As I had already built an Airfix A6M2b in the 'hemp' scheme, and a Hasegawa A6M5c in green and grey, I decided to do something a little different with my final Airfix Zero.
This particular aircraft was discovered languishing on Kara airstrip along with Japanese maintainers, and was taken as a war prize by personnel of the Royal New Zealand Air Force in September 1945. Deemed airworthy, it was test flown by a Japanese Navy pilot. Against orders to leave the aircraft where it was, Wing Commander W.R. Kofoed of the RNZAF flew the Zero to Piva Airstrip in Bougainville in the Solomon Islands Archipelago whilst wearing surrender markings. Most RNZAF personnel had never seen a Japanese fighter up close, so was a centre of intrigue at Piva.
Shipped to New Zealand, the Zero was later allocated the RNZAF military serial "NZ6000". Eventually it was deemed non-airworthy. After years of wearing spurious paint schemes and subsequent neglect, the aircraft was homed in the Auckland War Memorial Museum. In 1997 it underwent a substantial restoration and received an authentic paint scheme. Today ‘NZ6000’ still resides there, next to a Spitfire XIV.
The black & white photos are from the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum archives. The shot of the Zero in the museum is mine.
This particular aircraft was discovered languishing on Kara airstrip along with Japanese maintainers, and was taken as a war prize by personnel of the Royal New Zealand Air Force in September 1945. Deemed airworthy, it was test flown by a Japanese Navy pilot. Against orders to leave the aircraft where it was, Wing Commander W.R. Kofoed of the RNZAF flew the Zero to Piva Airstrip in Bougainville in the Solomon Islands Archipelago whilst wearing surrender markings. Most RNZAF personnel had never seen a Japanese fighter up close, so was a centre of intrigue at Piva.
Shipped to New Zealand, the Zero was later allocated the RNZAF military serial "NZ6000". Eventually it was deemed non-airworthy. After years of wearing spurious paint schemes and subsequent neglect, the aircraft was homed in the Auckland War Memorial Museum. In 1997 it underwent a substantial restoration and received an authentic paint scheme. Today ‘NZ6000’ still resides there, next to a Spitfire XIV.
The black & white photos are from the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum archives. The shot of the Zero in the museum is mine.
