The last time I was at an air museum, I posted a picture of a mysterious aircraft and challenged you all to solve the puzzle. Diana Rowland came up with the solution in, like, twelve seconds, but now that I’ve been to the Museum of Flight I hope to do better.
What is this aircraft? And no, it’s not the one you probably think it is.
WWII Japanese Peregrine Falcon
Well. Geez. That one took all of 32 minutes.
Yes indeed, this is the Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa ("Peregrine"), known to the Allies as the Oscar.
Back when I was playing "Aces of the Pacific," I was always getting blown out of the sky while flying this one. Wonderfully maneuverable, but it had two little peashooters for armament, and while my wasabi peas were bouncing off the American fighers' armor, they'd be shooting my kite to bits with Brownings and 20mm cannon.
I loved Aces of the Pacific. There were a few Japanese fighters in the game that could stand on their tails. Like recumbent helicopters.
I imagined groves of the things dangling together (rather loudly, I expect), bobbing and revolving as the pilots gunned the engines.
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