Exhibit Of Rare Items Includes Pieces Of All Three Types Of Japanese Aircraft Shot Down December 7, 1941

The San Diego Air & Space Museum is remembering the 75th Anniversary of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor with a display of rare items, including pieces of all three types of Japanese aircraft shot down during the assault, the Museum announced today.

“The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 is a seminal day in United States history, and remembering it and the impact it had on our country is an important part of who we are as Americans,” said Jim Kidrick, President and CEO of the San Diego Air & Space Museum. “Pearl Harbor served as a catalyst for our entire country; it united us like never before. We’re proud to have these rare items on display.”
 
The Pearl Harbor exhibit, which is located in the Museum’s Theodore Gildred Rotunda, includes extremely rare relics from seven of the 29 Japanese aircraft that were lost during the raid, including all three aircraft types that participated in the raid, the A6M2 “Zero,” the B5N2 “Kate” torpedo bomber, and the D3A “Val” dive bomber. Of the six Japanese aircraft carriers used in the raid -- the Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu and Soryu -- four suffered aircraft losses. Relics from the aircraft of all four of these aircraft carriers are included in the exhibit. All four of the carriers would be sunk only six months later at the Battle of Midway.
 
Also included in the exhibit:

• A data plate from the USS Curtiss, a Seaplane tender that factored heavily in the raid.
• One of the few known relics from the Kaga, a Japanese aircraft carrier that participated in the raid.
• A piece of fuselage skin from the “Yamamoto Betty” bomber. Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto was the reluctant architect of the attack and was killed on April 13, 1943, when his aircraft was shot down by American fighters as part of Operation Vengeance. A photo and autographs from those who participated in Operation Vengeance are also shown.
• 16 signatures from the 50th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.   

The items in the Pearl Harbor exhibit are on loan to the Museum from Mark Peterson.

(Source: San Diego Air & Space Museum news release. Image from file)

FMI: http://sandiegoairandspace.org