Pacific Wrecks

Missing In Action (MIA)

Prisoners Of War (POW)

Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)

Chronology

Ki-46-II Dinah

JAAF
76th Dokuritsu
Dai Shijugo Chutai

Pilot Captain Kirita Hideo (KIA)
Observer ? (KIA)
Crashed October 25, 1942

Aircraft History
Built by Mitsubishi. Delivered to the Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF) as Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Aircraft Shinshitei / Ki-46-II Dinah manufacture number unknown.

Wartime History
Assigned to the 76th Dokuritsu Dai Shijugo Chutai (76th Independent Squadron) in the Philippines. During September 1942 flown from the Philippines to the South Pacific and arrived at Rabaul by the middle of October 1942.

Mission History
On October 25, 1942 took off from Rabaul on a reconnaissance mission over Henderson Field on Guadalcanal to asses the offensive by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) 17th Army. While flying low over Henderson Field, shot down by anti-aircraft and small arms fire and crashed nearby.

Wreckage
Afterwards, the crash site was found by American forces and pieces of the aircraft were taken as souvenirs. The dead crew members were wearing Army helmets and uniforms.

References
Guadalcanal Battle Sites - A Piece of Guadalcanal History
L/3/5 On The Canal (2004) pages 181–182
"One of our guys let out a yell. I looked his way and saw him pointing toward an approaching, low-fly in airplane of a type [Army Ki-46] we hadn't seen before. It was coming towards us from over the Matanikau - Point Cruz area, which meant that it had to be a Jap, probably from Rabaul. As it got closer, I made out its details: a slow fling, twin engine, non-combat plane with big shiny red meatball on each wing - and its winner of a pilot was now bringing it in at treetop level with its wheels down, showing every sign that he was coming in for a landing. Landing on our airfield! 'What is that crazy bastard doing?' one of our guys yelled. Holy shit! He's coming in for a landing! By now we were all heads-up, wide-eyed and watching... Soon the mysterious plane was broadside to us, and we could see four windows on the side of its fuselage, with faces looking out through those windows - at us. Those faces belonged to Japanese officers wearing white uniforms, and the fact that we could make out that much detail tells you how close the plane was to our ridge. It couldn't have been much more than 75 feet from our position, floating in at about the same elevation as our ridge top. No one gave the signal or said a word, but no one had to. Everyone started firing, using every weapon we had. From positions below the ridge and several different directions other Marines were also firing on that misguided champion of a pilot. The plane was flying so low and so slow that we couldn't have missed it with a rock. At least a hundred tracers along with rounds from all kinds of weapons went through that fuselage. The plane took a sudden, sharp dip below the ridge level and sank into the treetops, out of sight. The next thing we saw was the explosion and some of the thousand flying pieces that recently had been the mystery plane. My guess is that someone back at their headquarters had given these Japanese a bum scoop, leading them to believe that the airfield was captured and they land safely. It had to be something like that because this clearly wasn't a combat plane."
The Leatherneck Boys (1994) page 113
"Sunday, October 25, 1942. One 2 motored reconnaissance plane came over airfield taking pictures. It was beautiful with a big red circle on it and black numbers. This field shot it down! You could see the 20's bursting on the wing. It winged over, 1/2 left wing came off, and it crashed and burned on the beach near us."

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Last Updated
December 26, 2023

Ki-46

Interviews & Oral Histories