Overview
- The fighter, which crews lifted Wednesday, surfaced near Akune in Kagoshima Prefecture from about 10 feet of water roughly 650 feet offshore.
- Salvors used a large crane over about four hours and brought up the cockpit section with both wings, then recovered propellers that had sunk nearby.
- Project lead Eisuke Himoto said the aircraft was in better shape than expected and noted that the Shiden-Kai’s distinctive wing design and automatic flap system survived.
- The nonprofit links this airframe to an April 21, 1945 fight with U.S. B-29s and says pilot Lt. Yoshishige Hayashi was killed in the encounter.
- Few Shiden-Kai remain in museums in Japan and the United States, and the team plans cleaning and corrosion control before a local exhibit to help people learn about the war through a real artifact.