Lawsuit Against Chino Air Show May Ground Zeros

In what has been called an unwarranted underhanded move, Chino Airport tenants Yanks Air Museum and Flying Tigers Aviation have filed a lawsuit to stop the annual Planes of Fame Air Show. This was filed 30 days before the event. This air show has been held every year for the last 30 years at the Chino Airport. The annual event attracts military aviation enthusiasts and warbird history buffs alike from all parts of the country to see the rarest collection of WWII & Korean War fighter aircraft take to the skies and dazzle crowds. Yanks allege that they lose money each year and further claim the event obstructs their ability to do business. This of course has angered many in the warbird community who regard this as a frivolous lawsuit to ground the beloved air show which features two of the world's only flying Japanese A6M Zero fighters. Yanks has no flying aircraft in their museum nor has participated in the air show years. All parties in the suit claim they love aviation but those suing POF claims they don't like how the air show is being run. One could guess they want a bigger piece of the action for themselves. Internet reaction has been fierce and Yanks has become very unpopular as a result. While we do not expect the air show to be canceled, we call this suit  for what it is. Frivolous and Underhanded. 

POF has an on-line petition SAVE OUR AIRSHOW which at last count has over 14,650 signatures in support of the POF Air Show. We hope this case is thrown out of court and look forward to seeing over 40 vintage aircraft take to the skies and the Zeros fly once more. Please show your support and sign their Petition. Thank you!

Kawasaki Ki-61 Flying Swallow Restored

This last October news outlets revealed that Kawasaki Heavy Industries LTD. had restored a 75 year old Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien fighter in commemoration with the company's 120th anniversary of its founding. The Type-3 Fighter was nicknamed "Hien" (Flying Swallow) by Kawasaki Aircraft and made its first flight in 1941. She is currently on display in Kawasaki's Legacy Technology Hall in Kobe Japan. They say around 3000 of these planes were built during WWII and currently this is the last one in Japan making this a very rare plane. The story of this particular plane is that this aircraft was requisitioned by the U.S. Military after the war. She later sat on display at Chiran Air Base for many years until her recent restoration. Most of the original instruments had to be replaced and the engine is restored but she is not flyable. At present there are no plans to restore her to flying status. She is to join a warbird collection at Kagamihara Aerospace Science Museumin Gifu Prefecture. While we are sad to see she will not take to the air, we are happy to see that she will be preserved for future generations to enjoy.

Recovered Zero's First Flight Over Japan Since WWII

This week in January 2016 saw the first flight of a once wrecked A6M-Zero Fighter found in Papua New Guinea take it's first flight over Japan since WWII. According to the Associated Press, this plane that was found in the 1970's in a severe state of decay was recovered and restored by an American. It was later sold to Japanese businessman Masahiro Ishizuka who then brought the restored plane to Japan last September. To date, there are only a few Zeros left in the world in flyable condition.

While the plane was piloted by former U.S. Air Force pilot Skip Holm out of the Kanoya Naval Base in Kagoshima Prefecture, it should be noted that this symbolic departure point was one of the bases where many young Kamikaze pilots last took to the skies. Mr. Ishizuka is quoted as saying; “I wanted for the people of Japan and especially young people to know about this Zero airplane, as well as those who are old who remember the past. Each of them should have different thoughts and perspectives on this, but I just want people to know how Japan has developed its technology.”

December 7th, 2013 A Day of Remembrance

It has been 72 years since the outbreak of war between the United States and Japan. And since that time there have been many memorials, commemorations, and events to mark the remembrance of that tragic day so long ago. So when it was announced that the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino California had assembled a small fleet of rare Japanese warplanes, we just had to be there.

Earlier this year, we had a rather negative experience the last time we viewed a Japanese warplane in Pima Arizona. So when we decided we would go to the Inland Empire to a Pearl Harbor event, we expected to find the same anti-Japanese sentiments but to our surprise we did not. Rather, we had found just the opposite. The night prior we had attended the LA Eigafest at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood where upon mentioning where we would be the following morning we repeatedly heard “Oh no! We don’t want to go there,” from many Nikkei attending there. This of course was most understandable. But low and behold, a dozen or so people from Japan including Japanese media came to the event and were welcomed with as much respect as any other visitor. This of course was a big relief. But then again I was reminded by one of the speakers that "This was not Arizona."

So getting back to why we attended the commemoration, we had come to see the rare fleet of Japanese war planes outside of Japan parked outside in the rain which included:

The rare Mitsubishi JM2 Raiden aka “Jack” fighter.

The Yokusuka D4Y aka “Judy” Torpedo Bomber.

And the Aichi D3A2 “Val” Torpedo Bomber.

Each of these planes has stories of their own. But of these three planes, one of them was not an original. The “Val” was actually a conversion plane built in 1968 for the movie Tora Tora Tora and later used in the Jerry Bruckheimer film Pearl Harbor. I actually met this plane as a child in Oxnard during a filming of one of the many WWII dramas filmed in the late 1970’s. It was awesome to see this old childhood friend again.

As an added bonus, we were honored to have been present to both listen to and personally meet one of the last surviving Army Air Corps fighter Pilots who was based at Wheeler field that day. Retired U. S. Air Force Col. Norval Heath who delivered his accounts of what happened to him and his squadron that day. I was pleased to see how humble this gentle warrior who now at the age of 97 spoke with such dignity and without anger. It so happened when we went to personally thank him for his service he engaged us in conversation and was curious to know about our Japanese language skills and interest in wartime aviation. As we said to him it was truly an honor to meet and shake hands with him. It will likely be the last time we will ever have a chance to meet a pilot of his generation.

 

And while there was much more to see at the Planes of Fame Air Museum, we also enjoyed the presentation by the guest speaker, fellow author Dan King of The Last Zero Fighter (seen in the above photo with Col. Heath). Mr. King has interviewed more Japanese Pilots in Japan than anyone we are aware of and could speak for those pilots who were no longer with us. We have chatted with Mr. King on Facebook before so when we finally met him in person we conducted introductions in Japanese. He is a fine speaker who will be releasing another book in the New Year titled In the Shadow of Suribachi. 

It might have been a cold wet rainy day but we enjoyed this most respectful commemoration free of anti-Japanese sentiments or the usual refighting of WWII arguments. We give high praise to the Planes of Fame Air Museum for both their fine collection of warplanes and outstanding presentations. We at American Mishima highly recommend the drive out to Chino to visit. But in closing, we were struck by Dan King’s final words on behalf of the Japanese pilots who participated in the attack. “There are two things the Japanese Pilots wanted Americans to know. #1 For them, they knew this would be a one way ticket. They did not expect to return from their mission. #2 Upon discovering that the Declaration of War had been bungled by the Japanese Embassy in Washington D.C., this made the men angry. This was not what they had trained for. For the rest of their lives they believed they would be considered villains the world over and that shame would be passed onto their children and grandchildren. This is not what they wanted nor wished to have happened. It was a sobering heartfelt sentiment that reminded us of a Buddhist scroll hanging on our wall written in the Showa era: “The Leaf falls without Anger.” 

To the men on both sides of that tragic day, 

We at American Mishima salute you both.

 May our countries continue to exist in harmony and never go to war again.

To find out more about Dan King's book The Last Zero Fighter please visit:

The Last Zero Fighter Facebook Page 

To learn more about The Planes of Fame Air Museum please visit:

Planes of Fame Air Museum