SHOWA L2D (DC-3 "Dakota")

[Rino]

Originally posted by Krusty
Still, for the most part it's a US plane in enemy paint scheme. I don't think HTC will allow it. Go ahead and ask 'em, though. Would be good to have a final say on the matter.

Japs might be able to copy things (jets specifically) but they had piss-poor engine copying. They would always put their own engines in. That would make it a different plane with different performance. The Soviet version, however, was most likely a C47 repainted (and some with a turret added)

     Don't we have US planes in several different country colors?  Brit,
Aussie, USSR for example?  I hope so, otherwise the poor Finns are SOL
with their Brewster efforts.

[Karnak]

The Japanese, like the Russians, liscense built the DC-3, so it was not a captured aircraft.


Krusty,

Also look at the Foker D.XXI for frequently exported.  The Finns flew both purchased and liscense built D.XXIs amoung many other nations.  Foker had great name recognition from WWI and made many sales just on that account.

[Fencer51]

The Tabby 22 was definately manufactured in Japan.  I have pictures of it in a book on the production line.  I can post those if it will assist.  Also please check out Showa L2D   The main difference was a couple extra windows at the rear of the cockpit.

Cheers,

[Guppy35]

Originally posted by Krusty
While they "tried" the P-39 in almost every theater, it was almost as quickly withdrawn from almost every theater as well, due to unsuitable performance. I'd say the only places it actually had a home in was N Africa and Russia.

The USN and RAF both found the Brewster totally unsuited for combat. The RAF dumped all theirs on their east indies colonies, so those are the same ones defending malaysia, etc. Not that many Brewsters were made. They served in a lot of areas, but many of them were the same planes passed around because nobody wanted them.

Krusty, you gotta do some checking first before you make some of those statements

350th Fighter Group was flying P39s up until August 1944 in the MTO up through Italy.  Thats August 1944 before they got P47s. They were certainly still being used in the Pacific into 44 as well by the USAAF.

Were they the best planes for the job?  Nope.  Did they do the job?  Yep to the best of their abilities.

[Krusty]

I count the MTO as part of N Arfica, so I sorta felt that part was covered in my initial comment "They had a home in N Africa and Russia" -- my bad

[Guppy35]

Originally posted by Treize69
I remember hearing a story about the gunners on an AAC bomber early in the war (I think a B-17) claiming a kill of a Japanese C-47, but I can't seem to find the reference now. Probably one of the books or magazines that I hadn't read in so long that I sold it off on e-bay.

I know that in one of WEB Griffins "The Corps" novels, I think 'Counterattack' (which I read long after I saw the original story on the kill), the crew of a B-17 are debating shooting at a C-47 they run into out in the middle of nowhere because they can't understand what an American cargo plane would be doing out there, but the Japanese Army was known to use a copy of the DC-3. Turns out that the Goon they ran into was a Marine R4D on a fictional mission that he made up for his story, but almost everything that takes place in his books is well researched and based closely on fact, so its probably a safe bet that he is referring to a real incident.

There are a couple of photos of the shoot down of the Japanese C47.  This is the one I found tonight, but I know there is another of it in flames going down from the same incident.  A Navy B24 shot it down.

[Guppy35]

Originally posted by Krusty
I count the MTO as part of N Arfica, so I sorta felt that part was covered in my initial comment "They had a home in N Africa and Russia" -- my bad

No problem here.  North Africa would to me tend to imply 1942 when in fact the 39 soldiered on into August 44.  Our old Airwarrior buddy Earl Miller flew 39s with the 350th during all that time from North Africa up until they got the Jugs.  

Image is Earl in a 39 on Corsica in 1944 from his photo collection.  He doesn't live that far from me so I got to dig through it

[Krusty]

lol they don't call them "car style doors" for nothing! He's got the window down and his elbow's hanging out, like an old Ford truck lmao

[Guppy35]

Found the other image of the "Tabby" going down from the same incident with the B24.  Just had to remember where to look

[Raptor]

I believe all skins will be accepted if there is proof of a squadron that used them. "There was a captured P38 someone wanted to do but was told it would not be accepted" I think the fact it there was a captured P38 used, but there was not an entire squad of German P38s, therefor it wont be accepted. You said the Japanese had a substantial number of "Tabbies" therefore it is likely that there was an air group that used them and it's likely to be accepted.

BTW nice photos Guppy, seem like those would be hard to come by.

[Krusty]

Oh, I've no doubt it'll be accepted now (when this thread was first posted I was unsure). I'm just taking part in the tangent thread that's come out of this topic