[pbhawkin]

hi all,
Further to my search for if the He-119 planes (V-7 and V-8 or V-2 and V-3) went to Japan I have had the following reply over on the Japanese planes forum by Jim Long:
http://www.j-aircraft.org/smf/index....51880#msg51880

"Here are three references which mention the Japanese acquisition of the He 119:
Beginning of Excerpts
REF 1. Encyclopedia of Japanese Aircraft 1900-1945, Volume 6, Imported Aircraft, edited by Tadashi Nozawa, published by Shuppan-Kyodo Publishers, Tokyo, 1972. This Japanese-language volume has coverage of the Heinkel He 119 on pages 168 and 170, consisting of seven paragraphs of text and one small photo of Germany's second experimental He 119, the V-2. The volume has no pictures or drawings of a Japanese He 119. The first paragraph of the text says that two examples of the He 119 were acquired, and the next to the last paragraph says that the two planes were the experimental V-7 and the experimental V-8.
REF 2. Pictorial History of Japanese Military Aviation, Eiichiro Sekigawa, Ian Allen Ltd., Shepperton, Surrey, UK, 1974. Chapter 7 of this English-Language book has a list of aircraft imported by the Japanese army and navy in years 1937 through 1941. The list does not give specific numbers of planes in the table, however. The list is transcribed here:
1937 ARMY--Fiat BR20, Vought V-143
NAVY--North American BI-9 and BI-10, Kinner Envoy, Douglas DF, Junkers Ju 86
1938 ARMY--Junkers Ju 87A
NAVY--Buecker Jungmann, Heinkel He 112. Potiz biplane, Cuadron C-600, Seversky 2PA-B3, Douglas DC-4
1939 ARNY and NAVY--None
1940 ARMY--None
NAVY--Junkers Ju 88, Heinkel He 100 and He 119
1941 ARMY--Fieseler Fi 156, Messerschmitt Bf 109
NAVY--None
Following this list, three paragraphs of text provide some amplification:
Most of the imported aircraft were used for the study of constructional techniques. An exception was the BR20s imported during the Sino-Japanese War to make up for the shortage of heavy bombers.
Aircraft such as the Ju 87, Fi 156 and He 119 were imported with the intention of putting them into licence-production if their performance met the requirements of the service concerned. However, evaluation demonstrated that they were inferior to Japanese-built aircraft of the same type, and one or two only were used for research.
Because of the urgent need for interceptors for the defence of air bases in 1937, during the Sino-Japanese War, the Navy imported about 20 Heinkel He 112s, and to make up for the shortage of escort fighters imported also about 30 Seversky 2PA-83s. Neither of these types proved satisfactory in the role for which they had been acquired: the former were used for research purposes, the latter for reconnaissance.
REF 3. German Aircraft Industry and Production 1933-1945, Ferenc A. Vajda & Peter Dancey, Copyright 1998 by Vaida & Dancey, first published in the UK by Airlife Publishing Ltd., a second edition published by SAE International, Library of Congress Card Number 98-85411, ISBN 0-7680-0246-X, 1998, Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc., 400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA, U.S.A., Telephone: 724-776-4841, FAX: 724-776-5760. This English-language book has Chapter 11 on German exports. Page 260 features Table 11-F, Foreign Orders from Germany in 1940, in which the two He 119s are listed. No other mention of the He 119s is made in the book, however. To accommodate the general interest, I'm listing all of the planes shown to have been ordered in 1940 by Japan:
Bf 109E -- two planes
Fi 156 -- one plane
He 100 -- two planes
He 119 -- two planes
Ju 88K -- one plane
End of Excerpts

My own research brings up a reference in the 'Wings of Fame' series written by auther David Donald (well published author) that support it too. In Volume 12 of this series there is a supeb 6 page article with great photos.

I am posting this at LEMB too.

regards
Peter