BUILT

Kōkūtai 251, Rabaul airbase, New Britain, May 1943

For most naval fighter units that applied green

paint in field conditions, the method of painting

was similar within the unit. The exception is

Kōkūtai 251, which used very varied patterns of

green paint. The unit designation code was U1, but

this was repainted on the machines at the time of

deployment to Rabaul. U1-109 was photographed

on May 23, 1943 flying in a formation of six Zeros

during a patrol over New Britain. The photographs

were taken by war correspondent Hajime Yoshida.

The U1-109 flew as the wingman of the first Shōtai

leader, who was the controls of U1-105, which is

incorrectly attributed to Nishizawa. Kōkūtai 251

lost a total of 34 pilots during its deployment to

the Rabaul and Solomon Islands area from May

to the end of August 1943. In September 1943, its

status was therefore changed to a night fighter

with twin-engine Irving aircraft, and its remaining

Zer pilots were assigned to other units in Rabaul.

648807 A6M3 Type 22 landing flaps PRINT (Brassin)

Accessories used:

648787

648799

648806

648807

A6M3 tailwheel PRINT (Brassin)

A6M3 wheels (Brassin)

A6M3 Type 22 folding wingtips PRINT (Brassin)

A6M3 Type 22 landing flaps PRINT (Brassin)

Product page

June 2023

648799

A6M3 wheels (Brassin)

INFO Eduard

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