Aichi D3A2 "Val"

Aichi D3A2 "Val": A Navy Type 99 Carrier Bomber Model 22 or Aichi D3A2 flying over Sakurajima of Kagoshima prefecture, Kyushu in December 1943.
The full tail marking is not visible but the unit is suggested to be Kanoya-Ku (the second). If that was the case the tail marking would have been "カヤ-204" (KAYA-204) but the little part visible next to the 204 does not look like a katakana YA. As a result the unit cannot be confirmed beyond any doubt.
The typical for the "Val" marking on the spats (front part green as shown on the Fujimi box) which looks much darker than the fuselage hinomaru, is an indication of a carrier unit but at that time the air units of the Dai 1 Koku Sentai were in Rabaul and Truk while those of the Dai 2 Koku Sentai were in Singapore (FAOW #33).
Kanoya-Ku the second was organized on October 1, 1942 as a training unit for Navy land based bomber and torpedo bomber pilots, part of the Dai 3 Kantai. On January 15, 1943 became part of the 50 Koku Sentai of the Dai 3 Kantai until January 1, 1944 when the 50 Koku Sentai was disbanded and training of carrier bombers and torpedo bombers ceased. From February 1, 1944 became part of the 12 Rengo Kokutai and became again a training kokutai for Navy bombers. On  July 10, 1944 the unit moved to Toyohashi, Aichi prefecture and was disbanded becoming part of the second Toyohashi Kokutai.

The only D3A2 kit I know of is by Fujimi in 1:72.

And HERE is a lovely conversion built in 1:48 by Georg Draese.

Exercise Joint Warrior

Exercise Joint Warrior:
A collection of photos from the exercise....

The Luftwaffe on Jersey (not for the first time)

The Luftwaffe on Jersey (not for the first time): As one of the few parts of the British Isles (and here someone may wish to correct my geographical ignorance) occupied by the Germans in the Second World War, Jersey has a rich inheritance of fortifications left over from that period and, among the older generation, a difficult relationship with their former occupiers. So quite what they made of the return, in 1967, of these Luftwaffe aircraft (a Messerschmitt Bf 109 - with Rolls-Royce engines, apparently - and a Heinkel He 111) we can only guess. Apparently they stopped off briefly in the Channel Island on their way to film The Battle of Britain. Thanks to local photographer Mick Bellee for the images.

Mick Bellee

POLIKARPOV I-153 CHINOS

POLIKARPOV I-153 CHINOS:

No dejo de maravillarme con las fotografías históricas que cada día aparecen donde menos te lo esperas y de la forma que menos te lo esperas. Sabía que China había usado Polikarpovs I-153 de tren de aterrizaje retráctil durante la II Guerra Mundial en su particular conflicto contra Japón. Incluso conocía y tengo en mi archivo alguna foto de estos aviones en blanco y negro.

Ahora bien si hace unos días alguien me dice que existen fotos de buena calidad en color de estos aviones, tomadas entre 1-944 y 1.945, le diría que le fuese a tomar el pelo a otro...

 Pues mira... fotos en color de la impresionante colección de Jack D. Canary, que obtuvo durante su estancia en China. Nótese la escarapela china bajo el ala izquierda.

 El serial del timón es "P-7250". Interesantísimas imágenes.

Este avión en cambio aún está en fase de montaje o revisión ya que no tiene montada la hélice y el timón de cola no está pintado. Si lleva escarapela china bajo el ala derecha. Al fondo a la izquierda un P-51 Mustang y a la derecha quizás un avión de origen japonés, aunque no lo sé con seguridad.

Formation flight Sunday. YB-35 and B-17

Formation flight Sunday. YB-35 and B-17:

Formation flight Sunday. YB-35 and B-17

Low-level Hawk catches the eye

Low-level Hawk catches the eye: Spotted on Flightglobal's AirSpace gallery is this excellent shot by user Viper28 of a BAE Systems Hawk T1 trainer being flown by the Royal Air Force. Our World Air Forces directory lists the service as operating 58 of the type.

Viper28 on flightglobal.com/AirSpace

AVIONES DE LA GUERRA CIVIL ESPAÑOLA

AVIONES DE LA GUERRA CIVIL ESPAÑOLA:

El pasado fin de semana tuvo lugar un acontecimiento ciertamente poco usual. Para mi es histórico, pero para no exagerar o que me tomen por un exagerado lo dejaremos en inusual. Apareció esta fotografía junto con otras en un grupo de la Legión Cóndor, pero su vendedor, sin tener ni idea de lo que se mostraba en la foto, la catalogó erróneamente como "foto de un avión ruso", probablemente influido por la estrella roja que se ve en la cola. Pero no es un avión ruso, es de origen francés, y la foto no está tomada en la -entonces- Unión Soviética, sino que está realizada en España. Se trata nada más y nada menos que de un Bleriot Spad S-51, de la aviación de la república española.

Hasta la pasada semana, sólo conocía dos fotografías de este avión. Han tenido que pasar más de 75 años para que la tercera vea la luz, así que... ¿Cuánto queda por ver aún? 

Nueva imagen del Dc-2 42-1 "Capitán Vara de Rey". La ausencia de pintura sobre el fuselaje indica que la foto está tomada al poco de ser capturado el avión y pasar a las filas nacionales.

 Dornier Do-17 en vuelo quizás en la zona Pirenaica. Bonita imagen.

Una de las fotos de la Guardia Civil más curiosas que he visto. No se si se trata de una "gracia" de los alemanes y han pedido a la pareja de la Benemérita que posen con el "detenido", o es un detenido real. Ciertamente, no era buena idea bromear con la Guardia Civil durante la guerra civil española y si tenemos en cuenta que, -probablemente- ni la pareja de la Benemérita hablase alemán, ni los alemanes español, no sé como podrían entenderse para ponerse de acuerdo y decirse "oye ¿me prestas las esposas para hacer una "gracia"?, con lo que quizás la foto sea auténtica y el alemán esposado le haya hecho alguna "gracia" a la Benemérita que no les haya gustado. No sé pero ojalá que fuese auténtica la detención. Por cierto, muy probablemente la foto esté realizada en el aeródromo de La Cenia. Vemos un Ju-52 y un par de Bf-109 alemanes entre los árboles, el más próximo a la cámara con camuflaje oscuro.

Cavok Brasil – Aviação e Fotografia - Lineage 1000 da Embraer alcança marco de 10 mil horas de voo

Cavok Brasil – Aviação e Fotografia - Lineage 1000 da Embraer alcança marco de 10 mil horas de voo

Kawanishi H6K (Mavis) - 九七式飛行艇

Kawanishi H6K (Mavis) - 九七式飛行艇:

The 934 Kokutai was formed on November 1, 1942 when it changed its name from 36Ku. It was a seaplane reconnaissance and interceptor unit mostly equipped with Mitsubishi F1M “Pete”, Aichi E13A “Jake” but also with Mitsubishi A6M2-N “Rufe”. On July 4, 1942 the unit advanced to Ambon island in Indonesia and on May 1, 1943 a single Kawanishi H6K “Mavis” was attached to the unit for transport duties. Pilot of this "Mavis" was Kitaide Daita.

During his time in Ambon with the 934Ku Kitaide-san usually flew transport missions with his “Mavis” which was purely a transport flying boat and didn’t carry any offensive equipment; not even bomb racks. So when occasionally enemy submarines were spotted, there was very little for the crew and plane to do. Following a request to the unit commander it was decided for the flying boat to carry one small size, 60kg, bomb during these transport missions with the fuse removed to avoid accidents. In order to “bomb” an enemy target two observers would have to carry the bomb to the tail gunner’s position, install the fuse and drop the bomb when the pilot would give them the sign with a buzzer.
One such occasion was on the 18th of June 1943 when Kitaide-san received orders to transport cargo from Ambon to Surabaya in Java, a route which was not often visited by enemy planes and was a relatively safe one. While enjoying a cup of hot coffee with the auto-pilot having taken over, the crew noticed a beautiful rainbow. At the edge of the rainbow near the Kangean island the waves of a ship were visible. Flying at an altitude of a few thousand meters, Kitaide-san grubbed his binoculars and saw that it was actually an enemy submarine, confirmed by information that no friendly submarines were located in the area. He immediately gave an order for the two observers located in the front of the flying boat to gather and rush to the rear end. His instructions were to prepare the bomb and press the buzzer twice when they were ready, while he would hit the buzzer once to give them the signal to drop the bomb. And to be extra careful how to handle the fuse!
Kitaide-san brought his “Mavis” to a dive with the enemy submarine becoming gradually bigger in the windscreen. The submarine crew suddenly realising the enemy flying boat started for a crash dive the whole situation turning into a contest who would dive faster... At about 300 meters and when the coning tower of the submarine was clearly visible he pressed the buzzer and the rear crew released the bomb. At the same time he swiftly banked to the starboard gaining altitude and getting out of the dive he watched the bomb falling towards the submarine from his side window. The bomb could explode only on impact and exactly when the conning tower was about to get underwater, it hit it. A big explosion with a huge fireball and black smoke were clear indications that it was a direct hit. A few seconds later the dark rear end of the submarine appeared out of the water and slowly the submarine started sinking leaving only the calm emerald waters behind while the "Mavis" crew were wondering if what they had seen was actually true. A dark oil spot was all that was left to indicate the sunk submarine…
Extract from the book: ""Kiseki No Hikotei" (The Miracle Flying Boat)

Kawanishi H6K (Mavis) - 九七式飛行艇

Kawanishi H6K (Mavis) - 九七式飛行艇:



The June 5, 1940 issue of the magazine "Asahi Graph" featured an ad of the forthcoming civilian passenger flights by "Dai Nippon Koku" from Japan to South Pacific with the new "Mavis" flying boat:

"Kuroshio" in the sky of the South Sea

Very soon the flying connection to South Pacific will be serviced by two 17-passenger flying boats. Initial test flights were very satisfactory and the forthcoming flights will be on the Yokohama-Saipan-Palau route.

The Kawanishi Flying Boats have a max speed of 280km/h and are the first civilian 4-engine flying boats of Japan. There are beds for four passengers and seats for 17 while there is a crew of eight members including an "air-boy". An amazing flying boat built in Japan. Together with the forthcoming Mitsubishi MC-20 11-passenger airplane, the transportation capacity of our country over the air and the sea will receive an excellent representation.

The new flying boat of "Nippon Koku", photo above, received the name "Kuroshio" and the registration J-BFOR. In the photos below on the left we can see the luxurious beds for four passengers while in the photo on the right we can see that the passengers can enjoy the outside view from every seat.

There are not many interior photos of the Kawanishi H6K "Mavis". Here we present two of the interior of one of the 16 H6K2-L, the civilian version that was operated by the airline Dai Nippon Koku.
The name "Kuroshio" comes from the ocean current, HERE.

And since, as they say, our blog is more on the cultural side, we humbly present the poem "Kuro Siwo" (a different, older, transliteration of the name Kuroshio) by one of the exceptional Greek poets, Nikos Kavaddias, born in 1910 in a small town in Manchuria near Harbin, by Greek parents from Cefallonia. Translation Simon Darragh.

KURO SIWO
That first trip - a southern freight, by chance -
no sleep, malaria, difficult watches.
Strangely deceptive, the lights of the Indies -
they say you don't see them at a first glance.

Beyond Adam's bridge, you took on freight
in South China - soya, sacks by the thousand,
and couldn't get out of your mind for a second
what they'd told you in Athens one wasted night.

The tar gets under your nails, and burns;
the fish-oil stinks on your clothes for years,
and her words keep ringing still in your ears:
"Is it the ship or the compass that turns?"

You altered course when the weather turned,
but the sea bore a grudge and exacted its cost.
Tonight my two caged parrots were lost,
and the ape I'd had such trouble to train.

The ship! - it wipes out all our chances.
The Kuro Siwo crushed us under its heel,
but you're still watching, over the wheel,
how, point by point, the compass dances.

Bali plane crash: Black box recorder found by investigators

Bali plane crash: Black box recorder found by investigators: The Lion Air plane crashed into the water after missing the runway in Bali (Picture: EPA)
Air crash investigators have found one of two flight data recorders from the wreckage of the plane that crashed into the sea  in Bali on Saturday.
They hope the recorder will help determine what caused the Boeing 737-800 passenger jet to overshoot the runway and crash.
All 101 passengers and seven crew members safely escaped from the Lion Air plane, although up to 45 people suffered injuries.
Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan confirmed aviation authorities had removed a flight data recorder from the aircraft.

Salvage crews are now hoping to tow the aircraft and retrieve its cockpit voice recorder.
The fuselage of the recently purchased plane was fractured during the crash.
‘The aircraft was about to land in Bali Ngurah Rai Airport but it probably failed to reach the runway and fell into the sea,’ said a Lion Air spokesman.
An injured passenger arrives at hospital in Kedonganan, Bali, after the Lion Air plane crashed into the sea (Picture: EPA/Made Nagi)
Survivor Santi Widiastuti said: ‘I don’t know how this accident happened. I just heard a notification that the aircraft would be landing soon.
‘Not long after that notice, I heard a loud noise like a plane crashing into something. Suddenly, from under the deck, water began to enter the plane. All happened so fast.’
A passenger who suffered head injuries in the crash added: ‘The aircraft was in landing position when suddenly I saw it getting closer to the sea and finally it hit the water.
‘All of the passengers were screaming in panic in fear they would drown. I left behind my belongings and went to an emergency door.’
A rescue worker stands at the doorway of a crashed Lion Air plane in Bali (Picture: AP)
Lion Air is a leading budget air carrier in Indonesia and has recently signed record contracts with both of the world’s leading planemakers, Boeing and Airbus.
Indonesia has been struggling to improve its civil air safety after a string of deadly accidents.
In 2007, Lion Air was among a number of Indonesian airlines banned by the EU for lax safety standards. The ban was progressively lifted, starting in 2009.
The stricken Boeing 737 lies on the water after it overshot the runway in Bali (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Kawanishi H6K (Mavis) - 九七式飛行艇

Kawanishi H6K (Mavis) - 九七式飛行艇:

"Encyclopedia of Japanese Aircraft" vol. 3 indicates that this particular flying boat was a Navy Type 97 Transport Flying Boat or Kawanishi H6K2-L. I'm not 100% sure because the windows in the nose are too few and square, not round, shaped which is indeed an indication of an H6K2-L but no windows are visible in front of the fuselage side door; if they were there they would fallen on the hinomaru. Perhaps the wing float is covering them. Note the absence of side blisters, another transport indication.

CAMUFLAJES Y NOVEDADES

CAMUFLAJES Y NOVEDADES:

Pareja de interceptadores Mig-25PD argelinos en Tinduf. De los pocos que quedan en servicio activo ya que el estado de los ejemplares sirios y libios es incierto.

Novedad. Pareja de JJ-6 biplazas doblemando de origen chino pertenecientes a Sudán. Nótese las aletas traseras ventrales. Es curioso que este modelo ya no esté en servicio activo en China y si para la exportación. ¿Ejemplares nuevos o los famosos iraníes nunca entregados?

Mig-21bis cubano. Bonito camo. No estoy seguro de si ya había posteado esta foto con anterioridad o no.

An-74 iraní con un bonito camo desértico.

A-10A con "viruela"... :) Camo experimental supongo...

Crosswind Landings

Crosswind Landings:
One of my favourite aviation videos….crosswind landings…

53.863816
-1.678620

Buccaneer

Buccaneer:

Buccaneer

ERITREA Y NIGERIA

ERITREA Y NIGERIA:

Su-27UB y Mig-29 mono y biplaza eritreos, fotografiados probablemente durante un desfile aéreo quizás sobre Asmara. No lo sé con seguridad. Sin datar, también ignoro la fecha.

Fotos publicadas en Septiembre de 2.012, pero no sé cuando y donde están obtenidas. Mi-24, Su-27 y Mig-29 eritreos.

 Mi-8 o 17 eritreo camuflado y al fondo el Su-27 y los dos Mig-29 muy separados, pero en línea.

Siguiendo por Africa, Mig-15UTI nigeriano, probablemente fotografiado durante la época de la guerra de Biafra.

Polikarpov I-16 de nacionalidad no identificada tras un "caballito", quizás al clavar los frenos. Parece tener dos impactos en el estabilizador de cola izquierdo y un número "3" en el timón, aunque no se ve bien. ¿Soviético? ¿Republicano español? ¿Español de posguerra? No lo sé.

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Cavok Brasil – Aviação e Fotografia - Boeing revela atualizações no conceito do seu caça de 6ª Geração F/A-XX

Cavok Brasil – Aviação e Fotografia - Boeing revela atualizações no conceito do seu caça de 6ª Geração F/A-XX

Formation flight Sunday. 990s

Formation flight Sunday. 990s:

Formation flight Sunday. 990s

Formation flight Sunday. Hastings C1s

Formation flight Sunday. Hastings C1s:

Formation flight Sunday. Hastings C1s

P-39 two seat conversion

P-39 two seat conversion:

P-39 two seat conversion

Junkers Ju 88 KG 54, Do 217 KG 2 - Ebay Luftwaffe photo find

Junkers Ju 88 KG 54, Do 217 KG 2 - Ebay Luftwaffe photo find:

 Ju 88 A "F1+EK" of 2./KG 76, Italy 1943/44, Besatzung (crew) of pilot Lt. Lieseke (second from left)
Below; 6./ KG 54 Ju 88 A, pilot Oblt Hans Mally, November 1942.

Do 217 K "U2+AH" (closest to the camera) of 1./KG 2 in formation over Holland during 1943. Note that the Kennung of this machine U2+AH is repeated on the tail fin.

Michael Meyer's Ebay photo sales

http://www.ebay.de/sch/m.html?item=380606135980&pt=Militaria&hash=item589de4beac&_ssn=macflly41&rt=nc