Ki-46-III Dinah 5439 plaque at Cosford
The plaque reads:
"Dinah III (Japanese Army Air Force Serial Not Known)
This aircraft is believed to have flown with the 3rd Chutai (Squadron) of the 81st Headquarters Reconnaissance Sentai (Group), a unit which saw service in many parts of the Pacific, including China, Burma, Malaya and the Dutch East Indies.
After its capture, responsibility for the aircraft passed to the Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit, South East Asia. The Dinah is believed to have been flown to Tebrau Airstrip in Malaya by a Japanese pilot (to discourage any escape attempt the aircraft would have been escorted by a Spitfire and only the minimum amount of fuel needed for the flight would have been pit into its tanks). The Allies brought together a large number of Japanese aircraft at Tebrau and four of theses, including the Dinah were selected for shipment to the UK.
The Dinah did not fly again after its arrival in the UK in 1946, although it was put on static display at RAF Biggin Hill and RAF St. Athan. The aircraft arrived at Cosford in 1989 and from 1992 - 1994 underwent restoration to a very high standard with the help of funding from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Tokyo."
Credit: Phil Bradley Date: 2005
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