Offered by Over The Blue Horizon and assembled from recent purchases in Tokyo is a great, four (4) volume set from the early Chart Cover “Famous Airplanes of the World” (FAOW) series, on four (4) different Japanese fighters:
Number 10, June 1974: MITSUBISHI A6M ZERO REISEN MODELS 11-12
Number 143, May 1984: KAWASAKI Ki-61 HIEN TONY
Number 149, May 1985: KAWANISHI N1K SHIDEN AND SHIDEN-KAI GEORGE
Number 150, July 1985, MITSUBISHI J2M RAIDEN JACK
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ZERO was the first carrier-borne fighter in the world capable of outperforming any contemporary land-based fighter, the ZERO achieved immediate air superiority over Asia when Japan entered World War II. First flown in 1939 and blooded over the skies of China, the ZERO spearheaded the IJN air attacks at Pearl Harbor, Malaya, the Philippines and Burma. The Battle of Midway in mid-1942 represented the ZERO's combat zenith; thereafter, the agile Japanese fighter found itself ever more outclassed (and outnumbered) by increasingly superior American fighters such as the GRUMMAN F6F HELLCAT. This 56-page, 7.25 x 10 inch softcover focuses on the early variants of the ZERO and is in GOOD/GOOD+ condition with light shelf wear to the covers.
The Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF) Ki-61 TONY was the only mass-produced Japanese fighter of the war to use a liquid-cooled inline "v" engine. Powered by a licensed copy of the Daimler Benz DB-601 – the same engine that powered the Me-109 and the Macchi MC-202 – the Ki-61 first flew in December 1941 but did not enter operational service until early 1943 during the New Guinea campaign. Initially, due to its unusual appearance for a Japanese fighter, the Allies believed it to be of German or Italian origin, possibly a license-built Bf 109; this misconception and the ‘Italian-like appearance’ led to its code name of TONY. The Ki-61 was utilized in the South and Southwest Pacific, the Philippines, Southeast Asia, Okinawa, China, Manchuria, and in the defense of the Japanese homeland against American B-29 Superfortresses. In this capacity, a few increasingly desperate pilots used their TONYs to ram the high-flying and heavily-armed B-29s. A number of Ki-61s were also used in kamikaze missions launched toward the end of the war. This 56-page, 7.25 x 10 inch softcover is in FAIR+/GOOD condition with light shelf wear to the covers.
The SHIDEN/SHIDEN-KAI was evolved from the Kawanishi N1K1 KYOFU REX floatplane fighter which was designed to support forward offensive operations far in the Pacific where no airstrips were available, but by the time it became operationally available in 1943, its designed role was already outdated as Japan’s war strategy had already shifted to the defensive. However, because the design proved promising, an upgraded, land-based version of the fighter was designed -- the N1K1-J SHIDEN GEORGE. Without the large float and its corresponding high drag, the performance was significantly improved, but it suffered engine and landing gear problems, both of which were improved in the follow-on N1K2-J which lowered the position of the wing from its mid-fuselage location which shortened/simplified the landing gear and lightened the aircraft. In this last configuration, the N1K2-J SHIDEN-KAI GEORGE was considered by its pilots and Allied opponents as being one of the finest land-based aircraft flown by the Japanese in WWII. Although considered the equal of the F6F Hellcat, F4U Corsair, and P-51 Mustang, the impact of the GEORGE – because of low production numbers and the increasing shortage of adequately trained pilots -- did little to alter the eventual outcome of the war. Condition of this vintage, 56-page, 7.25 x 10.25 inch softcover is GOOD+ bordering on VERY GOOD.
The RAIDEN (Thunderbolt) was designed to a 1939 Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) requirement emphasizing speed and climb rate rather than the IJN’s customary emphasis on range and maneuverability. This design challenge was taken up by Jiro Horikoshi, designer of the famed A6M Zero, who produced a squat, single engine, tightly-cowled design with air racer-like features. After the prototype’s first flights in March 1942, criticisms from the Navy test pilots abounded, among them high landing speed, lack of maneuverability, and poor pilot vision. Modifications to rectify these shortcomings were delayed owing to Mitsubishi's production preoccupations with the A6M ZERO, and production JACK fighters did not enter service until late 1943. Although unpopular with its pilots, it offered good speed (360 MPH), and subsequent variants were even faster and more heavily armed – the final version packed four 20MM cannon. As the IJN’s role in air defense of the Japanese homeland increased, the capabilities offered by the JACK in intercepting the high-flying B-29s were better appreciated. In all, almost 500 JACKs were built. This 56-page, 7.25 x 10.25 inch softcover is in GOOD+ condition.
The FAOW series began publication in the late 1960s and are highly illustrated monographs focusing on a specific aircraft or family of aircraft. Text is in Japanese, but the photographs, scale line drawings, cut-away drawings, cockpit diagrams, close-up detail drawings and profiles transcend the written word and have appealed to aircraft hobbyists and aviation historians to this day. The formats and covers have slightly changed over the years. Originally, the FAOW covers were White and beginning in 1971, changed to Blue. All four of the publications from this offer are from this earlier Chart Cover series – difficult to find, even in Japan.
A super offer or any advanced Japanese aircraft modeler and one you won’t find anywhere else. Note that Over the Blue Horizon ships from the USA with FREE United States Postal Service (USPS) Priority or First Class shipping to USA buyers! eBay charges sales tax for certain states; Over the Blue Horizon charges Hawaii residents state general excise tax. Your purchase will be carefully wrapped to ensure that it arrives in the same condition as described in the eBay listing. If you are not happy with your purchase for whatever reason, we will work something out -- your satisfaction is GUARANTEED. Regardless of where you are in the world, buy with confidence from a well-established eBay merchant with a sterling reputation and an exceptionally high customer satisfaction rate.