Nov. 18 Mystery Plane Quiz
 

This one ought to be pretty easy for the mystery plane experts.

SC

Aichi M6A Seiran (Mountain Haze)

See Here

Next!!

Good call.
The one(?) survivor was restored recently for the Smithsonian and covered by their magazine - I think it's been put into the new Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian. Details: here

http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/garber/aichi/aichi.htm

Cheers
James

I said I though the Aichi would be an easy one for the experts. But they hiven't pointed out that it was a fold-up airplane that could be unfolded in 15 minutes when taken out of its watertight submarine hangar at sea.

The Smithsonian site on the Dulles annex says that the Aichi was moved there in June, IIRC.

A more-complete description of the plane from the Smithsonian:

http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero...chi_serian.htm

Thanks for playing,

SC

Gents/fellow obscure aeroplane people

A million thanks for this one - the aircraft and sub had eluded me completely. Even if I had seen the Quiz in time, I'd have been lost for an answer. But what a completely bizarre lump of military machinery.

It's the sub, in some ways, which stuns me more than anything. Displacing some 6,500 tons that's only a gnat's short of RN's forthcoming Type-45 Destroyers (7,000 tons). Okay, it is only about half the displacement of USN's Ohio-class SSBNs but it is half a century earlier in terms of materials and systems technology.

Only pix of I-400 of IJN revealed by Googling are poor and unclear. Will try to find something better (I have my sources) and post it here.

Again, thanks - b. amazing

And here's me thinking it was an Aichi Fanni