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Re: Captured Avenger, Hellcat and Corsairs ?
Hello Alex.
I’m sorry for my delayed response.
According to Kazuhiko OSUO & Shigeru NOHARA, Nihongun Rokakuki Hiroku (A Secret Report of Japanese Forces’ Captured Aircraft), (Tokyo; Kôjinsha, 2002), followings are mentioned.
4. Jan. 1945. F6F-5, A/C No. white 29, VF-44, USS Randolph, pilot LJG Charles Valentine August, POW, gear up landing due to engine malfunction, near Kobi Naval Air Base, Taiwan. He survived until Japanese surrender, and returned to United States. The aircraft was minor damage and open to the public at Kobi Shinto Shrine. After that its fate was unknown.
17. Feb. 1945. F4U-1D, A/C No. 61, VMF-123, USS Bennington, pilot 2LT Robert M. Sheath, shot down by AAA near Kasumigaura Naval Air Base, Ibaragi Prefecture. A/C minor damage. OSUO et al. do not mention fates of Sheath and the aircraft.
18. Mar. 1945. F4U-1D, VBF-83, USS Essex, pilot LJG Warren O. Sigman, shot down near Kasanohara Naval Air Base, Kagoshima Prefecture. A/C minor damage. OSUO et al. do not mention fates of Sigman and the aircraft.
All pilot’s names are translated from Japanese phonetic symbols. Thus there may be errors in spelling. All three aircraft don’t seem to have been restored to flyable conditions.
OSUO et al. do not mention a captured Avenger. On the other hand, in 1950s Japan founded Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and United States supplied TBM-3s to JMSDF. I imagine that a photograph of JMSDF’s TBM-3 is mistaken for a captured Avenger.
Best regards.
JYoung
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