Top 10 WW2 Japanese Planes and Weapons

In this post, we’ll give a rundown of the large vehicles, guns, and aircraft of Imperial Japan that are currently on public display in Britain:

10. Nakajima N2

A wreck of the Nakajima N2 can be found in The Wings Museum in Balcombe, West Sussex. It was the ruins of Imperial Japan’s most iconic WWII torpedo bomber – the Nakajima B5 N2 ‘Kate.’

Introduced in 1938, it played a key role in the early battles in the Pacific. It was used on the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the Battle of the Coral Sea, and the Battle of Midway.

9. Type 41 75 mm Mountain Gun

This weapon is a license-built of the German M908 Mountain gun serving the Japanese Army from 1908 to 1945. 

Throughout the war, it was mostly used as an infantry regimental gun deployed to each infantry regiment. It had a maximum range of 7,679 yards or just over 7 km.

8. Mitsubishi A6M Zero

Entering service in 1940, the Zeroes were outstanding dogfighters who dominated the skies until 1943 but were eventually outclassed by other Allied planes.

10,939 were built and surviving examples today are composite planes built from parts from multiple airframes. Only one Zero is airworthy with its original Sake 21 engine.

7. Type 93 Long Lance

One of the most feared Japanese weapons of WWII, this 610 mm (24 in diameter) torpedo entered service in 1933 for use aboard warships.

This 2.7-ton torpedo has a maximum speed of 96 km/hr, with a maximum firing range of 40 km or 44,200 yards. One is on display at the Imperial War Museum Duxford.

6. Kawasaki Ki-100

This single-seat monoplane fighter was used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service, entering service in February 1945. It was one of the best interceptor planes used by the Japanese.

A Ki-101b version was shipped to Britain and spent decades in RAF storage until restored and placed on display at the RAF Museum in London.  

5. Type 98 15 cm. Howitzer

Surrendered at the end of the war in Southeast Asia, this gun was presented to the Admiral Viscount Mountbatten of Burma in 1946.

The type entered Japanese service in 1937 with a maximum range of 11,900 meters. The Romsey example is one out of five existing today out of 440 manufactured.

4. Rec Zero

The example on the video is the second on display in the UK today and was considerably more complete than the one at Duxford.

In 1991, John Sterling recovered the Zero and shipped it to Idaho, using other wrecks he found to build the fourth aircraft. This Rec Zero was then sold to the Imperial War Museum and shipped to Doxford.

3. Type 95 Hargo

This Japanese WWII tank is a one-of-a-kind artifact of WWII. 2,300 of these light tanks were built by the Japanese between 1936 and 1943 seeing extensive service during WWII.

It was capable of a maximum speed on a road of 28 mph or 45 km its main drawback was its thin armor. The only one on display in Britain is at The Tank Museum in Dorset.

2. Mitsubishi Ki-46 III Dinah

The Mitsubishi Ki-46 III Dinah was a twin-engine reconnaissance plane used by the Japanese Army and entered service in the late 1930s.

It had a cruising speed of 250 mph, a range of 1500 miles, and a service ceiling of 35,000 ft. The example in the video is on display at the RAF Museum in London and still in pristine condition.

1. Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka

Entering service in the spring of 1945, hundreds were built with some seeing action against Allied warplanes through the end of June 1945. It could achieve speeds close to 620 mph. Due to its small size and rapid speed, it’s more difficult to shoot down than ordinary kamikazes.

The Ohka was one of the most common Japanese planes found in museums since a lot were captured intact after their surrender. In Britain, four Ohkas are in public display today with one found at the RAF Museum.