WOW475 Yokosuka P1Y Ginga (Frances)

Description

The P1Y1 Ginga  was a Japanese medium dive and torpedo bomber, it was a twin-engined all-metal monoplane with retractable landing gear. The first flight of the prototype took place in August 1943 and  entered service in October 1944. The codename given by the Allies was Frances.

Developed under the leadership of Mitsuzi (Mika) Tadanao and Masao Yamana, the aircraft had an aerodynamically clean design with a small fuselage midsection, technological innovation, riveting in a blind and high power plant – all of this allowed high flight speeds.

Despite the small size of the aircraft in the wing and fuselage, it was possible to accommodate 8 protected and six unprotected tanks with a total capacity of 5535 litres, which could be supplemented by two 220 liter outboard tanks. The armour protection for the three crew members consisted of armoured headrests and  backs with a thickness of 20 mm.

Armament consisted of one 20 mm Type 99 cannon or one 13 mm Type 2 machine gun in the bow and upper defensive mountings; up to 1000 kg of bombs (up to 1500 kg in overload) could also be carried. The armament of the various models was somewhat different. When the aircraft was used as a torpedo bomber, the bomb bay doors were dismantled, with the torpedo partially recessed into the fuselage.

Many Gingas were equipped with Type 3 Ku Mark.6 (H6) marine search radar. The radar antennas were located under the nose of the fuselage and along the sides in the tail. The bombers equipped with radar did not carry a special designation.

Early in its career the Ginga was one of the dominant Japanese bombers during the Philippines campaign, however towards the end of the bloody battles for the Philippines and Formosa, more and more P1Y1 bombers were used kamikaze bombers. There is one surviving example in the Smithsonian museum in the USA.

This 1/32 scale bomber is only one of 3 available and is priced at $999 plus $175 postage. The figures and other accessories are shown for scale comparison purposes only and are not included.