Japanese Gliders and Assault Gliders

[blackkite]

You're welcome Mavrick5-san.
Unfortunately I can't find three side view drawing of this glider.

Source : 日本グライダー史 (History of Japanese gliders)
ISBN4-87415-272-4

 

[blackkite]

http://www.japan-soaring.or.jp/aboutglider/glidercatalog/

 

[blackkite]

https://www.aero.or.jp/isan/isan-gallery.htmhttps://www.aero.or.jp/isan/gallery/takahashi-album-03/photos/07-023-003-029-02.html

 

[tom!]

Hi.

Training glider at Tsuchiura Naval Flying School in the late 1930th:




Yours

tom!

 

[blackkite]

https://www.yokaren-heiwa.jp/blog/?p=2363&doing_wp_cron=1742392138.2348239421844482421875

 

[VG33-Arsenal]

Hello,

This late picture shows the japanese glider Nihon Tombo Maybe A-1025 or A-1028 during the war. This is my idea.
Best regards,
VG33-Arsenal

 

[blackkite]

Perhaps they were ryuzo asakawa (朝川龍三) and Kintaro Fujiwara（藤原金太郎, right side of the bottom picture）at the 3rd Manshu gliding competition.

The "Tonbo" was designed and developed by "Japan Small Aircraft Company."

The aim of the Tombo was to popularize gliders, so it featured a simple structure, easy repair and maintenance, and easy disassembly and reassembly for transportation. Of course, since it was intended for beginner gliders, it couldn't be a shoddy, shoddy aircraft. However, the Tombo offered performance that rivaled even the more expensive gliders available up until that point, combining high stability with maneuverability that allowed for acrobatic maneuvers. Its rudder was neither overly sensitive nor heavy, providing an exquisite balance. Perhaps because it was designed by Japanese people for Japanese people, it neatly solved the basic problem of the control stick of imported aircraft being too far away for smaller Japanese pilots.

One episode that illustrates the high performance of the Tombo is the record from the 3rd All-Manchuria Gliding Competition, held on August 30, 1940. During this competition, Ryuzo Asakawa flew a Tombo for 2 hours and 12 minutes, covering a distance of 96.2 kilometers (partially a round trip). This was a prewar Asian record

 

[blackkite]

Hello,

This late picture shows the japanese glider Nihon Tombo Maybe A-1025 or A-1028 during the war. This is my idea.
Best regards,
VG33-Arsenal

Excelllent information!!

 

[blackkite]

https://blog.naver.com/kc9925/10104171849

 

[blackkite]

Hi! Mr. Kintaro Fujiwara.

Kintaro Fujiwara was an engineer and first-class gliding pilot of the Manchuria Air Service Association.
He was also the head of the Noda Osaka Regional Headquarters.
In 1941, he wrote a book called "The Nation's Guide to Gliding."

 

[VG33-Arsenal]

Thank you Blackkite,
The glider behind Kintaro Fujiwara is a Akashiya Cirrus typ 2 ( A-1515).
I don't know what could be the color: Light grey ? Light Blue ? with a white lightning ?

Best regards,
VG33-Arsenal

 

[blackkite]

There is a picture of Akashiya Kenun(Cirrus) type 2（アカシヤ式巻曇２型）glider in this pfd page 14.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/NDL1059453_滑空日本歴史写真輯.pdf

 

[blackkite]

Hi!
https://radizetsu.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-1338.html
The Acacia Kenun Type 2 glider was completed on December 10, 1939, and recorded a flight time of just over seven hours on February 22, 1941, before crash-landing and being destroyed. It was piloted by Kaneko Kan.
In January 1943, it recorded a flight time of 6 hours and 34 minutes on Mount Ikoma. It was piloted by Daiji Kawanishi.

 

[blackkite]

http://www.syoyuroku.sakura.ne.jp/11gousi/11-04.pdf
This soarer, called the Kenun, was designed and built for training purposes, a single-seater for training pilots. Its distinctive gull-type wings and pale pink paint job made it a truly charming aircraft, perfectly matching the green surroundings of Tatetsu Airfield. Its specifications were a length of 63m, a width of 128m, a sink rate of 081m/s, and a glide ratio of 1:20. This seems like a different era when compared to the current AION II, with a length of 705m, a width of 1500m, a sink rate of 073m/s, and a glide ratio of 1:34.

 

[dan_inbox]

Its specifications were a length of 63m, a width of 128m

Could it be 6,3m and 12,8m instead?

 

[blackkite]

Thanks dan-san.

On January 22, 1943, Fujiwara Kintaro, a first-class glider pilot who belonged to the Air Defense Department of the Kwantung Leased Territory Headquarters of the Manchuria Air Service Association, set an amazing record of 11 hours, 59 minutes, and 42 seconds of flight time. Unfortunately, the location and the name of the glider are unknown.

Source: Japanese Gliders 1930-1945, by Kawakami Hiroyuki, Model Art Publishing, 1998

 

[blackkite]

It's better to move from #47 until #58 to following thread.
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/japanese-gliders-and-assault-gliders.4357/page-7

 

[Antonio]

ok

 

[VG33-Arsenal]

Hello,
From the Tom's post 19 March 2025
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/japanese-gliders-and-assault-gliders.4357/post-768218
And from Blackkite's post 19 March 2025
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/japanese-gliders-and-assault-gliders.4357/post-768266
It's very difficult to see the differences between these gliders:
Fukuda-Hikari 2-1,
Hikari 2-2,
Kyute 3,
Kyute 9B,
Maeda 2.1,
Mizuno 202,
and Tomoe Shiki Type Ro-1.

Best regards,
VG33 Arsenal.

 

[VG33-Arsenal]

The Tandokoro Type 1 in a picture with a better quality on ebay.com:
Tandokoro Type 1

Best regards.

 

[VG33-Arsenal]

Another Tandokoro ?
Ebay.com

Best Regards.

 

[tom!]

Hi.

Japanese glider pilot training:

https://filmisadocument.jp/films/view/302

From the National Film Archive of Japan, digitised Film No. 302.

Yours

tom!

 

[VG33-Arsenal]

Hi.

Japanese glider pilot training:

Dance in the Heaven

From the National Film Archive of Japan, digitised Film No. 302.

Yours

tom!

Thank you very much Tom, but the page shows " No compatible source was found for this media "

I have a link on youtube showing a japanese glider launched in the year 1935. This is a Zögling RF Dagnall " J-BONB "
Il primo concorso di volo a vela per i nuovi piloti giapponesi sotto la guida del tedesco Wolf

The movie is in italian.

Best regards,
VG33-Arsenal

 

[VG33-Arsenal]

Hello,
I found this picture on the modelforum.cz. It seems to be a japanese glider with a prone pilote position.
Could you help me to identify it ? And if you have some other pictures and drawings about it you're welcome.

Best regards,
VG33-Arsenal

 

[Raketyr]

Hello,
I found this picture on the modelforum.cz. It seems to be a japanese glider with a prone pilote position.
Could you help me to identify it ? And if you have some other pictures and drawings about it you're welcome.

Best regards,
VG33-Arsenal

Hello,
The photograph does not show a glider, but rather the tail section of a Nakajima G5N Shinzan bomber.