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Seems to me it would be odd to strut about like they are on top of the remains of a friendly aircraft.

In fact, if there was anyone aboard when it burned it would be a bit barbaric.

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

What happened to them......



Yoshi: Was very popular wherever he was stationed. He was a creative sort. After the war he formed a company of life-sized puppeteers. He played a large yellow bird by gluing feathers onto his paratroop uniform. He was years ahead of his time. The company failed and he resorted to doing birthday parties for $25 a gig plus all the cake he could eat.

Katsuto: Died of dysentery within one week of the photograph. Members of his platoon recalled he was always squatting.

Kageki: Was not well liked. He was killed by a 100 lb bag of rice dropped on his head from a height of 20 ft. in the middle of the night. It was ruled a tragic accident.

Turushno: Was always lacking in self-confidence. the other men of the platoon made fun of his pigment. Even his own Ainu mother named him "one covered in soot". He became a chemist and developed a drug for Social Anxiety Disorder.

Toshino: Survived the war and realized his life dream in 1950 when he landed the starring role in a touring company of the King and I. His reviews were bad and he drank himself to death 5 years later.

Takushi: suffered a tragic groin injury during the photo shoot. Despite 15 surgeries, he was never able to have children but did achieve some fame as a soprano.

[:D][:D][:D][:D]

The tail fairng I mentioned above does match the Ki-56 patern, the spinner, I thought on the Ki-56 went past the props, this spiner cap stops at the props in the above shot, or apears to at any rate.
 
 The only problems I have with this being a Ki-56 other than those I just mentioned are, why would the Japanese be standing on their own dead in such a victorious pose? it would be kinda stinky given the heat.
 
 Also the placement of the aircraft on the field sorta sugests it was their parked before it was destroyed, what with the triner so close at hand.

I agree completely about the placement of the aircraft.  Also, I would expect to see a scatter of debris from a shot-down aircraft.  This one's last landing left it substantially intact.
 
Still look to me like fully faired prop. spinners.
 
No telling whether anyone was still aboard when it burned.  But even if there were, would this have deterred such a Japanese celebration?  I imagine Japanese paratroops were fairly heavily imbued with Yamamoto's 'way of the warrior is death' spirit.
 
More likely than not this was an Allied aircraft, but I thought it worth calling attention to another possibility.

ORIGINAL: Local Yokel

I don't have anything positively indicating that Brady's photograph is of a Ki-56, and Reg may well be correct in identifying this as an a/c from 1 Sqn RAAF (or possibly 8 Sqn, which I think may also have spent some time at Palembang).

However, there are some points about the photograph that are just as consistent with this being a Ki-56 as they are with it being an Allied aircraft:

1. Ki-56's carried the faired spinner noted by Brady

I'm afraid I'm with Brady and think the spinners only go back to the props.

2. They lacked the airscoop on the cowling top of the engines (990hp-rated Nakajima Ha-25's), as Brady notes is the case in this shot

P&W powered Hudsons did not have an airscoop on the cowling top of the engines (unlike the Cyclone powered aircraft). The long flat nacelles look like the P&W engine installation particularly with that protuberance that may have been the carburetor intake at the top rear of the of the starboard nacelle.

3. The aircraft used for the drop are said to have borne Allied markings as a deceptive measure; that could account for the tri-colour marking on the fin.
4. Quite a few of the parachute transports were brought down by flak at Palembang; it would be no surprise to find the wreck of one on the airfield there

Note the extended undercarriage which is why the port wing is pointing in the air. (Hoping for a soft landing??? [:D])

The P&W engines with spinners are on all the photos I've seen of Hudsons from this period. The only discrepancy I can see is the tail flash doesn't go to the top of the vertical stab like the photos. Since you can't always rely on paint schemes, I'm going to stick with a Hudson.

Edit: Added a good shot of a P&W installation on an early RAAF Hudson. (A16-5 in background)

Note also the wings tanks did not cook off (I assume the Hudson had wing tanks). The starboard wing actually has the paint seared off from the fire. Also the angle on the port wing suggest part of the gear is intact on that side.

I think it was an unfueled aircraft on the ground that was damaged int he attack.

All Hudson varients had an Air Intake someplace though afik, either at the leading edge of the cowling or atop the engine necal behind the coolling luvers, unless I am missing something I dont see any air intakes.
 
The Spiners are very Hudson'esq howeaver.

I think it's the crowd signalling a touchdown for the Tokyo University Samurai in their annual rivalry game against the Kobe Ninjas.

As can be seen, the spinner doesn't appear to be pointed enough to be a Ki-56 (see bottom pic below). The carburetor intake cover is likely to be burnt off like other aluminum panels but there is something there...

I'm still going to go with a Hudson. The short tail flash implies it may be a RAF aircraft though the RAAF's A16-93 is also a candidate.

http://www.adf-serials.com/

RAAF Serial: A16-93
Const.No.: 1947
USAF/RAF.Serial: n/a
Delivered: 20/06/40
Aircraft History: Rec 1AD ex USA 20/06/40. Issued 1 Sqn RAAF 09/07/40 as a Immediate Reserve Aircraft. Not flown as IE aircraft to Malaya, but shipped by sea. Arrived 04/09/40.Erected at 151MU Seletar 23/09/41 to 01/10/41. Rec 8Sqn RAAF 28/10/41. Lost Sumatra mid February 1942 on ground.SOC Lost in Far East 06/03/42.

I don't think we are going to conclusively solve this quandary but it's an interesting discussion anyway. [:)]