Markings for A6M2-K 1/48
COL A
Tsukuba Kōkūtai, Tsukuba Base, Japan, 1944
Tsukuba Kōkūtai training unit was separated from Kasumigaura Kōkūtai in December 1938. Over the time, the focus of training provided by the unit changed. In November 1944, Tsukuba Kōkūtai assigned experienced instructors to form a fighter squadron equipped with Zero and Shiden aircraft. This squadron engaged in combat with B-29 bombers and U.S. carrier-based aircraft as early as January and February 1945. At the end of March 1945, Tsukuba Kōkūtai was ordered to form its own Kamikaze units, designated Tsukuba-tai No. 1 to No. 6. However, the last two Kamikaze units were staffed by Zero pilots from Kōkūtai 721. In July 1943, a regulation was issued that, among other things, mandated that training aircraft deployed in combat operations or based in areas where the enemy was active should be painted like combat aircraft. In practice, this led to the repainting of already-produced A6M2-K trainers. One such aircraft was Tsu-415, which is known from a photograph showing it with a yellow-orange coating on all surfaces. However, in a later photograph, it appears camouflaged with dark green paint on the upper surfaces, while the original paint and markings on the tail remained unchanged.
COL B
probably Kōkūtai 332, Japan, 1945
This trainer aircraft, found in Japan at the end of the war, was captured on a color slide. The machine was likely assembled from at least two aircraft. In the photograph, it is clearly visible that the undersides of the wings are largely left unpainted, but part of the wing and the underside of the fuselage are painted in a yellow-orange color. The color of the undersides of the horizontal tail surfaces is not very clear in the photo, so it is possible they were left unpainted, or painted gray, and it cannot be ruled out that parts of them were also painted yellow-orange. From the photo, it is not entirely clear which part of the propeller assembly was left on the aircraft. It is possible that it is part of a spinner, painted in dark green. The aircraft likely belonged to a training squadron that was part of the Kōkūtai 332. When this IJN air group was established in August 1944, it was equipped with interceptors and two-seat float reconnaissance planes. Later, it was equipped with Zero fighters, J2M Raiden interceptors, and J1N1 Gekkō night fighters. It participated in the defense of the Philippines and defended Japan against B-29 bomber raids.
COL C
Kōkūtai 205, Taiwan, 1945
This aircraft was captured by Chinese forces in Taiwan at the end of World War II. It is a trainer aircraft that originally belonged to the armament of Kōkūtai 205. This unit was formed in early February 1945 from personnel of various units who had been evacuated from the Philippines. The unit's official strength was 144 Zero fighter aircraft, divided among Hikōtai 302 (based in Taichū/Taichung), Hikōtai 315 (Tainan/T’ai-nan), and Hikōtai 317 (Shinchiku/Hsinchu). After the American landing on Okinawa, the Japanese command decided to use all air units in Taiwan for special attack (Kamikaze) operations. For this purpose, two forward command posts were established for Kōkūtai 205 on the islands of Ishigaki-jima and Miyako-jima. The Kamikaze unit detached from Kōkūtai 205 was named Taigi-tai (Noble Cause Unit). It was deployed from April to June 1945, primarily targeting Royal Navy vessels. Taigi-tai claimed hits on the aircraft carriers HMS Formidable and HMS Indomitable.
COL D
Ensign Daiji Matsufuji, Kamikaze Tokubetsu Kōgekitai, 1st Shichisei-tai, Kanoya airbase, Japan, April 1945
From April 3, 1945, a total of eight special attack units with the battle name Shichisei were organized from the airmen serving in Genzan Kōkūtai (II) and Hikōtai 306 (part of Kōkūtai 721). Lt. Miyatake, who was 24 years old at the time, led the 1st Shichisei-tai in an attack on a convoy off Okinawa on April 6, 1945. During that day, eleven other airmen from Genzan Kōkūtai (II) sacrificed their lives along with him. They took off successively in four formations. They were among the 524 aircraft of special attack units and escort fighters from IJN and IJA sent against Allied vessels off Okinawa as part of Operation Kikusui I. The U.S. Navy lost destroyers USS Bush (DD-529) and Colhoun (DD-801) and other ships were severely damaged. Shichisei units were sent against ships off Okinawa, Yoronjima, Kikai, and Tanegashima islands in several missions till May 14. Only one of them returned to base due to bad weather. The depicted Ke-427 aircraft was apparently assembled from two airframes with differently applied paint schemes. During a special attack mission on April 6, it was likely piloted by Ensign Daiji Matsufuji.
COL E
Tainan Kōkūtai (II), Tainan airbase, Taiwan, summer 1944
The designation of this training unit is the Katakana characters "Ta" and "I". The dark green paint on the upper surfaces indicates that the aircraft has been overhauled. The machine was acquired from funds raised by the Tokyo Fruit and Vegetable Commercial Association. The second Tainan Kōkūtai was established in April 1943 as an operational training unit. Its home base was again Tainan, as with the previous unit of that name, which became Kōkūtai 251 in late 1942. When Allied air raids on Taiwan began in the second half of the war, the airmen of Tainan Kōkūtai (II) joined in its defense. They fought both four-engine bombers and their escort fighters based in China as US Navy aircraft. Its first commander was Capt. Shigematsu Ichimura, who was commander of the 14th Kōkūtai in China in 1940. The most famous instructor who served with the unit was CPO Takeo Tanimizu, an ace with 18 kills to his credit. In January 1945, a special attack unit was organized from part of the Kōkūtai and participated in Kamikaze missions.
COL F
Kōnoike Kōkūtai, Kōnoike airbase, Japan, 1944
The Kōnoike Air Group was established in mid-February 1944 and conducted training activities until mid-December 1944. Among its instructors were, for example, Warrant Officer Shigeo Sugi-o, who had over 20 victories to his credit, Warrant Officer Momoto Matsumura (13 victories), and Lieutenant Sumio Fukuda (11 victories). The latter two perished in October 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf as members of carrier-based fighter units. Already during the fighting in the Philippines, Kōnoike Kōkūtai selected a number of volunteers from its ranks for special attack (Kamikaze) missions. The final phase of training for these Kamikaze pilots was completed in Taiwan. The Kōnoike base had two main runways measuring 1,800 and 1,400 meters in length and also had a number of smaller runways. During the autumn of 1944, the Kōnoike airfield became the first of several bases for the 721st Air Group, which was preparing for the deployment of MXY-7 Ōka rocket aircraft. In mid-February 1945, the airfield was the target of a devastating air raid by U.S. Navy aircraft. Some concrete shelters still survive in the area around the base to this day.