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From the "What am I missing?" files


Eric Queen
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manayunkman

What is the twin engined plane in the foreground?

 

Looks like a Martin Marrauder with a tail wheel?

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IMHO they look like Japanese planes on Iwo Jima. Twin engine a Betty and the fighter in the background the Frank, Japans copy of the P47. Still not worth the price.

 

Ray

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IMHO they look like Japanese planes on Iwo Jima. Twin engine a Betty and the fighter in the background the Frank, Japans copy of the P47. Still not worth the price.

 

Ray

That's what I was thinking.

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Schnicklfritz

?? .. weird, but perhaps they thought they were bidding on the whole album and not just the picture. Wouldn't be the first time someone didn't read all the way through.

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manayunkman

I went to the original listing and realize that i didn't have all the facts.

 

The third highest bidder set the reserve that took the price to 600 and the last 2 bidders started at over 600.

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pararaftanr2

I believe the twin engine aircraft in the foreground is actually a Mitsubishi Ki-109 heavy interceptor, which was a late-war conversion from the Ki-67 "Peggy" medium bomber. The plane was modified by sealing the bomb bay and removing all defensive armament, other than a tail gun, replacing the glass nose with a solid nose that housed a 75mm cannon. The purpose was to try and intercept the B-29 raids. Unfortunately for the Japanese, the engines they fitted were not powerful enough to reach the altitude of the B-29s. Based on a quick Google image search, only a handful of photos of this aircraft appear to be out there. Maybe to an aircraft historian, or a hobbyist into that particular plane, the price was justifiable, but it does seem way to much for a small, blurry photo. I agree the single engine fighter is a "Frank", photos of which are numerous.

 

Below (seen at a similar angle) is a captured example painted black for the night intercept role. When the B-29s changed tactics and went to low altitude fire bombing at night, the Ki-109 was hoped to be more successful.

 

post-9787-0-30164600-1552759019_thumb.jpg

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