Japanese Airplane Crashes in Caswell County: 1945
The airplane that crashed 1945 in Caswell County is called a Tony. It was German-inspired and came after the better-known Zero. It also went by the designation Kawasaki Ki-61 Hein: single-seat, single-seat monoplane fighter/interceptor first produced by Japan in 1943. It was faster than the Zero, had a higher service ceiling, but was not as maneuverable.
The one that crashed in Caswell County had serial number: C/N 263. It was found by US forces abandoned at Tuluvu Airfield, Cape Gloucester, Papua New Guinea, on 26 December 1943. Because it was intact, in 1944 the US brought it back to the US to examine/study. During January 1945, C/N 263, after having been painted with US livery for test purposes, was painted back in pseudo-Japanese markings and evaluated against the Wildcat, Corsair, Hellcat, Tigercat and Bearcat, but the tests were suspended when bearing metal was found in the engine oil.
The aircraft crashed at Yanceyville, North Carolina on 2 July 1945, and was written off. I have been unable to determine why the airplane was flying over Caswell County.
The attached photograph most likely is the way the airplane appeared when it crashed in Caswell County. Also attached is a photograph of the airplane as it was found in Papua New Guinea.
Thanks to Curtis Rogers for sharing this story. He also provided the following:
"I was there on 2 July 1945. I saw the whole thing. The volunteer fire chief [Johnny] Harwood lived next door to us in front of the Baptist church. We followed him down to the site where the Tony had just landed wheels up. We were the first on the scene. The pilot had gotten out of the plane and was smoking a cigarette. Shortly thereafter, a P38 circled the scene. That plane was escorting the Tony to its destination.
"The propeller was donated to the town of Yanceyville and for many years was stored in the basement of the historic Caswell County Courthouse."
The airplane crashed/landed in a field where the Bartlett Yancey High School now stands.
Captured Jap Plane Makes Belly Landing Here Monday
A captured Jap plane being flown from Anacostia Field, Washington, D.C., to an undisclosed destination south of here [Yanceyville, NC], became disabled when the fuel pump ceased to function and made a belly landing in a fallow field on the eastern outskirts of Yanceyville at 12:30 p.m. Monday. The pilot, Lt. John M. Thomas of the U.S. Navy, escaped unhurt. The plane apparently undamaged except for the under fuselage and a bent propellor [sic].
The plane came from the northeast and was passing over the western part of town when it ran into difficulty. Local residents heard the motor of the plane cut off and watched it as it circled low, almost brushing the housetops, as the pilot maneuvered it toward the field which he had spotted earlier. It was said that the motor of the plane had "acted up" for twenty miles before it finally cut off there.
Great clouds of dust billowed up from the spot where the plane landed, and residents who were looking thought the plane was on fire and turned in the fire alarm. Within a few minutes a large crowd gathered. Patrolman G. D. Dodson and county officers erected ropes around the plane to keep back souvenir hunters and smokers who might ignite the high octane gasoline which was leaking from the plane
Major Ferrier, who was piloting a twin-motored bomber was accompanying Lt. Thomas with the Jap plane on the trip. Major Ferrier's plane was much slower and Lt. Thomas had to make wide circles in his flight in order to stay with the bomber, it was said. Major Ferrier lost Lt. Thomas's plan just east of here. He flew to Winston-Salem, and when he did not find Lt. Thomas there he returned back on the course he had just flown. He circled over town when he spotted the plane in the field and flew to Danville airport. He reached here with his mechanic a short time later by car.
In the meantime plans were made to guard the plane Monday night, and officials who had been notified by Patrolman Dodson were making arrangements to send a salvage crew here Tuesday to move the plane.
The Jap plane was shot down over the East Indies, it was said, and the mechanic with Major Ferrier was the one who rebuilt it. It was a Tony 263 single seater, which had been repainted and marked with American insignia. The oil cooler air vent was knocked off when the plane landed and was lying 50 years away from the plane.
It was said that if Lt. Thomas had tried to land the plane with his landing gear down that it would have crashed into the woods on the eastern side of the field before it stopped.
The Caswell Messenger (Yanceyville, NC), July 1945
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Editors Note: That the Japanese airplane was "shot down" is inconsistent with other reports:
"It was found by US forces abandoned at Tuluvu Airfield, Cape Gloucester, Papua New Guinea, on 26 December 1943. Because it was intact, in 1944 the US brought it back to the US to examine/study. During January 1945, C/N 263, after having been painted with US livery for test purposes, was painted back in pseudo-Japanese markings and evaluated against the Wildcat, Corsair, Hellcat, Tigercat and Bearcat, but the tests were suspended when bearing metal was found in the engine oil."
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C/N 263
Japanese Ownership
Built by Kawasaki at their Kagamigahara factory during April 1943 as a Ki-61-I Ko, manufacture number 263, Uncoded serial number 163. Armed with the standard "Ko" weapon configuration of two fuselage mounted 12.7mm Ho-103 machine cannon and two 7.7 mm Type 89 machine-guns in the wings.
Assigned to the 68th Sentai, 2nd Chutai, c/n 263 was initially flown by Chutai commander Captain Shogo Takeuchi, who passed it to another pilot when he started flying a Ki-61-Hei.[2] The aircraft was subsequently abandoned intact at the airfield where it was discovered by US forces at Tuluvu airfield, Cape Gloucester on 26 December 1943.[3]
US Ownership
C/N 263 was stripped of exterior paint and markings in May 1944, allocated test serial number XJ003, repainted with a set of Star and Bars insignia, and test flown at Hangar 7 at Eagle Farm, after which the engine was rebuilt. The following month, the US TAIU contingent were ordered back to Naval Air Station Anacostia, Washington DC, to form what would become TAIC.
By July c/n 263 was among the aircraft, equipment, documentation and personnel aboard a 'Victory Ship' heading for San Francisco, from where the whole establishment were taken by train to it's new 'Hangar 151' facility at Washington. Upon arrival c/n 263 was again scheduled for repair,[4] by which time it had been redesignated as TAIC 9.[5]
During January 1945, c/n 263 -by now possibly FE-263- was painted back in pseudo-Japanese markings and evaluated against the Wildcat, Corsair, Hellcat, Tigercat and Bearcat, but the tests were suspended when bearing metal was found in the engine oil.[3] The aircraft crashed at Yanceyville, North Carolina on 2 July 1945,[5] and was written off.
References
5. Japanese Warplane Survivors
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Source: Captured Wings
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The Ki-61 Hien and the A6M Zero were both Japanese fighter aircraft used during World War II, but they had different strengths and weaknesses. The A6M Zero was known for its exceptional maneuverability and long range, making it a formidable opponent in dogfights. However, as the war progressed, it became outclassed by newer Allied aircraft.
On the other hand, the Ki-61 Hien was developed later in the war and was designed to counter the increasing Allied air superiority. It was faster and better armed than the Zero, but it lacked the exceptional maneuverability of the Zero. Overall, the Hien was considered a more modern design, but it didn't achieve the same level of iconic status as the Zero.
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