Ki-61 History by Watanabe

[Mustang51]

I am trying to obtain a history of the Ki-61 written by Watanabe. I have no further details than that as its complete title seems not to have been posted on any forum or chat room. I believe that ti was part of a series but from which publisher I have no idea. I am unsure if it was even published in an English translation. All help gratefully accepted.

[David_Aiken]

WHICH "Watanabe"? There are several with that name. Any idea of the date, size, and what it contains (mainly photos, text or maybe artwork)?

[Mustang51]

Welcome to my quandry! From what I can gather it is history text, photographs and perhaps coloured side views. I have seen the name Watanabe on many colour profiles and from the description of some of the photographs in the book on a discussion thread the history/text would appear to be very detailed. Have no details of the publisher. Wish I could help further but that's all I have.

[Jim Oxley]

The only books that I'm aware of on the Ki-61 Hien are by:

a) Rene Francillon, which is a Profile Publication No.118 titled Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien

b) Richard Bueschel, Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien in Japanese Army Air Force Service, by Schiffer Publishing; and

c) the Kawasaki Ki-61 (Tony) put out by the editors Of Koku-Fun, Japanese Aviation Magazine, and published by Paul Gaudette

[David_Aiken]

Ahhh, as this is not in English...yet the ILLUSTRATIONS are by "Watanabe"...and now to find the Japanese author!

The artist "Watanabe" does work for many authors.
Let us travel to the FUKU website...and ask there!

http://www.plays.jp/bbs/zero22/index.html

[John Beaman]

Mustang51 and David:

Way back in the "dark ages", ca mid-1970s, there was a publication that was done by him on the Ki-61. It was about 50 pages, 8 1/2 x 14 inches (what we call "legal size") and the hard covers were a silver color. It was all in Japanese, contained some of the "usual" photos, and some drawings. These were in 1/48 and the color profiles were fold-outs about 1/24. A slick publication but contained some errors.

John

BTW, isn't "Mustang51" redundant?

[Frank Olynyk]

There was a pictorial history published last year titled Hien Fighter Group - A Pictorial History of the 244th Sentai, Tokyo's Defenders. It is by Sakurai and Takashi. 144 pages, soft cover. I have not seen it yet. Both Aviation Bookshop, and Christian Schmidt have it on offer.

Frank.

[Mustang51]

Thanks guys. Now I have somewhere to start and some info on new Ki-61 history. If anyone can find a copy of the Watanabe manuscript that they are willing to part with please contact me.

Again Thanks

[Skyraider3D]

Have you checked www.hlj.com, www.arawasi.com and www.abebooks.com yet? I had a quick search without luck, but maybe worth a shot.

Could it possibly the second book here or one of these series? I read somewhere the title is simply "Army Fighter Ki-61".
Somewhere else I found this comment, which excludes the above two titles but may help you in your search: "I have a copy of 'Army Fighters Ki 61'. It is no.93 in a series, I can't identify the publisher, but was authored by Watanabe, c.1983". Maybe it's nr.98 in this series?

[Jim P.]

Other Ki 61 books -

FAOW #19 (?) new series
MOdel Art - don't know number, but every once in a while I see it in a mail order catalog or dealre's table.

I have a little softcover from Japan, about 5 inches tall X ~4 inches wide that is about the 'Hien'. Not particularly useful except for some rare photos.