Rod's WarBirds

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WarBird Photos

Hamamatsu Air Base

This is the location of the A6M5-M52 Zero that is owned by the Japan Self-Defense Air Force. The museum showing the Zero is open on the weekends. The regular hanger holding the active aircraft for the base is open only during the week. If you come to Hamamatsu to see this Zero, be sure to arrive at the museum before 2:00 PM. At about that time, a very large number of tour buses arrive to take advantage of the free entrance fee. The tour buses are almost full of senior citizens coming to see their tax dollars at work. (Just like the Smithsonian for Americans). There are other aircraft at this museum as well. There is an excellent example of a C-46 Curtiss Commando outside as well as a well-restored T-6 Texan and a T-28 Trojan inside. There are many jets here, starting with a British Meteor and a F-86J and going up to the Mitsubishi F-2 (F-16 look-alike). The museum also has some simulators that are quite good, including a dual-cockpit flight simulator that is a true motion simulator as well. From a photographic viewpoint, the Zero is hard to shoot because of both ends of the hanger are well-lit while the middle is darker, especially near the roof. The Zero is hanging from the ceiling, but the 2nd floor entrance is even with the aircraft about 10-15 meters away. You definitely need a telephoto lens to get any closeups of the aircraft. Some of the other aircraft are easier to shoot because of lighting angles and others are almost impossible because of the same lighting angles to them. Still, all in all, this was a very nice museum to see; the aircraft are well-maintained and have been restored quite well, which is unusual for Japan.

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A6M5-M52 Zero - Page 1

This Zero is in VERY good condition, and is perhaps the 2nd best restored Zero in Japan. I have seen one at Lake Kawaguchi that beats it so far.

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Left Canopy (40K)       Exhaust (37K)         Exhaust (35K)       Left Exhaust (30K)    Left Exhaust (32K)

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 Left Front (29K)    Left Front (49K)     Left Fuselage (45K)     Left Fuselage (31K)     Left Fuselage (64K)



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