Customer Reviews

Ki-43 Oscar Aces of World War 2 (Aircraft of the Aces)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Osprey's 'Aircraft of the Aces' series has produced many fine titles, a few clunkers and a few truly outstanding titles. I would place Hiroshi Ichimura's KI-43 OSCAR ACES OF WORLD WAR 2 volume in the last category. A wonderfully informative look at the combat exploits of the pilots who flew the Nakajima Hayabusha, it provides readers with comprehensive, authoritative information previously unavailable in the West.

Produced in greater numbers than any other JAAF fighter, the Ki-43 was the Army Air Force's most important fighter of the war, seeing combat in the CBI and PTO. A highly-maneuverable, tightly-turning aircraft, the 'Oscar' could be a deadly opponent in a dogfight. (Tom McGuire died dueling with a Ki-43). Yet firepower, pilot protection and structural strength had been sacrified to obtain that maneuverability. Once Allied pilots learned how to fight the Ki-43, it was doomed, Oscars flaming up or breaking apart after being hit by short bursts of .50 caliber or 20mm rounds.

By war's end, over 50 Ki-43 pilots claimed to be aces while flying with units such as the 11th, 64th, 50th and 24th Sentais. The top three Ki-43 aces - Anabuki, Kuroe and Sasaki - claimed 107 kills alone. Yet, as documented in Ichimura's book, Japanese overclaiming was widespread. Between 14 March and 11 April 1943, for example, Allied CBI units lost 21 aircraft in fights with Ki-43s. The Japanese claimed 416!

Ichimura's book is a revelation with its well-done descriptions of Ki-43 combats along with background information that gives the reader rare insight into the JAAF pilots' experience in both theaters. Jim Laurier's evocative color profiles capture the Oscar in all its colorful glory. (Japanese tail markings were wonderfully imaginative). Over 90 photographs, many rare, help flesh out the Ki-43 story.

All in all, KI-43 OSCAR ACES OF WORLD WAR 2 is an impressive addition to the Osprey Aces series. I'd give it six stars if possible. Highly recommended.

I just finished reading the book. I thought it was very good and very informative. I was impressed with Mr. Ichimura's frankness and was interested to see how he cross-referenced Japanese claims with Allied records and vice versa. His discussion of both the successes and failures of the units involved is a model of impartiality which I think many historians find hard to achieve. Though he clearly emphasized the aces, I thought he did a good job providing a history of the Oscar's operational service during the war. The section on Oscar units in Burma seemed the most thorough - with more detail and more first-hand information from Oscar pilots and crews. One criticism: he uses the Pinyin and Wade-Giles Chinese place names interchangeably, which can be a little confusing. For example, he refers to Guilin by the Wade-Giles romanization (Kweilin) but Chongqing by the Pinyin romanization. Overall, however, it was one of the best Osprey books I've read (it reads very professionally, while others feel half-fast) and I'm glad Hiroshi Ichimura is adding to the literature on an under-exposed subject.

In general I have found that the Osprey Publications books can be hit or miss depending upon your interests and the particular subject matter of the volume involved. Some of them are great. (See the previous review on the Osprey book on the 4th FG.) Others are not so good.

However, I can say that, without a doubt this volume is one of the best of any of the Osprey publications. I couldn't put it down. The author does a great job in telling the stories of the different aces who flew the Ki-43 at some point in their careers, with particular emphasis on aces who got all or the vast majority of their kills in the Ki-43.

The book starts with an overview of the aircraft itself. When the Ki-43 was first going thru design and testing it was not immediately a hit with the pilots of the JAAF. They had been use to flying the ultra-maneuverable Ki-27 and found the Ki-43 too heavy. The designers came up with the distinctive "butterfly" flaps and worked hard to lighten the aircraft as much as possible. This emphasis on lightening led to some early models shedding their wings. The Ki-43 was introduced to service just before the outbreak of WWII in the Pacific.

The bulk of the book describes the use of the Ki-43 in different theatres, starting in the Burma, Singapore, Malaya area. This is where the Ki-43 got its introduction to combat. The most famous of the Ki-43 aces, Kato and Nakamura started building their scores in Malaya. The book then moves from theatre to theatre describing the units that used the Oscar in each, and discussing the aces in those units. In addition to Burma, Singapore and Malaya, the Ki-43 was also used in China, the Southwest Pacific, Philippines and the Home Islands. Numerous descriptions of combats involving the Oscar make up large portions of the text.

As with all of the Osprey books, the center section contains color side views of many of the aircraft of the aces discussed in the text. The illustrations, though of the left side of the aircraft only, provide the modeler with inspiration for numerous builds. The book is 96 pages with numerous black and white photos and 7 pages of color illustrations.

I can recommend this book without reservation.

It ia an enjoyable and aesy to read book.
You'll never end knowing facts from someones that -once- were ferocious and skilled adversaries.
Excelent consulting history book full of data and interesting stories of human beings from "the other side".
Thanks and greetings.
Cristóbal.

So far, I have purchased all of the 86 titles currently in this series of outsanding books, but I think I would rate this one as perhaps the weakest of all. Mr. Ishimura did an outstanding job of documenting the units that flew the aircraft, but failed to include anything but the most basic history of the aircraft itself, i.e development, production, etc. In fact, he barely even recognizes Nakajima as the builder of the aircraft. He also ended the book rather quickly, almost as if he suddenly ran out of space. Perhaps a second volume would have been appropriate? He seemed to end the book suddenly, without even going into the detail of the units using the aircraft on Formosa or Taiwan (who he mentions in passing several times), not too mention Home Defense units in 1945, or much about Kamikaze/Special Attack squadrons. Perhaps the major failure in the book is an almost day-by-day drudgery of the units flying the aircraft instead of sticking strictly to it's usage by what this series presents - the aces themselves. The color profiles are outstanding as always, as well as three-view plan drawings. All-in-all however I found it to be a disappointing addition to my collection.