Japanese Gliders and Assault Gliders

Maveric · 9 May 2008

Hi all,

found this pics from japanese gliders of the WW2. Can you give a identification?

burunduk · 10 May 2008

On pictures 02 and 03 there are definitely famous German Lippish SG.38 (Schulgleiter 1938 year).

This robust and simple glider was built in several countries including Japan.

richard · 11 May 2008

02&03 are not SG 38 ,but an original design inspired by the famous Grunau 9 .

richard · 11 May 2008

No 5 is identified page 75 of "AIR PICTORIAL" march 1959 as :
Mizuno Hikari 6-2 trainer glider,model 11 .

Maveric · 11 May 2008

...so richard, I believe the pic no.7 is the same glider.

richard · 11 May 2008

I agree
Cheers
Richard

Retrofit · 17 May 2008

N°4 is the Ku-3 built by the Kayaba Mfg Co. First flight on Feb., 11, 1941;
N°8 is the HK-1 built by the Itoh Aircraft Co. First flight on Dec., 15, 1938,
Those two tailless gliders were designed by Prof. Hidemasa Kimura

Maveric · 17 May 2008

Great Retrofit,

do you have also some technical data for both planes...

Thanks

Servus Maveric

Retrofit · 22 May 2008

I have just found the following specs:

HK-1: Span 10m, Area 14m2, Length 3,5m, Empty weight 203kg
Ku-3: Span 16m, Length 6m

gerhard · 4 June 2009

Hi guys

I am searching for any graphics and information on the following Japanese WW2 gliders?

Itoh C.6
Itoh D.1 (2 seater)
Hikari Rokko 1 (2 Seater)
Hikari Rokko 2
Hikari (2 Seater)
Mizuno Hikari 6-2 trainer glider, model 11
Mayeda Rokko 1
Sotoh T.C
Nippon Ohtori
Nippon Washi (2 Seater)
Mizuno 301type Soarer.
Fukuda HT-3 (glider version Hitachi HT-3F)
Fukuda Ku 9
Kokusai Ku 8 "Gander" Army Type 4 Large Transport Glider
Kokusai Ku-7 "Buzzard"
Maeda Ku 10
Maeda Ku-6 Sora-Sha
Mizuno 202
Nihon Kogata Chikara
Nihon Kogata K-14 Kirigamine
Nihon Kogata K-16
Nihon Kogata Ku-11
Nihon Kogata MXJ1 K-15 Wakakusa 17-shi Basic Training Glider
Fukuda Ki 23 (Hikari 6-I)
Tachikawa Ki 24 (Stamer Lippisch Schulgleiter SG 38???)
Tachikawa Ki 25
Yokoi Ku 13 Shusui
Yokosuka MXY3 (target glider)
Yokosuka MXY5
Yokosuka MXY6 (evaluation for Kyushu J7W Shinden)

Thanks

Gerhard

Justo Miranda · 4 June 2009

Yokosuka MXY6 info ...

Abingdon · 4 June 2009

Here's a few photos I found at NARA II over the past few months, mainly in the US Navy files.

Jemiba · 4 June 2009

Some info from J.E.Mrazek "Kampfsegler im 2.Weltkrieg" (Assault gliderr in WW II),
data in german, sorry, but by your user name, I would suggest, you can read and
speak german, can't you ?

(Photo of the Ku-8 is was the same in the mentioned book, as posted by Searay)

Jemiba · 4 June 2009

... and two more:

Pelzig · 4 June 2009

Here is the Kūgishō MXY8 which was to be built for the IJA as the Yokoi Ku-13.

From Wikipedia.

Pelzig · 4 June 2009

Illustrations of the Maeda Ku-6 Kuro-Sha. They come from Akira Sahara's book,Imperial Japanese Army Prototypes & Paper Plans:1943-1945 The photo of the Mitsubishi So-Ra (or Sora-Sha, meaning "sky tank") mock-up is a web find. The name of the combination comes from the conjunction of "Ku" from Ku-6 with "ro", meaning the number six, and Sha, from the tank designation.

blackkite · 4 June 2009

Super and wonderful!! I can't find any pictures in Japanese site.

Pelzig · 4 June 2009

The Fukuda/Hitachi HT-3. Scanned from Robert C. Mikesh and Shorzoe Abe's Japanese Aircraft 1910-1941

Pelzig · 4 June 2009

The Ki-24 and Ki-25 from Minoru Akimoto's All the Experimental Aircraft in Japanese Army.

Pelzig · 4 June 2009

And the Ki-23, also from from Minoru Akimoto's All the Experimental Aircraft in Japanese Army.

EEP1A · 5 June 2009

Some photos of the lesser known gliders from "Nihon no guraida 1930-1945" (Japanese gliders 1930-1945) by Hiroyuki Kawakami, 1998, published by Model Art. Comprehensive history of Japanese gliders of the pre and during WW2 era, highly recommended if you have interest in Japanese gliders. 316 pages, unfortunately in Japanese language only.

archipeppe · 6 June 2009

Pelzig said:
Illustrations of the Maeda Ku-6 Kuro-Sha. They come from Akira Sahara's book,Imperial Japanese Army Prototypes & Paper Plans:1943-1945 The photo of the Mitsubishi So-Ra (or Sora-Sha, meaning "sky tank") mock-up is a web find. The name of the combination comes from the conjunction of "Ku" from Ku-6 with "ro", meaning the number six, and Sha, from the tank designation.

Incredible!! Something quite similiar to the Russian "Krilya Tank" project....

Justo Miranda · 6 June 2009

Color profiles here...

Tophe · 6 June 2009

Pelzig said:
Illustrations of the Maeda Ku-6 Kuro-Sha.

Thanks a lot for this VERY rare finding. I had never seen it before. ;D (not even in the great book "Fighting gliders of World War II" where the others are it seems)

Pelzig · 6 June 2009

Quite so. The IJA got into the glider tank game in 1943 (after the Russians abandoned the Antonov A-40 or KT and long after the U.S. poo-pooed Christie's gliding M1932 tank). The So-Ra tank was only 3.1 tons, making it a tankette with all the disadvantages that come with that. The 37mm cannon (one of three proposed main weapons, the other being a heavy machine gun and flamethrower) was woefully inadequate against Allied armor. Depending on the source, the Ku-6 was finally tested in 1945 likely using the Mitsubishi mock-up and the whole thing came up short...exhibiting much the same issues the Russians had with the A-40. Poor handling in the air, limited pilot/driver vision, and the extreme difficulty in landing in one piece, let alone the dubious combat value of the So-Ra. With the introduction of the Ku-7, which could carry the heavier 7.4 ton Ha-Go tank, the Ku-6 was shelved.

archipeppe said:
Pelzig said:

Illustrations of the Maeda Ku-6 Kuro-Sha. They come from Akira Sahara's book,Imperial Japanese Army Prototypes & Paper Plans:1943-1945 The photo of the Mitsubishi So-Ra (or Sora-Sha, meaning "sky tank") mock-up is a web find. The name of the combination comes from the conjunction of "Ku" from Ku-6 with "ro", meaning the number six, and Sha, from the tank designation.

Click to expand...

Incredible!! Something quite similiar to the Russian "Krilya Tank" project....

tom! · 6 June 2009

Hi.

From 1942 on IJA airborne tank companies were equipped with the 7,2 t type 98 light tank Ke-Ni and the type 2 light tank Ke-To. AFAIK all glider projects were cancelled in mid-1943 and the airborne tank companies were used as homeland defence units.

Pelzig · 6 June 2009

The Ku-7 glider did not fly for the first time until August 1944, so, not all glider projects were canceled by 1943. Same for the Ku-6 which lingered into 1945.

Also, according to one source, the Ke-To didn't even get into production until 1944 and even then, very few were built (no more than 35) since the IJA felt the Ha-Go was quite satisfactory and no Ke-To was to see combat (but, as you say, it was meant for airborne deployment though it was used on the mainland with regular infantry units). The Ke-Ni was another rarity, only 100 or so being built from 1942 to 1943, again, never seeming to overcome the support and popularity of the Ha-Go.

tom! said:
Hi.

From 1942 on IJA airborne tank companies were equipped with the 7,2 t type 98 light tank Ke-Ni and the type 2 light tank Ke-To. AFAIK all glider projects were cancelled in mid-1943 and the airborne tank companies were used as homeland defence units.

gerhard · 8 June 2009

WOW, this is incredible! Thank you everyone for these great contributions. Information on Japanese gliders is very rare. Most of these gliders I have never seen before. ;D

redstar72 · 8 June 2009

Yokosuka MXY-6 - a topic from Czech magazine L+K (# 12-2007):

scorp · 8 June 2009

Would anyone have information on and/or illustration of a Japanese Navy transport glider designed to land on water? Recall having seen a mention of this one in an early-Seventies issue of what was then called "Air Enthusiast."

lark · 9 June 2009

All web sources about the Ku-6 showing a single boom
tank glider.
Is the twinboom version a variant or the definitve aircraft.
(by the way,I never saw a paper illustration of the first one)

Tophe · 9 June 2009

lark said:
All web sources about the Ku-6 showing a single boom
tank glider.
Is the twinboom version a variant or the definitve aircraft.

All right (see http://deuxiemeguerremondia.forumactif.com/les-blindes-f37/le-maeda-ku-6-sora-sha-t5615.htm ):

lark · 9 June 2009

That's the one with the single tailboom I mean Tophe,but what is the source of
the illustration.In what book or magazine was it published ?

Pelzig · 9 June 2009

The twin-boom glider has appeared in more recent sources, notably Akira Sahara'sImperial Japanese Army Prototypes & Paper Plans:1943-1945 and Minoru Akimoto's All the Experimental Aircraft in Japanese Army.

I'm not sure of the source on the single tailed version. Sahara doesn't even mention this version so, I'm more apt to go with both Sahara and Akimoto for the definitive Ku-6 rendition.

lark said:
All web sources about the Ku-6 showing a single boom
tank glider.
Is the twinboom version a variant or the definitve aircraft.
(by the way,I never saw a paper illustration of the first one)

lark · 11 June 2009

Thanks for the info...

gerhard · 12 June 2009

Hi Guys

Does anyone perhaps have more information on Ki 23, Ki 24 & Ki 25?

Thanx
Gerhard

gerhard · 9 July 2010

Hi

Please could someone assist with the identification of these gliders. Also, where do one find info on the "A and B" id codes on these planes?

Cheers

robunos · 9 July 2010

Okay...

'glider01.jpg', the open frame glider is an RFD Dagling, according to the logo on the
bracing wire support pylon, although the card on which the model rests says 'Slingsby Type(e3)
They are effectively the same aircraft.
The other is a Baynes Scud 1, maybe the prototype.

'itou-b2-01.jpg', this appears to be a version of the Dagling with a faired nacelle and rounded wingtips.

'J-BCYH.jpg', Sorry, can't help... :'(

'kyuutei 03-01.jpg', Again, a variant on the Dagling, appears to use Slingsby Kirby Tutor wings.

'kyuutei 11-02.jpg', A Grunau Baby.

'Oyako02.jpg', again sorry, can't help...

'tenjikai33.jpg', a Goppingen 1 Wolf. From 'Sailplanes 1920-45',
"(Wolf) Hirth took one to Japan when he toured that country in 1933 and it was sold there.
Later, three more of the type were exported to Japan."

Sources; 'Sailplanes 1920-45', 'Slingsby Sailplanes'.

cheers,
Robin.

gerhard · 9 July 2010

Thanx Robin.

Sorry the last pic is obviously not a glider.

Gerhard

Stargazer · 9 July 2010

J-BIPD : Itoh Universal Glider c/n 10 (registered to F.Habuto, July 1935)
J-BCYH : unfortunately no more details than "glider"...

Japanese Gliders and Assault Gliders

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