The Planes of Fame Air Museum is located at the Chino, California, airport. The museum was founded in 1957 by Edward T. Maloney with just 10 airplanes. Today the museum has over 150 aircraft, of which more than 50 are flyable. The Mission of Planes of Fame Air Museum is to preserve aviation history, inspire interest in aviation, educate the public, and honor aviation pioneers and veterans. Shown below are some of the Japanese aircraft which are on display.
In general, the World War II Japanese military preferred airplanes with the airframe weight reduced to the minimum. This provided the airplane with very good maneuverability and very long range, but it resulted in a reduced aircraft durability.
Mitsubishi A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M was designated as Navy Type 0 carrier fighter (零式艦上戦闘機).This is a carrier-based fighter with a top speed of 351 mph, a cruising speed of 230 mph, and a range of 1,194 miles. These planes were produced from 1939 to 1945. At the beginning of World War II, this was the world’s more capable carrier-based fighter which meant that Japan had air superiority. It had very high maneuverability in horizontal turns and was very effective in low-altitude maneuvering combat. In close combat it was very effective. On the other hand, it caught fire fairly easily and thus had low survivability.
Of the surviving Zeros, only the A6M5 on display in the Planes of Fame has the original Sakae engine.
Yokosuka Aichi D4Y3 “Judy” Dive Bomber
The D4Y3 (彗星) was originally a high speed dive bomber, but it was also used for high speed reconnaissance as well as night interception. It was first produced in 1942 and was one of the fastest World War II dive bombers. It had a top speed of 343 mph and a range of 910 miles. It was called Judy by the allies and Suisei (Comet) by the Japanese.
It was first used for reconnaissance in 1944 in the battle between Japanese and American forces on Truk Island. A total of 2,038 were produced. The plane on display at Planes of Fame was recovered from Babo Airfield, Indonesia, and restored to non-flying status.
A total of 2,038 of these airplanes were built. There are only two surviving D4Y3 aircraft today. The other one is located at the Yasukuni Jinja Yushukan shrine in Tokyo.
J2M3 Raiden (Thunderbolt) “Jack”
Made by Mitsubishi, the J2M3 ((雷電) was a land-based interceptor fighter with a top speed of 365 mph, a cruising speed of 219 mph, and a range of 1,025 miles. It was named “Jack” by the allies. It was introduced in 1942. A total of 671 of these aircraft were produced.
More Airplanes
Planes of Fame: Air Racers (Photo Diary)
Planes of Fame: British Aircraft (Photo Diary)
Yanks Air Museum: Observation Aircraft (Photo Diary)
Yanks Air Museum: World War II Bombers (Photo Diary)
Old Airplanes: 1930 to 1933 (Photo Diary)
Biplanes (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: World War I Airplanes (Photo Diary)
