Warplanes of Australia: Captured German and Japanese aircraft preserved
Captured German and Japanese aircraft preserved in Australia
(Airwolfhound Photos)
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8 (Wk. Nr. 173056), "White 14", I./JG11. Built in 1944 at Marienburg, this aircraft is painted as a fighter flown by Oberstleutnant Hans Dortenman. It incorporated many parts made by Flug Werk. Previously Reg. No. N91169. Albury, New South Wales, Australia.
Flug + Werk Fw 190 A-8/N. In 1997, Flug + Werk GmbH, a German company, began building new Fw 190 A-8s, with a run of 20 aircraft being produced. These aircraft are new reproduction builds from the ground up, using many original dies, plans, and other information from the war. The construction was sub-contracted to Aerostar SA of Bac?u, Romania; both companies have been involved in a number of warbird replica projects.
Werk numbers (Wk. Nr.) continued from where German war production numbers ended, with the new Fw 190 A-8s being identified as "Fw 190 A-8/N" (N for Nachbau, meaning "replica"). A fewof these Fw 190s were fitted with original tail wheel assemblies salvaged from a small cache remaining from the Second World War. Initial flights of the Fw 190A-8/N were carried out in November 2005.
As original BMW 801 engines were no longer available, a Chinese licensed Soviet-designed engine, the Shvetsov ASh-82FN 14-cylinder twin-row radial engine of similar configuration and slightly smaller displacement (41.2 litres versus 41.8 in the original BMW powerplants) was installed. The Soviet engines powered a number of the Fw 190s former opponents including the Lavochkin La-5 and La-7. A few customers specified American Pratt & Whitney R-2800 motors be installed in their model, even though those engines are larger than the ASh-82 with different mounting points requiring some modification. As part of the run of 20 examples, FlugWerk also produced a limited number of "long nose" Fw 190D examples powered by Allison V-1710s.
Flug + Werk Fw 190 A-8/N (Wk. Nr. 990004), painted as (Wk. Nr. 173056), Reg. No. VH-WLF, Raptor Aviation, Brighton, Victoria.
(RAAF Photo)
DFS 230 Glider captured by the RAAF. None survive in Australia.
(Bundesarchiv Photo Bild 146-1975-117-26)
Fieseler Fi 103, V-1, FZG 76 flying bomb, being wheeled into position by its German launch crew. One is on display in The Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
(RAF Photo)
* Photos 1-5. Henschel Hs 129B-1/R2, (Wk. Nr. 0385), 8.(Pz)1Sch.G2, captured at El Aouina, Tunisia, in May 1943. This aircraft was brought to the USA where it was designated EB-105, then USA FE-103, later FE-4600 and then T2-4600, at Freeman Field, Indiana in 1945. The aircraft was cut up for scrap in 1946, but the cockpit was purchased and is on display in Der Adler Luftwaffe Museum, Sidney.
(AWM Photo)
Junkers Ju 52/3m captured intact by the Australian forces at Ain-El Gazala, Libya. It was repainted with the Royal Australian Air Force’s roundels and nicknamed "Libyan Clipper", ca. 1943. None are preserved in Australia.
(RAAF Photo)
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2/Trop, (Wk. Nr. 10639), Black 6, captured by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in Libya, later coded CV-V, RAF RN228.
(RAAF Photo)
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2/Trop, (Wk. Nr. 10639), ex-Black 6, RAAF CV-V, RAF RN228.
(RAF Photo)
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2/Trop, (Wk. Nr. 10639), ex-RAAF CV-V, RAF RN228, now preserved in the RAF Museum, Hendon, London, UK
(Mike Freer, Touchdown-aviation Photo)
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2/Trop, (Wk. Nr. 10639), "Black 6" from III./JG77, RAF RN228, RAF Museum Hendon, England.
(Australian War Memorial Photo, P05491 001)
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/U4, (Wk. Nr. 163824), NF+FY. No Air Ministry number was allocated to this aircraft. This Bf 109 was built as a G-6 with standard canopy in autumn 1943 by Messerschmitt in Regensburg, in March 1944 it was converted into a G-6/AS with ERLA-canopy and, after battle damage, rebuilt as a G-6/U4 in late 1944.It is now on display in the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australia.
(UniversalNation Photo)
(Fir0002/Flagstaffoto)
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/U4, (Wk. Nr. 163824), coded NF+FY. This aircraft was produced at Regensburg in 1944, within the last batch of the G-6 series. It was tested at Puchhof airfield and was damaged in the same year. It is unknown what unit used this Messerschmitt. In December 1944, 163824 was refurbished at “Ludwig Hansen & Co.” repair facilities, according to an inscription found on the aircraft, “M.C.Y. 31.12.1944”, receiving a new starboard wing, a new stern section and a changed engine cowl. After the end of the war, 163824 was collected by the British at Eggebek airfield. 1946 it was located at an RAF Maintenance Unit, in Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. This aircraft 1946 it was crated and shipped to Australia, together with a Messerschmitt Me 163, as a gift to the Australian Government in recognition of Australia's contribution to the air war in Europe during the Second World War. The two aircraft were stored until 1954, when they were transferred to the Australian War Memorial. 163824 was sold several times, before being returned to the Australian War Memorial in 1987, with the provision that the Memorial “ensure the restoration and preservation of the aircraft...and that the aircraft will be maintained for the general public.” Non standard fuselage cowls possibly indicate a change of engine type. Except for missing armament the plane is complete in all respects. 163824 is the only Bf 109 wearing its original camouflage and markings, a 1944 day-fighter scheme, with variations resulting from service repairs and replacements. It is currently on display in the Australian War Museum, Canberra, Australia.
(Nick-D Photo)
Messserschmitt Me 163B Komet, (Wk. Nr. 191907), served with JG 400. This aircraft was captured at Husum and shipped to the RAE at Farnborough. It was designated RAF AM222 and was dispatched from Farnborough to No. 6 MU, Brize Norton, on 8 August 1945. On 21 March 1946, it was recorded in the Census of No. 6 MU, and allocated to No. 76 MU (Wroughton) on 30 April 1946 for shipment to Australia. It is shown here on display in the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
(Universal Nation Photo)
Messerschmitt Me 262A-2a Schwalbe, (Wk. Nr. 500200), 9K+XK, II./KG 51, "Black X", captured at Fassberg. Designated RAF AM81, this aircraft is now on display in the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australia.
Captured Japanese Warplanes flown by the TAIU-SWPA in Australia
(RAAF Photo)
Mitsubishi A6M3 Model 32 Zero-Sen (Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter), codename “Zeke”. This aircraft was rebuilt and test flown by the Technical Air Intelligence Unit (TAIU) at Eagle Farm, Brisbane, Australia, using parts of five different aircraft captured at Buna, New Guinea. The completed aircraft was test flown in mock combat against a Supermarine Spitfire Mk. V. It was concluded that the “Zeke” was superior to the Spitfire below 20,000 feet. In late 1943 the “Zeke” was shipped to the United States aboard the escort carrier USS Copahee. It went to Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, where it was flown and evaluated.
Other Japanese aircraft acquired by the TAIU in Australia included two Nakajima Ki-43-1A (Army Type 1 Fighter Model 1A Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon)), codename “Oscar”, and a Kawasaki Ki-61-II (Army Type 3 Fighter Model 1 Hien (Swallow)), codename “Tony”. The “Oscars” were test flown in Australia in March and April 1944, and the “Tony” was shipped to NAS Anacostia later in 1944.
In June 1944 the US Navy personnel at the TAIU in Australia were transferred to NAS Anacostia and became the cadre for an expanded Technical Air Intelligence Center. Collection of Japanese aircraft continued in 1943, 1944, and 1945, for analysis by the US Navy and the USAAF. TAIUs operated in Southeast Asia, the Philippines, China, and, after the end of hostilities, in Japan. Personnel of the Royal Australian Air Force participated, as they had earlier in the war.
After the conclusion of the Pacific War, most surviving Japanese aircraft were destroyed where they lay, usually by burning. Those machines in more isolated areas were simply left to rot, often stripped of useful components by the indigenous population. Some examples were shipped to Allied nations (primarily Australia, England and the United States) for technical study, but by the 1950s most of these had been sold for scrap. With the rise of interest in aviation history during the 1970s, the surviving examples of Japanese Navy Air Force (JNAF) and Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF) aircraft were often repaired, restored, and placed on public display. A few additional examples were recovered from former war zones and, in a few cases, renovated to high standards. There are doubtless many more still corroding in jungle areas or under the sea which may one day be recovered and restored.
“The Japanese Army and Navy forces as organizations were progressively demobilized and disbanded as soon as practical after their surrender in August 1945. This short three-part article outlines the corresponding fate of their aircraft, a story beginning with the formation of Technical Air Intelligence Units (TAIUs) during 1943.”
“As in Europe, the Allies in the Pacific theatre were also keen to learn as much as possible about their opponents’ equipment. With Americans having the major involvement there, it was appropriate that they predominated in all such evaluation, particularly in respect of captured aircraft. It was agreed in this regard that the US Navy would lead a technical air intelligence joint organization which included USAAF, RAF and RN representatives.”
“Thereafter, the first TAIU was set up as a joint USAAF/USN/RAAF organization in Australia in early 1943. This particular unit absorbed a small team from the Directorate of Intelligence, HQ Allied Forces, who were developing the Code Name system for Japanese aircraft they had started in 1942. A second, known as the Allied TAIU for South East Asia (ATAIU-SEA), followed in Calcutta in late 1943 as a joint RAF/USAAF Allied unit. Then, in mid 1944, the USN personnel from the TAIU in Australia were withdrawn to NAS Anacostia, near Washington DC, to become the TAIC (Technical Air Intelligence Centre), whose purpose was to centralise and co-ordinate work of test centres in the United States with work of TAIUs in the field.”
“The operation in Australia was reformed to function thereafter as TAIU for the South West Pacific Area (TAIU-SWPA) and eventually moved to the Philippines in early 1945. Two other operations were also set up, TAIU for the Pacific Ocean Area (TAIU-POA) as a USN unit to trawl the various Pacific Islands for aircraft and TAIU for China (TAIU-CHINA) under control of Chiang Kai Shek’s Nationalists.”
“Aircraft test flown by the TAIUs before cessation of hostilities in August 1945:
TAIU (Australia) - approximately 5; TAIU-SWPA (Philippines) - over 20; ATAIU-SEA – None; TAIU- POA - None, but 14 sent to TAIC; TAIU-CHINA – 1; and, TAIC - at least 11.”
“When war ended the Allies felt it necessary to assess the state of technological development still remaining intact in Japan. Although work of other TAIUs ended speedily, that of ATAIU-SEA and TAIU-SWPA continued to gather selected material for further evaluation; in order to do this the former moved to Singapore, with a flying unit at Tebrau in Malaya, and the latter to Japan itself.”
(USAAF Photos)
Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52 Zero-Sen (Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter), codename “Zeke”, painted in green cross surrender markings.
“There were two periods of so-called green cross flights by Japanese aircraft after capitulation. The first lasted from about 19th August to 12th September 1945, covering flights of surrender delegations and flights of surrendering aircraft to assembly points. The second period lasted from 15th September to 10th October 1945, covering general communications and taking surrender details to outlying forces. The longest survivors of these operations were probably those few that found their way into the Gremlin Task Force (see Part 3); the rest were destroyed.”
“By early 1946 ATAIU-SEA in Singapore had gathered some 64 Army and Navy aircraft, most in flyable condition, for shipment to the UK for further evaluation. An unknown number of these aircraft were actually test flown at Tebrau. Lack of shipping space prevented this shipment and only four eventually arrived in England for Museum purposes. In any event, funds for testing captured war material were by then severely restricted and most such work already stopped.”
“By the end of 1945 TAIU-SWPA teams had scoured the Japanese mainland and other territories to gather together in Yokohama Naval Base four examples of every Japanese aircraft type never previously tested by the Allies; one of each was to be for the USAAF, USN, RAF and Museum purposes.”
“In the event, those for the RAF have not been accounted for and of the remainder some 115 arrived in America during December 1945, 73 to Army bases and 42 to Naval bases. Once again funds and interest for further testing were drying up rapidly and only six of the aircraft were actually flown there, four by the Army and two by the Navy. Out of the 115 total, plus 11 TAIC aircraft already there, 46 are in US Museums, about two thirds of the remainder were scrapped and the rest are probably still corroding away somewhere out of sight.”[1]
[1] Data from an article by Peter Starkings, originally published in JAS Jottings, 1/3, 1995.
(Fir0002/Flagstaffoto)
Mitsubishi A6M2-21 (Serial No. 5784), V-173, retrieved as a wreck after the war and later found to have been flown by Saburo Sakai at Lae, on display inside the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia.
(Ken Hodge Photo)
Mitsubishi A6M2 (Serial No. 840), wreckage of the forward fuselage, inboard wings, engine, and propellerp, on display at the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre, Winnville near Darwin, Northern Territory. This Mitsubishi Zero was the first Japanese aircraft shot down over Australian territory in the Second World War. The display photograph shows the aircraft condition after its crash landing and demonstrates the amount of souveniring which took place during the war.
Another aircraft recovered by the Australian War Memorial Museum in the early 1970s now belongs to Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida. Along with several other Zeros, it was found near Rabaul in the South Pacific. The markings suggest that it was in service after June 1943 and further investigation suggests that it has cockpit features conducive to the Nakashima built Model 52b. If this is correct, it is most likely one of the 123 aircraft lost by the Japanese during the assault of Rabaul. The aircraft was shipped in pieces to the attraction and it was eventually made up for display as a crashed aircraft. Much of the aircraft is usable for patterns and some of its parts can be restored to one day make this a basis for a flyable aircraft.
(USAAF Photo)
Nakajima Ki-43-I Hayabusa, possibly XJ005, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in 1943. After its capture at Hollandia in New Guinea, it was rebuilt by the Technical Air Intelligence Unit (TAIU) in Hangar 7 at Eagle Farm, Brisbane, Australia.
(Australian War Museum Photo)
Tachikawa Ki-54 codenamed "Hickory" with green surrender crosses, taken over by the RAAF. The fuselage of this aircraft is stored in the Treloar Technology Centre, Australia.
