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I recently inherited a number of pictures taken by my father in August & September 1945. During the process of Japanese surrender at the end of WWII.

Several are of captured aircraft, most of which are identifiable, but I can't find information about this one...

Twin-engined japanese aircraft

The picture was taken in Borneo. The aircraft has the white cross painted over the rising sun emblem, which identifies it as captured spoils of war.

The photo has a handwritten note on the back - simply "Captured jap bomber".

Is is a bomber? It seems to have windows in the fuselage.

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2 Answers 2

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Google Lens suggests that this is a photo of a Tachikawa Ki-54 (trainer / transport). And I think Google Lens is right.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachikawa_Ki-54

Tachikawa Ki-54 photo source

enter image description here

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  • $\begingroup$ The landing gear looks more like a Ki-54 than a Ki-57. $\endgroup$
    – Dave Gremlin
    Commented Oct 5, 2022 at 14:33
  • $\begingroup$ @qq jkztd I believe you are right and I edited the answer to include that photo and link. $\endgroup$
    – Mike Sowsun
    Commented Oct 5, 2022 at 14:52
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    $\begingroup$ Looking closely at the camo details, the a/c in photo in answer is clearly the exact same individual airplane as the one in question-- $\endgroup$
    – quiet flyer
    Commented Oct 5, 2022 at 16:28
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    $\begingroup$ @quietflyer Judging by the group standing behind the fuselage, just ahead of the cross, and the other group standing a bit in front of the plane, it may very well be two photos taken at nearly the same time, of the same plane in the same place with the same people around. Hard to say with how blurry the Q photo is. $\endgroup$
    – KRyan
    Commented Oct 5, 2022 at 20:22
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    $\begingroup$ I'd also point out that there's a mark on the right front tire, near the bottom, in both pictures, in the same location, suggesting that the plane has likely not moved at all between one picture and the next, unless it's just coincidence the wheel wound up in the exact same rotation... $\endgroup$
    – Darrel Hoffman
    Commented Oct 6, 2022 at 13:37
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Possibly a Mitsubishi_Ki-57?

It's a radial twin and looks to be a similar size and shape, with a row of square windows at the right height and spacing.

Mitsubishi Ki-57

Image courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

The Ki-57 was a passenger transport derived from the Ki-21 bomber but the 57 looks to be missing the nose glazing and the dorsal glass house of the Ki-21

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    $\begingroup$ The Ki-57 was also my first guess, but the main landing gear is different. $\endgroup$
    – gdir
    Commented Oct 5, 2022 at 14:29
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    $\begingroup$ The tailwheel placement is also very different. $\endgroup$
    – Mike Sowsun
    Commented Oct 5, 2022 at 14:40
  • $\begingroup$ Also too many panes in the cockpit side. $\endgroup$
    – DJClayworth
    Commented Oct 5, 2022 at 19:53

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