Japanese Air Forces published sources

[Neil Wakefield]

Are there any published sources (preferably in English) for the Japanese Army and Navy Air Forces which are the equivalent of the RAF Aircraft Serials series of books published by Air Britain (these books give a brief history for every RAF aircraft)?

Thanks,

Neil

[Oldpilot]

I'm not familiar with the Aircraft Serials books. Probably the closest to what you seek are the books written by Richard Bueschel and published most recently by Schiffer. Unfortunately they weren't updated, and they aren't cheap. You might be able to find the originals in a library or second-hand.

For a general overview, see Renee Francillon, Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War, or similar title. (I don't have a copy.)

There are several Japanese books that provide brief profiles of WWII aircraft:

Ogawa, Toshihiko. Nihon hikoki daizukan (Encyclopedia of Japanese Aircraft). Tokyo: Kodansha, 1980

Sekigawa, Eiichiro. Pictorial History of Japanese Military Aviation. London: Allan, 1974. (In English)

Kori, Katsu, et al. Nihon no koku gojunen (Fifty Years of Japanese Aviation). Tokyo: Kantosha, 1960. (There is an English-language supplement, translating the text and captions; very helpful.)

Blue skies! -- Dan Ford

[Neil Wakefield]

Thanks Dan. I've looked on Amazon and found 8 related books by this author.

Regards,

Neil

[Oldpilot]

I just looked in a bibliography, and Bueschel's books were first published in small format (the Schiffer reprints are magazine size with lots of photos added, in the Schiffer style) by Arco in 1970. That's the same year Francillon's book was first published, so I'll bet that Bueschel didn't even have the advantage of looking to Francillon's book, never mind what has been printed in the thirty-odd years since.

I see there's a note in the front of the Ki-43 Hayabusa book thanking Jim Lansdale "for proofing and editing of the original edition" and to James I. Long "for bringing the text up to date with current practice nomenclature and model identification" -- so there are some changes between editions,

Blue skies! -- Dan Ford