Pilot History
Postwar, one of its former pilots served as an attache to the Japanese Embassy in Washington DC.

Aircraft History
Built by Mitsubishi at Nagoya, estimated date of assembly October 1943. Parts from A6M5 Zero 4241 were used in the main body of the aircraft, revealing the frantic pace of production.

Wartime History
Served in Rabaul. After the war, it was abandoned at its former airstrip.

Recovery
The main wing and fuselage was recovered from Rabaul in 1974, and exported to Japan.

Restoration
This Zero was restored by Nobuo Harada. Parts from other Zeros wrecks from Colonia Airfield on Yap were used to restore this aircraft to static display. The project took 20 years: from recovery in 1980 until completion in 2000. The Zero is painted with tail code 81-161 of the 281st Kokutai.

Dispaly
After restoration, this aircraft was displayed at the Kawaguchiko Car Museum until 2002. Harada donated the aircraft to Yasukuni Jinja Yushukan (Yasukuni Shrine) Museum in Tokyo.

References
Thanks to Yukitoshi for additional information.
Note: Other sources list the manufacture number of this Zero as 4240, which is incorrect

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Last Updated
October 1, 2009