Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is a sizable original WWII Japanese aircraft skin fragment reportedly recovered from the wreckage of an A6M Zero fighter on Luzon on July 7, 1945, with an old provenance tag still attached by twisted wire. The aluminum fragment retains a substantial area of red paint consistent with a portion of the Japanese Hinomaru national aircraft marking, together with several original rivet holes and wartime damage to the sheet metal.

The Zero is considered to have been the most capable carrier-based fighter in the world when it was introduced early in World War II, combining excellent maneuverability and very long range. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) also frequently used it as a land-based fighter.

This is an excellent and sizable fragment of aircraft aluminum purportedly taken from the wreckage of a Japanese Zero. There is an old provenance tag attached to the piece with twisted wire, which reads:

From wrecked Jap Zero
On Luzon. 7-7-45
Sgt. Thompson

The fragment itself retains much red paint with areas of loss as shown. There are several holes where rivets attached this piece to the frame. The piece measures 7 ⅞ x 6 ¼” with some tearing in the metal as shown.

The surviving color and curvature are consistent with part of a Japanese Hinomaru, the red-disc national marking carried on Japanese military aircraft. However, because the fragment cannot presently be located to a specific position on the original airframe, its exact placement on the aircraft cannot be independently confirmed.

Unfortunately due to the commonality of the name Thompson, we are not going to be able to identify this soldier.

The combination of the original handwritten provenance tag, July 7, 1945 Luzon recovery date, attribution to a wrecked A6M Zero, surviving rivet holes, substantial aircraft skin, and red paint consistent with the Hinomaru national marking gives this fragment considerable historical interest. While the exact aircraft, production manufacturer, and circumstances of its destruction remain unknown, the period tag provides a direct and unusually specific record of where and when the piece was reportedly recovered.