World War II Japanese fighter aircraft relic
\"The plane, (a Kawasaki KI-61 fighter), crashed into a New Guinea swamp (70) years ago. It\'s left wing is torn by bullets fired from an American World War II fighter. It\'s underbelly has been corroded by the South Pacific bog.\"
This sale is for a small piece of wing from a \'very rare\' World War II Japanese KI-61 fighter plane that was shot down.
The Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (飛燕, \"flying swallow\") is a Japanese World War II fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. The first encounter reports claimed Ki-61s were Messerschmitt Bf 109s: further reports claimed that the new aircraft was an Italian design, which led to the Allied reporting name of \"Tony\", assigned by the United States War Department. The Japanese Army designation was \"Army Type 3 Fighter\" (三式戦闘機). It was the only mass-produced Japanese fighter of the war to use a liquid-cooled inline V engine. The Ki-61 looked so different compared with the usual radial-engined Japanese fighters that the Allies at first, believed it to be of German or Italian origin, possibly a license-built Messerschmitt Bf 109.
Over 3,000 Ki-61s were produced. Initial prototypes saw action over Yokohama during the Halsey-Doolittle Raid on 18. April 1942, and continued to fly combat missions throughout the war.
This rare piece of Japanese World War II history is up for sale. It can be clearly seen were two pieces of sheet metal are riveted together. Two doublers are riveted at the seam. Several locations show were rivets have been ripped out during the crash. There are about 20 rivets total. Edges of the sheet metal are torn and jagged. The crumpled sheet metal appears to have hit a branch or tree during crash landing. This item measures approximately 4.9\" w, 3.4\" d, 3.2\"h. Includes vintage newspaper article of the plane.
buyer pays $18 for shipping and insurance in the US. Overseas shipping is extra.Picture of Aircraft (photo #7) is for reference. Not included.

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