The website it:
Raktapaksha-Trotskiy
I am glad to see Trotskiy-san making models available again, although all three of the current are reissues of previous models.
The first aircraft (File name “type99_11s_02_v16”) is an Aichi Type 99 (D3A1) Kanbaku (Carrier Dive Bomber), Allied Code Name Val, Tail number B1-231.
The heading
reads “Type 99 Carrier-based bomber Model 11 (D3A1), Aircraft Carrier
Soryu aircraft, December 8, 1941 (Showa Year 16), Pearl Harbor, 2d Attack Wave, Dive Bomber Unit.” The caption of the bomb reads “Type 99 800-kg armor-piercing bomb.”
The Blue fuselage band and the tail number prefix (BI) identify the aircraft as being from the
Soryu air group. The three yellow stripes on the vertical stabilizer and fuselage identify it as that of a group commander.
Wings Palette (
http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww2/b/1027/65/4/18) identifies this aircraft as that of “Lt. Cmdr Takashige Egusa and PO Tatsu Ishi. Soryu carrier. 1st Squadron 21st section No.1 aircraft, second wave, Pearl Harbor attack. December 1941.”
The first of the four side views is of the same aircraft, the second (EII-206) is from aircraft carrier
Zuikaku, the third (AII-250) is from carrier
Kaga, and the fourth (AI-201) is from
Akagi.
The second offering (File name “N1K2-J_v30”) provides three models (previously issued last April)
from the famous 343 Naval Air Group formed by Genda Minoru on December 25, 1944. Genda (who helped plan the Pearl Harbor attack and was instrumental in the establishment of the post-war Japan Air Self Defense Force) hoped to regain control of the air over the Japanese islands by selecting experienced pilots and equipping them with the best naval fighter available.
The caption at the top of each page reads “Interceptor [Kyokuchisentoki], Violet Lightning Modified [Shiden-kai] (NiK2)”
The caption under Tail Number 15 reads “343d Naval Air Group [Kaigun Kokutai], 301st Fighter Squadron [Sento Hikotai], April 1945 (Showa 20), Matsuyama Air Base.” The tail number is A-343-15 and the individual aircraft number “15” is repeated inside the fuselage Hinomaru [red disk sun emblem]. The oblique yellow stripes indicate a squadron commander’s aircraft.
According to Henry Sakada and Koji Takaki, Genda’s Blade: Japan’s Squadron of Aces: 343 Kokutai (Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allen Classic 2003), this aircraft was flown by Lieutenant Naoshi Kanno, commander of the 301st Squadron.
The caption under tail number 17 reads, “343d Naval Air Group, 301st Fighter Squadron, Aircraft Number (Goki) 17.” Sakada and Takaki identify this as the aircraft flown by Flight Leading Airman Ikuji Matsumura and later by Chief Petty Officer Hisamitsu Watanabe, who flew it on a B-29 intercept mission on 21 April 1945.
The caption under tail number 37 reads ““343d Naval Air Group, 301st Fighter Squadron, Aircraft Number (Goki) 37.”
The third aircraft (File number “type100_18_v16”) is a Mitsubishi Ki-46 (Type 100) reconnaissance aircraft (Allied code name Dinah). Ki-46 Mitsubishi (Allied codename Dinah). The caption reads: “Type 100 Headquarters Reconnaissance Aircraft [
Shirei-bu Teisatsuki] Type IIIA [III Kei KO] (Ki-46 IIIA) “18th Independent Flying Squadron [Dokuritsu Hiko Dai 18 Chutai]” June 1943 [Showa 18 6 Month] Hankow [Hankou, China]”
The first of the three side views is of the same aircraft.
Tail Number 38 caption reads “19th Independent Flying Squadron, May 1945, Kanoya [Air Base, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan]”
Tail Number 88 caption reads, “10th Air Group [
Sentai] 1st Flying Squadron, January 1945, Taiwan Siaogang [Xiaogang]”
I already had these, but am glad to see them again and hope for more soon.
Thanks for alerting us, newcomer.
Don