Japanese Bamboo aircraft

This is a photo of a Japanese bamboo plane taken by a member of the 242nd combat engineers on Okinawa. The story goes the Japanese built this and more like it to make the U.S. waste ordinance on it. I have only seen other photo's like this from Okinawa but did they do this elsewhere?
Must of been demoralizing seeing G.I.'s walking around one that was still intact.

 

Thanks for the info. I got this photo album from a 252nd combat engineer and it was the first time I saw decoy aircraft like this. It looks like pretty crafty work.

 

Sorry 242n engineer. Still trying to wake up.

 

Both the Japanese and Americans used dummy aircraft to divert attacks from real operational planes. I remember reading that just prior to the Japanese air attack on Midway, the Marines positioned a dummy aircraft which they called a JFU ("Jap Fouler Upper") at the end of the runway on Eastern Island. According to the eye witnesses a number of Japanese planes executed attacks on it and at least one was shot down in the process.

 

I remember reading about all the dummy versions of tanks and aircraft in England. But had never heard of this being used in the pacific. Thanks for the info plan to put it to use.

 

We had them here in Northern Australia. When the Japanese raided Darwin, their pilots were able to spot them and not waste a single round on the dummies.

 

Is there a picture available? I tried searching but had no luck. Find all this deception stuff interesting.

 

I have a picture (from "Escort Carriers in Action") that shows a dummy (straw) "Zero" on Kadena airfield on Okinawa.

tom

 

I have a book with a convincing Ha Go light tank made out of sticks and another picture of a weaved AA machinegun mount with a weaved gunner. Probably quite convincing from the air. I think they were both on Saipan and the US reported expending quite a lot of ammo on the tank before realising their mistake.

 

I'm currently reading "Rolling Thunder Against The Rising Sun; The Combat History of US Army Tank Battalions in the Pacific in World War II". Judging from the way US tanks seemed to operate in the Pacific, they would've shot it up even if they had known it was a dummy tank....just for the hell of it.

 

If they were used for the purpose of wasting ordinance, that's sorta like throwing a rock in a river to stop it flowing, isn't it?

 

A PNG vet told me that either US or RAAF planes dropped dummy bombs on dummy aircraft at Lae or Rabaul, but I have not been able to verify it. Wish I could!
Tom

 

Isn'T that like Stopping ripples in the water, well ripples can be stopped if I run short of supply, and WWII I ++++++++ I've read beaucoup times, a big problem, Ask Blood & Guts. {One thing I can safely state about him, he showed Humility especially in Italy, For Calling a Soldier that was suffering from shell Shock Ordered him back to fight after slapping him in the head and threatening to shoot him Stone cold dead, Face a firing squad and Patton paid for it, He did apologise all the doctors nurses and all the men in the tent plus his regiment++++.

After the success of operation "COBRA" due to the British sacrifices in Operation GoodWood and The Canadians in Operation Atlantic and Spring, which protected the US Left flak allowing a US sneaky Breakout since all the Pressure From the British with the major tank Battle and the Canadians Capturing "Caen".The Germans had moved many Division to the Outskirts of "Caen." In August Patton ran out of Fuel Aka Petrol, on his advance and his Tanks and trucks as they advanced were stopped dead in It's Tracks, and he sufferd a high casualties rate. He had problems like the British, Canadians, Germans, Russians, Japanese, China, or in many battles of WWII, supplies ran short.

In WWII Tommy had a special unite building and preparing decoys for field opratations. The Aussies, Germans, Japan, china even Rusian I believe used many decoys. It's Part of Isometric Warfare and has existed since the Romans, Like the Trojan Horse++++++. Used in away to divert attention or waste supplies of your attacking Force, Link The French Resistance AKA The Spanird Resistence, blow up Supplies, Trains, Petrol Storage depos, Bridges,+++++. To eat up the resources of your German Opponent, Can't fight without being constantly supplied, once the bombs and bullets run out, You must go Old School.


I can build a small plane out of Bamboo, Bamboo is very strong material and when cut to a sharp point Razor Sharp! Remember the "Punji Traps"+++++.




http://rareaircraf1.greyfalcon.us/picturesb/h18.jpg


http://rareaircraf1.greyfalcon.us/picturese/j100.jpg

 

That tale of a "wooden bomb" is rather anecdotal, it seems to have been told in Britian, the North African campaign, and the Pacific as well. Decoys sometimes worked so well they did receive "real" attack, and sometimes they failed to draw enemy fire.

 

brilliant idea on the japanese part. Kindof like Allied dummy tanks in England before Operation Overlord.

 

exactly. dummy targets were pretty much the only thing keeping the enemy away from the real thing. Think of it like a magician's trick. If you see magic tricks, the magicians can make things disappear, reappear, and all of it is an optical illusion. That's basically how dummy targets work. The real targets would be in camoflauge with the landscape and the dummy targets would stay out in the open a certain distance away. The result is a fake target that will look real from above a certain altitude. The same tactic was used for a similar purpose weeks before the D-Day invasion. Using fake vehicles, the Allies managed to fool the Germans into placing their troops away from Normandy beaches just in time for the invasion. All in all, smart work on all sides (counting the Japanese dummy aircraft).

 

Shulinkou, Volume I A couple more pic's in this link...