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  Ki-21-IIb Sally Manufacture Number 6377  
JAAF

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Ray Fairfield 1972

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Charles Darby 1974

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Brian Bennett 1980

Aircraft History
Built by Mitsubishi at the end of August 1943. True serial number 1138. Delivered to the Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF) as Type 97 Heavy Bomber / Ki-21-II Sally manufacture number 6377.

Wartime History
Assigned to an unknown unit. No known markings. The precise history of this bomber is unknown other than it was abandoned and likely destroyed while parked at Alexishafen Airfield.

Likely, assigned to the 14th Hiko Sentai (14th Flying Regiment). Possibly, one of three that landed November 7, 1943 returning from a bombing mission against Nadzab Airfield and was destroyed on the ground two or three days later by B-25 Mitchells from 38th Bomb Group (38th BG).

Wreckage
On April 26, 1944 Australian Army troops captured Alexishafen Airfield including this bomber. On June 28, 1944 a team from Air Technical Intelligence Unit (ATIU) surveyed wreckage noting most were damaged by bombing and strafing. Until the early 1970s, wreckage from this Sally remained in situ at Alexishafen Airfield. The wreckage included the rear fuselage with the door missing with the Hinomaru (Rising Sun) with a white border. The left and right stabilizers were attached and the tail cone. Manufacture number 6377 was noted on the wreckage by Charles Darby. Sometime after the early 1980s, the remains were scrapped or otherwise disappeared.

References
Production Record for the Type 97 Heavy Bomber (Ki-21) (Sally) by James Long page 3
Emblems of the Rising Sun page 20 (14th Sentai)
248th Hiko Sentai: A Japanese “Hard luck” Fighter Unit, part 2
Thanks to Charles Darby for manufacture number and Richard Dunn for November 7-10, 1943 mission history

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Last Updated
July 11, 2023

 

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