Japanese aircraft identified

[flakbait]

A6M2 model 21 is currently painted white, it should be a gray-green or a pale green. Tail code V-128 belonged to Saboro Sakai, Tainan Ku, 1942.

A6M5b is carrying a dive-bomber's tail code from 653 Ku based in Kagoshima during 1944. The code "653-222" denotes 653 Ku, while the 222 denotes a dive bomber. If this aircraft was from 653 Ku, it should carry -122 as the tail code to denote a fighter. Otherwise it is correct. Aircraft destroyed in Marianas Turkey Shoot.


Ki-67 is from 61st Sentai, 3rd Chutai, late '44 early '45. I've received two different pieces of info on this. One states the unit received the Ki-67 in Jan '45, and moved to Borneo. The other source claims the aircraft were received in Nov '44 and the unit moved to Singapore in Feb of '45.


B5N2 "Kate" is from a Sentai assigned to the carrier Soryu that took part in the Pearl Harbor raid. Aircraft painted the wrong color (again); like the A6M2 it should be painted a pale green.


D3A1 "Val" YO (backwards-E) 206 is from the Yokosuka Ku Naval testing unit, early to mid 41. This aircraft should be bare metal with a red tail since it is carrying a tail code from a testing unit before Oct '41, when aircraft were required to be painted with the pale green color above. After time, this color changed to an off green-gray from UV exposure.


Sources:
J-aircraft.com's research dept
Ki-67 Ident
Sakai's Zero
naval aircraft colors/camo

E-mail received from Randy Newberry, regular at J-aircraft.com bulletin board

For the other "white" plane, it is actually natural metal finish with the red tail and white tail marking "YO"-206...[backward E is Yokosuka Kokutai...the Japanese Navy aircraft test unit]
 
As to your fighter 653-222...the reason it is NOT a fighter code is because:
fighter numbers started with "1" after the unit code.
dive bomber numbers started with a "2" after the unit code.
attack bomber numbers started with a "3" after the unit code.
THUS the number "222" is a dive bomber number.

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Flakbait [Delta6]
Delta Six's Flight School
Put the P-61B in Aces High

[brady]

"A6M2 model 21 is currently painted white, it should be a gray-green or a pale green. Tail code V-128 belonged to Saboro Sakai, Tainan Ku, 1942. "

 * I have Saboro Saki in a Type 0, paint scheam Zero A6M2 Type 21 fighter with a tail code of V-107, light gray overall, blue fuslage stripe (single angled forward), single blue fin stripe, black tail code, with a Black cowlening and a Zilver splinter, with the Tainian Air Group, from October 41 to October 42. This scheam was widely used on Zero's untill late in 42 and early in 43, then you see a overlaping of the blotch (Type B) scheam, witht he Type O scheam then they prety much all shifted to the Type S, scheam which our A6M5 has. I cant find a referance for the tail code you sight for our White Zero, but it is quiet posable that these planes were painted in the Type B scheam for service in the Solomons and SWP area, whear this scheam was fairly common, from late 42.

* My sources confirm the Tail coding you sight, but many units did mix things up a bit at times, to suit whatever requirements they may of had.

 *My refrence for the Soryu's Kates has them in a Type B Patern with Brown and Green blotched/moteled uper surfeces with one collor lower surfeces in 1941 (Pearl Harbor.).

 Any Expermental or Training aircraft used at the front would have the Camuflage patern type then in use applied to them.

 Ki-67: 61st Heavy Bomber unit November 44 to the end of the war, Singapore,Formosa, previously a Ki 21,Ki 49 unit, decimated Li 21 and Ki 49 unit in New Gunie, reformed in Japan to fly the Ki 67, received it's full implement by May of 45, sent to singapore, then moved to Formosa whear it disbanded in Febuary of 46. ( Source: Mitisubishi Ki-67/Ki-109 Hiru in Japanese Army Air Force Service by Richard M. Buschel.


* Sources:

Japanese Naval Air Force Camouflage and Markings World War II, Thorpe.

Japanese Naval Aces and Fighter Units in World War II Hata/ Izawa

 Japanese Aircraft Code Names & Designation's Robert C. Mikesh

[flakbait]

For our white Zeke, hit the above link for Sakai's Zero. There's a collection of photos scanned from a book that have Japanese captions. Tail code V-128 is there.

Oops, you're right. I read that the B5N2 was painted a pale green per the Oct '41 order on the Naval AC paint link, but I missed the part about Soryu's AC getting a slightly different scheme. And all I had to do was scroll down a quarter page. My fault!

As for the D3A, it didn't have a camo pattern applied yet. Our D3A served in a test squadron based out of Yokosuka (near Tokyo) prior to the Oct '41 order to apply camo to all aircraft. Presumably, once the war had broke out, they would've applied some form of camo scheme. The standard scheme looks dark green overall with a light or medium gray applied to the undersurfaces. Either way, it's still the wrong color





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Flakbait [Delta6]
Delta Six's Flight School
Put the P-61B in Aces High

[brady]

At the time of Pearl Harbor many Planes were still sporting the White, or light gray overall scheam( this scheam was still in use during 42 depends on the unit) the Type 0 scheam, That is light gray over all and a black engine cowling, so the Scheam on the Val is not nescessarly wrong, the unit is a courious one though ( as to why they picked that one I mean).

 That Zero Link is still showing the Same Light Gray and Black cowling scheam, the Type 0 Scheam, the collor is not light green, it is suposed be light gray, or as AH presently render's it White. The problem is that thier is a wide varance in what is considerd the actual collor, often publications have wide diferances in how the artist's interpeted the collors, from the B&W photos that were used a s refrences, look at thsi referance for example it varyes considerable from the one in your link above:

 http://www.visi.com/~micahbly/color/a6m/m2.html#top

  While it is clear that the Collor used on our A6M2 should be more green gray than our present White, it is not to me at least entirely clear just how Green... it should be.

 Ramzey did prety good rendering this A6M2 for the Slot map, it is time and place approparate:



 It is for a specific unit, I will look up which one, I forgot:)

[EDO43]

How come no one mentions the fact that both zeros have the wrong color in the cockpit?  Sure, the outside colors get mentioned but no one notices the fact that the interior colors are wrong?  On my monitor, the A6M5b is blue-green (Aotake) and the A6M2 is damn near the same shade.  The correct color should be.....Nakajima, or Mitsubishi Interior Green (a shade of yellow/grey-green and a color similiar to US interior green respectively)...Not Aotake.  

Get workin on the research fellas, you'll find I'm correct.