseas, I felt it reasonable to reveal where it was in 1982. Unless of course someone has mastered time travel, ....

but I'd still call its location remote, there was sweet FA for miles around

good luck with your enquiries, maybe some better pics will surface of it from around that time, I kick myself now for not taking some more pictures of it

cheers
Wolf

[Michael Emrys]

but I'd still call its location remote, there was sweet FA for miles around

And that's exactly what some people like: miles and miles of miles and miles.



Michael

[Bob Izzard]

I like it that way as well - I'm in the next town to the southwest and there still IS bugger all out here