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  Ki-54c Hickory Manufacture Number ?  Labuan/Australian War Memorial
JAAF
10th Hikoshidan
Shireibu Hikohan

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Harrison Sept 10, 1945

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RAAF October 20, 1945

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Daniel Leahy 2012

Aircraft History
Built by Tachikawa Hikōki Kabushiki Kaisha (Tachikawa Aircraft Company Limited). Delivered to the Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF) as Army Type 1 Advanced Trainer Isshiki / Ki-54c (Hickory) manufacture number unknown (four digits). A shock absorber dataplate had a dataplate with manufacture number 4119 built July 16, 1944. Painted with green mottled over the natural aluminum.

Wartime History
Assigned to the 10th Dokuritsu Hikodan Shireibu (10th Independence Air Brigade). In the field, spray painted with green mottle scheme on the upper surfaces with the fuselage Hinomaru (Rising Sun) had a white outline. The rear fuselage had a vertical white recognition stripe. The tail motif had three yellow diagonal lines.

This Ki-54 survived until the end of the Pacific War. Sometime after August 15, 1945 painted in surrender markings with a white cross atop the fuselage Hinomaru and to the side of the underwing Hinomaru.

On September 10, 1945 flew a Japanese surrender delegation to Labuan Airfield to surrender to the Australian Army. Aboard was Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) Lieutenant General Masao Baba, C.O. of the 37th Army and Supreme Commander of Japanese forces in Borneo plus his senior staff. After landing, he surrendered to Australian Army Major General Wootten.

Afterwards, used to transport Japanese Prisoners Of War (POWs) for the war crimes trials and often flown between Labuan Airfield and other locations on Borneo. On October 20, 1945 photographed parked at Labuan Airfield.

While the Ki-54 was operating at Labuan Airfield, RAAF Warrant Officer Leonard Anthony "Len" Pearce, 300276 of No. 47 Operational Base Unit was responsible for the plane. Afterwards, he removed a dataplate 4119 from the plane's shock absorber.

Postwar
Afterwards, this plane was moved to Australia. Possibly, it was flown to Seletar Airfield on Singapore and partially disassembled with the propellers and engine cowlings removed then shipped to Australia. It is unclear if the wings, tail and engines ever reached Australia or were abandoned elsewhere. Until the 1970s, the fuselage was used as a children's playground near RAAF Fairbairn (Canberra Airport).

Today
During 1981, the fuselage was removed from the playground and transported to the Royal Australian Air Force Museum Point Cook (RAAF Museum) and placed into storage.
Next, shipped to the Australian War Memorial Annex (AWM Annex) Treloar Technology Centre as item REL29084. As of June 12, 2012, this fuselage was in long term storage, sealed in plastic wrap and and suspended on a shelf rack roughly 16' / 5m above the floor.

John White, AWM Senior Curator of Technology adds:
"The fuselage is sealed to prevent the asbestos insulation getting loose, and the fuselage is stored about 5 m off the ground so viewing is not possible."

References
WW2 Nominal Roll - Leonard Anthony Pearce, 300276
AWM REL38480
dataplate from a shock absorber, donated by RAAF W/O Pearce
Emblems of the Rising Sun (1999) page 90 (artwork profile 131)
Japanese Experimental Transport Aircraft of the Pacific War (2012) pages 137, 163-164, 169, 193-194

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Last Updated
August 21, 2023

 

Tech Info
Ki-54

Dataplate
Dataplate
4119

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