TACHIKAWA, Tokyo -- A World War II trainer aircraft that was salvaged from a lake in northern Japan has been returned to this suburban Tokyo city where it was built, and is set to go on display.

       The Tachikawa Ki-54 aircraft, a Type 1 twin-engine advanced trainer that was pulled from Lake Towada on the border between Aomori and Akita prefectures, will be exhibited by real estate company Tachihi Holdings Co., headquartered in Tachikawa, between Nov. 25 and 28.

       "We want the general public to know that Tachikawa also had a high level of aviation technology," a company representative said.

       Tachihi Holdings' predecessor Tachikawa Aircraft Co. started manufacturing the Tachikawa Ki-54 in 1940. The plane was designed for the simultaneous training of pilots and other personnel such as navigators and mechanics. The plane's body was made of duralumin -- a lightweight aluminum alloy -- and had retractable main landing gear, which was revolutionary at the time. For reasons including that the aircraft could carry up to seven people including crew and rarely had mechanical trouble, during World War II it was also used for missions unrelated to training such as flying liaisons to and from overseas battlefields. A total of 1,342 of the aircraft were built.

       A model of the Tachikawa Ki-54 Type 1 twin-engine advanced trainer to be exhibited with the salvaged aircraft is seen in the western Tokyo city of Tachikawa on Oct. 8, 2021. The streamlined fuselage was novel at the time. (Mainichi/Masamitsu Kurokawa)

       The plane to be displayed in Tachikawa ditched in Lake Towada in 1943 due to engine trouble during a training flight. Three of the four crew died, and the aircraft sank. A team led by the Aomori Prefectural Misawa Aviation & Science Museum salvaged it in 2012, and put in on display at the museum.

       The aircraft had "Amakaze" engines made by Tokyo Gas Electric Engineering Co., now Hino Motors Ltd., in the western Tokyo city of Hino. One of the engines went on display at the Hino Motors facility in the neighboring city of Hachioji in 2013 immediately after the plane was salvaged, while the aircraft fuselage was held by and exhibited at the aviation museum. After learning of the recovery of the Ki-54 -- the only Type 1 twin-engine advanced trainer left in Japan -- Tachihi Holdings negotiated to obtain the aircraft, and an agreement was struck in November on the condition that the company keep the plane for a long period.

       Small aerospace manufacturer Aircraft Olympos Ltd., based in the western Tokyo city of Ome, was contracted to transport and display the Ki-54. President Satoru Shinohe said, "Because Towada is a fresh water lake, the aircraft was not badly corroded, and it is still mostly in its original condition, including its rising sun markings. The interior is quite similar to that of modern aircraft, which means the technology back then was high. I want people to see it."

       The trainer will be exhibited in Tachihi Real Estate's building No. 5 in Tachikawa's Takamatsu district between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Nov. 25 to 28. Admission is free. More information including a map is available on the company's website at: https://www.tachihi.co.jp/2021/11/19/issikisouhatsu/ (in Japanese).

       (Japanese original by Masamitsu Kurokawa, Tama General Bureau)

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