Original Item: Only One Available. The Tachikawa Ki-36 (named Ida in Allied reporting code) was a Japanese army co-operation aircraft of World War II. It was a two-seat, low-wing monoplane with a single piston engine and fixed, tailwheel-type undercarriage.

This wood model aircraft was captured from a schoolhouse at the Japanese Army Air Service Akeno Aviation School. This model was discovered hanging from the ceiling of a classroom environment and may have been used for recognition purposes from the cadets. Akeno was the beating heart of the Japanese Army’s fighter pilot school. The subsequent years of the war and the rapidly growing demand for well-trained pilots made the facility develop very dynamically. However, in early 1944, the base had reached its absolute limit for further expansion. Therefore, its branch was established on June 20, 1944 – the Aviation Training Department in Hitachi. The new entity did not have to start from scratch. The core of the staff was a group of excellent instructors (delegated from Akeno), supported by several veterans of fights in China and Burma. The unit also received an initial pool of Ki-43 Hayabusa, Ki-44 Shoki and Ki-61 Hien airplanes but soon specialized in training on the Army’s newest fighters – Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate. From then on, it also gained organizational independence, becoming a full-fledged Hitachi Aviation School (Hitachi Hiko Gakko).

Although the statutory activity of the facility was the training, the development of the situation on the fronts brought it closer to strictly combat operations. In the late fall of 1944, as ordered by the Headquarters, Hitachi organized the so-called Combat Instructor Flights – formations that, if necessary, support the full-time air defense Sentais in their fights against the B-29 and US Navy/USMC carrier-based aviation. In the spring of 1945, many Hitachi alumni and trainees also took part in suicide attacks on the Allied fleet in the Battle of Okinawa. The loss of Okinawa became a clear signal that the invasion of the home islands was near. The Japanese command, therefore, decided to disband the aviation training units (as it was assumed – only until the invasion was repelled) and to create regular squadrons and fighter groups from their crews and trainees (airmen at a lower level of training were to join the newly created suicide formations). By order of July 10, 1945, the Akeno and Hitachi schools were formally dissolved to form the 111th and 112th Sentai, respectively.

This lovely wooden model is in very rough condition, but still features the original nomenclature tag on the bottom that reads as:

明野陸軍飛行學校用達
奥野宗之助商店納
三重宇治山田市河崎町三四四
電話九三四番

Which Translates As:

Akeno Army Flight Academy
Okuno Sonosuke store delivery
344, Kawasaki-cho, Ujiyamada City, Mie
Telephone number 934

The model is in very rough condition, with the propeller entirely missing and the celluloid of the cockpit broken and cracking. The original paint is well-retained however, with some areas of loss including the tail and on the bottom. It does appear that there is some breakage between the plane body and wings, but this might just be paint damage. Do handle with care as it’s a very delicate piece. The wingspan measures 24” Across with a total length of 15”.

This is a wonderful, rare example of a genuine, WWII Japanese made pilot’s school aircraft model.

Comes more than ready for further research and display.