In the background

[Mike Cecil]

Tony

The story of its demise is a little less 'glamorous' than that: as I understand it, it was left for some years beside the strip at F/bairn, then, in derelict condition, stripped (remainder scrapped) and the fuselage moved to the Primary School, where it became a childrens play-thing, before the remains were eventually moved to the RAAF Museum at Point Cook. I think it was around 2000 that it was offered (and accepted) by the AWM. It was wrapped up and racked in the Mitchell storage Annex when last I saw it.

Don't know about the use of hickory in it's construction. Mondey's 'Axis Aircraft of WW2' talks about a timber version prototype, the KI-110 and plans for a KI-114 as being 'all wood', but refers to the KI-54 series being of 'conventional construction'. I have had a look inside the fuselage, and don't remember seeing any wood: just all-aluminium.

There were a number of complete/near complete Japanese aircraft in Australia after WW2, but most were simply scrapped after several years of neglect. In hindsight, a real shame, but at the time, they were just 'junk' without any hope of adequate undercover storage. The Lancaster, G for George, was similarly treated after WW2, so it's almost good luck that it was moved to the AWM in the 1950s, and didn't suffer the same fate.

Mike C