09-05 market for japanese aircraft - charles sturt...

THE MARKET FOR JAPANESE WW II AIRCRAFT MEMORABILIA

A Rapid Appraisal of On-line Auctions in June and July 2009

DIRK HR SPENNEMANN

THE MARKET FOR JAPANESE WW II AIRCRAFT MEMORABILIA

A Rapid Appraisal of On-line Auctions in June and July 2009

Report prepared for the US National Park Service and the

US Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska

by

Dirk HR Spennemann

Albury August 2009

Preferred citation:

Spennemann, Dirk HR. (2009) The Market for Japanese WW II Aircraft Memorabilia. A Rapid Appraisal of On-line Auctions in June and July 2009. Report prepared for the US National Park Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska. Albury, NSW: Heritage Futures International.

CCONTENTSONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 5

METHODOLOGY & DATA 5 Notes to this Section 11

ANALYSIS 12 The Size of the Market 12 Sources and Destinations 12 Price Range 13 Provenance 14 Attributions 15 Notes to this Section 19

List of Table

Table 1. Synopsis of e-bay auctions covered in this rapid assessment. 1: Nature of the items sold.............................................................................................................7

Table 2. Synopsis of e-bay auctions covered in this rapid assessment. 2: prices realised, bidding intensity and places of origin of sales. (b/n—buyit now, current; p/i—passed in.) ...........................................................................................................9

Table 3. Sources and Destinations of Japanese Artefacts .......................................................12 Table 4. Prices paid for Japanese aircraft parts.....................................................................13

List of Figures

Figure 1. Sample Listing of a Japanese Aircraft Part (ebay #260426356014) ...........................6 Figure 2. Prices paid for Japanese aircraft parts. The shaded bars show the standard

deviation from the average price, while the dashed white bars show the maximum price range. .......................................................................................................14

Figure 3. Prices paid for Japanese aircraft parts with outliers removed. The shaded bars show the standard deviation from the average price, while the dashed white bars show the maximum price range. ...........................................................................14

Figure 4. Piece of aircraft metal from a Watanabe E13A ‘Jake,’ serial number #5165 (eBay nº 260424921649). Verso. .................................................................................16

Figure 5. Piece of aircraft metal from a Watanabe E13A ‘Jake,’ serial number #5165 (eBay nº 260424921649). Recto. .................................................................................16

Figure 6. Piece of aircraft metal from a Watanabe E13A ‘Jake,’ serial number #1420 (eBay nº 260432484803). Verso. .................................................................................17

Figure 7. Piece of aircraft metal from a Watanabe E13A ‘Jake,’ serial number #1420 (eBay nº 260432484803). Recto. .................................................................................17

Figure 8. Part of a Nakajima A6M2-N wing flap with the serial number 7133. (The Japanese KanJi characters read: ‘Ni Shiki Sui Sen | Naka Jima 7133 Go). Verso. .....18

IINTRODUCTIONNTRODUCTION This brief report has been prepared for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (US FWS) as land managers of Kiska, and for the United States National Park Service (US NPS) in their capacity of providing oversight on cultural heritage management issues and in their role of administering the National Historic Landmarks Program.

The aim of the report to provide a general overview on the nature and extent of the current market for Japanese WWII aircraft memorabilia as this may influence future management decisions. The management implications of these will be discussed elsewhere.

MMETHODOLOGY ETHODOLOGY & D& DATAATA The largest on-line auction house, eBay, has replaced trade fairs and weekend markets as the prime source for collectors. Traders and private citizens from across the globe offer their wares on the site, ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime, from the esoteric and eclectic to the highly collectable. Many antique dealers have commented to the author that the supply of items has been reduced ever since eBay gained popularity. Thus it can be considered reasonable to assume that the items offered on e-bay are representative of the majority of low-level sales.

In addition the eBay, we need to consider Yahoo Auctions, which has a strong following in Japan, as well as other, more mainstream auction houses.1 For obvious reasons, this appraisal can only cover the open market. Recent events in the Shortland Islands of the Solomons show that there is also a market for clandestine operations. Clearly, the analysis presented here only covers the ‘open’ market.

Data

6

Figure 1. Sample Listing of a Japanese Aircraft Part (ebay #260426356014)

For the month of July all auctions on e-Bay were monitored, selecting those that offered Japanese aircraft parts for sale. As eBay site also allows a search for complete auctions up to 30 days prior, these were also extracted. Thus the systematic part of the data series ranges from 17 June to 3 August 2009 (auction end dates).

In addition, backtracking from some sellers and from there to some of the buyers who had left feedback, allowed to expand that time range to 60 days.

Table 1 sets of the totality of Japanese aircraft parts offered for sale during the survey period, the class of object they represent, their physical characteristics (material, dimensions), as well as their provenance, if stated). Table 2 sets out the origin of the sales and the buyers, the prices realised, as well as the bidding intensity as a measure of interest in the objects. In total 73 auctions, comprised of 68 individual objects were offered during the period under assessment.2

Data

7 Table 1. Synopsis of e-bay auctions covered in this rapid assessment.

1: Nature of the items sold

Ebay nº Item Object Class3 Material Dimensions Provenance

140331192662 Japanese WWII Crashed Aircraft Plane ID Tag ID Plate Metal 2.25 x 1.75” Ex Korea

140331195191 Japanese WWII Crashed Aircraft Plane Part Diagram Tags Metal 3 x 6.5” Ex Korea

140331196386 Japanese WWII Crashed Aircraft Plane Tag ID plate Metal 3 x 5” Ex Korea

140333195043 Japanese WWII Crashed Aircraft Plane Tag ID plate Metal 3 x 5” Ex Korea

140333195236 Japanese WWII Crashed Aircraft Plane Part Diagram ID Plate Metal 3 x 6.5” Ex Korea

140333195521 Japanese WWII Crashed Aircraft Plane ID Tag ID Plate Metal 2.25 x 1.75” Ex Korea

150362327609 WW2 Japanese Aircraft Navy Cockpit Clock Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated Not stated

150362329614 WW2 Japanese Data Plate from A6M Zero Airplane ID Tag Metal Not stated Not stated

160352183607 WWII Original Japanese Piece Of Aircraft Skin piece Metal Not stated Not stated

170294851575 Japanese Navy Aircraft Compass (Type 2) navigator Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated Not stated

170324827546 WW2 Japanese Fighter Aircraft Gun Sight in Case Ki-44 Instrument Various 28.5 x 1.73” Not Stated

170343505123 Japanese Zero inspection plate Skin w KanJi Metal 8 x 10” Philippines 19454

170343506460 Japanese bomber inspection plate Skin w KanJi Metal 6” round Philippines 19455

190321816549 Japanese aircraft nav scope sextant Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated Not stated

190323235336 WW2 Japanese Aircraft Clock Seikosha Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated Not stated

190323462434 Japanese aircraft nav scope sextant Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated Not stated

190323814482 WWII Japanese Aircraft Plane Part Actuator Gear Vintage Instrument Metal 6.5x5x3.25” Ex local estate6

220427841010 Japanese Ww2 Aircraft Vaccum Instrument Gauge Instrument Metal Not Stated Replica

230350610715 World War II Imperial Japanese Air Force Tachometer Instrument Various 3.3 x 5.5 Saipan 19447

250454279503 WW2 Japanese Navy/Army Aircraft Data Tag - IWO JIMA ID Tag Metal Not stated Not stated

260420169828 Japanese Navy Aircraft Wing Section with Red Hinomaru Skin piece Metal 7 x 9” Philippines8

260424908342 Japanese WWII Fighter Crashed Aircraft ID Plate ID plate Metal 2.25 x 2.75 Not stated

260424913813 Four Japanese WWII Crashed Aircraft Relics Tags Metal Not stated Not stated

260424921649 WWII Japanese Crash Aircraft Metal Skin ID Plane #5165 Skin w nº Metal Not stated Not stated.

260425552758 Japanese WWII Naval Fighter Crashed Aircraft ID Plate ID plate Metal 2.5 x 2.25 Not stated

260425553777 Japanese WWII Naval Fighter Crashed Aircraft ID Plate ID plate Metal 1.5 x 2.25” Not stated

260425558670 Japanese WWII Fighter Crashed Aircraft Inscribed Metal Skin w KanJi Metal 1.75 x 6.5” Marshalls 19449

260426356014 Japanese WWII Crashed Aircraft Ided #5454 Tail Section Skin w nº Fabric 10 x 14 “ Not stated

260426357778 Japanese WWII Factory Aircraft ID Tag/ Unissued Tags Metal Not stated Not stated

260432338973 Japanese WWII Crashed Aircraft Skin #5825 to plane Skin w nº Fabric ‘rather large’ Not stated

260432342647 Japanese WWII Crashed Aircraft Skin 7 x 13 Cool letter Skin w nº Fabric 7x13” 194510

260432344631 Japanese WWII Crashed Army Aircraft Nakajima Type 2 ID Plate Metal 2.25 x 2.75” Not stated

260432345935 Japanese WWII Crashed Aircraft ID Tag ID plate Metal 2 x 2.5” Not stated

260432347590 Japanese WWII Crashed Aircraft ID Tag /Type 49 ID plate Metal 2 x 3.35” Not stated

260432350100 Japanese WWII Crashed Aircraft ID Tag 'Glenn" E14Y1 ID plate Metal 2 x 2.75” Philippines

260432363688 Japanese WWII Crashed Aircraft Metal Skin W/ Written ID Skin w KanJi Metal 1.5 x 7” Kiska

260432481099 Japanese WWII Crashed Aircraft Skin With #3582 Skin w nº Fabric 3 x 9 “ Not stated

260432484803 Japanese WWII Crashed Zero Skin W/capture Inscription Skin w nº Metal 1.5 x 7 Marshalls 194411

260432488366 Japanese WWII Crashed Wing Piece w/ capture Inscription Skin w KanJi Metal Not Stated Philippines 194512

260432490957 Japanese WWII Crashed Naval Internal Aircraft Piece Skin piece Metal 3 x 8” Not stated

260441016830 WWII Japanese Aircraft Compass w 1945-46 Paper & Box Instrument Metal, Glass 5x5” War time

260442638440 WWII Japanese Naval Aircraft ID Tag & Skin Crash Relic ID plate Metal Not stated Not stated

260442640005 WWII Japanese Aircraft Crash Relic Compass W_Tag Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated Not stated

260442641908 WWII Japanese Aircraft Crash Relic Aircraft gage Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated Not stated

260442644490 WWII Japanese Aircraft Crash Relic Ingine Carb Piece Instrument Metal Not stated Not stated

260442646092 WWII Japanese Naval Aircraft Crash Relic Brass ID Tag ID plate Metal Not stated Not stated

260442696005 WWII Japanese Aircraft Crash Relic ID Tags Etc. Lot ID plate Metal Not stated Not stated

260442718490 WWII Japanese Army "Sonia" Aircraft Venturi Tube Instrument Metal Not stated Not stated

260448436162 WWII Japanese Aircraft Crash Relic Ingine Carb Piece Instrument Metal Not stated Not stated

Data

8 Ebay nº Item Object Class3 Material Dimensions Provenance

260448436759 WWII Japanese Naval Aircraft Crash Relic Brass ID Tag ID plate Metal Not stated Not stated

330324592162 WW2 Japanese Aircraft Compass Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated Not stated

330324596610 WW2 Japanese Aircraft Altimeter Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated Not stated

330325286540 WW2 Japanese Aircraft Compass Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated Not stated

330325532042 WW2 Japanese Aircraft Instrument Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated Not stated

330326568105 WW2 Japanese Airfcraft Instrument Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated Not stated

330326580918 WW2 Japanese Aircraft Panels - Replicas Instrument Metal Not stated Replica

330327902396 WW2 Japanese Aircraft Compass - A6m Zero Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated Not stated

330327918231 WW2 Japanese Aircraft Instrument - Aichi D3A1 "Val" Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated Not stated

330327933498 WW2 Japanese Aircraft Instrument - J2M Raiden Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated e-bay

330339651292 WW2 Japanese Aircraft Instrument (Artificial Horizon) Instrument Metal, Glass Not Stated eBay13

330339658158 WW2 Japanese Aircraft Instrument (Directional Gyro) Instrument Metal, Glass Not Stated Not Stated

330339667032 WW2 Japanese Aircraft Altimeter Instrument Metal, Glass Not Stated eBay14

330339676698 WW2 Japanese Aircraft Instrument (Turn & Bank) Instrument Metal, Glass Not Stated Not Stated

330339836307 WW2 Japanese Aircraft Instrument (OAT Gauge) Instrument Metal, Glass Not Stated Not Stated

330340059488 WW2 Japanese Aircraft Inclinometer Instrument Metal, Glass Not Stated Not Stated

330340085873 WW2 Japanese Aircraft Replica Instrument Panel Ki-43 Instrument Metal Not stated Replica

360165949506 Antique Japanese Military Airplane Level, WWII? Instrument Metal, Glass 5.5”, 3”Ø Not Stated

370156557929 WW2 Japanese Imperial Army Type 97 Precise Altimeter Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated Not stated

370190244186 WW2 Japanese Imperial Army Model 98 "Otu" Compass Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated Not stated

370221901767 WW2 Japanese Navy/Army Aircraft Data Tag - IWO JIMA ID Tag Metal Not stated Not stated

370226251660 WW2 Japanese Navy Fabric Aircraft Skin - Zero, Frank Skin piece Fabric Not stated Not stated

390062940945 Japanese Zero Fighter Artificial Horizon 1944 Rare Instrument Metal, Glass Not stated Not stated

Data

9 Table 2. Synopsis of e-bay auctions covered in this rapid assessment.

2: prices realised, bidding intensity and places of origin of sales. (b/n—buyit now, current; p/i—passed in.)

Ebay nº end date Price Bids15 Bidders Buyer Seller Sale Location

140331192662 Jul-11-09 300 p/i beckyandted NC, USA



140333195043 Jul-19-09 53.66 2 2 USA 4 beckyandted NC, USA



150362327609 Aug-2-09 625 (max 355) p/i 5 goforbroke442nd CA, USA

150362329614 Aug-2-09 365 (max 251) p/i 4 goforbroke442nd CA, USA

160352183607 Aug-03-09 44.85 2 2 USA 3 macr4u USA

170294851575 Jul-15-09 500 b/n — cy276 China

170324827546 Apr-30-09 3,050.00 23 7 Japan 2 Tempestausmc FL, USA

170343505123 Jun-18-09 76.00 15 4 Japan 1 italbiciboy CA, USA

170343506460 Jun-18-09 79.00 8 6 Japan 1 italbiciboy CA, USA

190321816549 Jul-22-09 2000 (max 112.50 p/i 3 gvbonedaddy USA

190323235336 Jul-28-09 1900.00 20 10 f***f time-fan NSW, Australia

190323462434 Jul-29-09 203.09 10 4 Spain 1 gvbonedaddy USA

190323814482 Aug-02-09 440.00 12 3 Japan 2 sonic_frontier IA, USA

220427841010 Jun-10-09 308.08 5 Japan 2 oldwarelics Vic, Australia

230350610715 Jun-27-09 55.00 p/i boffin CA, USA

250454279503 Jul-28-09 179 b/n — messerschmitt*109 CA, USA

260420169828 Jun-06-09 350.00 1 1 Japan 1 kikusui1945 USA

260424908342 Jun-17-09 364.90 4 4 USA 1 brentsantiquesinc NC, USA



260425552758 Jun-18-09 669.00 6 2 Japan 2 brentsantiquesinc NC, USA

260425553777 Jun-18-09 109.19 3 3 Japan 2 brentsantiquesinc NC, USA


260426356014 Jun-20-09 1,008.78 3 3 USA 6 brentsantiquesinc NC, USA

260426357778 Jun17-09 72.00 10 6 Japan 1 brentsantiquesinc NC, USA





260432347590 Jun-30-09 200.00 1 1 Spain 1 brentsantiquesinc NC, USA







260441016830 Jul-12-09 274.50 15 9 e***r wine-cellar NC, USA

260442638440 Jul-17-09 224.49 3 3 9***7 brentsantiquesinc NC, USA

260442640005 Jul-17-09 122.50 4 2 b***e brentsantiquesinc NC, USA


260442644490 Jul-17-09 100 p/i Brentsantiquesinc NC, USA

260442646092 Jul-17-09 100 p/i brentsantiquesinc NC, USA

260442696005 Jul-17-09 112.50 4 3 Australia 2 brentsantiquesinc NC, USA


Data

10 Ebay nº end date Price Bids15 Bidders Buyer Seller Sale Location

260448436162 Jul-27-09 52 3 2 USA 7 brentsantiquesinc NC, USA

260448436759 Jul-27-09 96 4 2 r***p brentsantiquesinc NC, USA

330324592162 Apr-29-09 436.00 20 9 Australia 4 42-105051 Qld, Aus

330324596610 Apr-29-09 261.00 17 8 Australia 6 42-105051 Qld, Aus

330325286540 May-0209 270.00 13 6 Australia 6 42-105051 Qld, Aus

330325532042 May-3-09 307.00 11 8 Australia 5 42-105051 Qld, Aus

330326568105 May-7-09 187.50 10 7 Spain 1 42-105051 Qld, Aus

330326580918 May-7-09 217.50 7 4 Spain 1 42-105051 Qld, Aus

330327902396 May-10-09 202.50 8 4 USA 2 42-105051 Qld, Aus

330327918231 May-10-09 264.00 15 8 Spain 1 42-105051 Qld, Aus

330327933498 May-10-09 311.00 14 8 USA 42-105051 Qld, Aus

330339651292 Jun-28-09 655.02 11 9 -***c 42-105051 Qld, Aus

330339658158 Jun-28-09 291.00 7 6 -***c 42-105051 Qld, Aus

330339667032 Jun-28-09 291.00 11 6 Australia 2 42-105051 Qld, Aus


330339836307 Jun-28-09 338.00 12 7 -***c 42-105051 Qld, Aus



360165949506 Jul-04-09 117.50 7 7 k***u forever-changing IA, USA

370156557929 Aug-06-09 600 b/n — messerschmitt*109 CA, USA

370190244186 Aug-06-09 599 b/n — messerschmitt*109 CA, USA

370221901767 Jul-28-09 179 b/n — messerschmitt*109 CA, USA

370226251660 Aug-05-09 1.199 b/n — messerschmitt*109 CA, USA

390062940945 Jul-10-09 265 2 1 n/a militarytrader-uk UK

Data

11

Notes to this Section

1 In the context of the study it was not possible to survey auctions hosted by Yahoo Japan.

2. The apparent discrepancy originated from the fact that some auction lots were passed in and re-listed.

3. Skin w KanJi— Piece of aircraft skin (fabric or metal) with one or more KanJi characters, but no serial number; Skin w nº—Piece of aircraft skin with a serial number.

4 Found on the Philippine island of Luzon; August 29 1945. Father’s memorabilia. 5 Found on the Philippine island of Luzon; August 29 1945. Father’s memorabilia. 6. Quote from listing: “This is a neat old piece from a local estate. I purchased it in

a lot of other WWII items a soldier brought back from the Pacific. I am told that it is a part from a Japanese aircraft”

7. Aircraft Hangar, Aslito Field, Saipan 1944. 8. Luzon, Philippines. 9. Ebeye I, Kwajalein Atoll [Marshall Islands] 30 Apr 1944. 10. Dated 6 Jun 1945. 11. Ebeye I, Kwajalein Atoll [Marshall Islands] 30 Apr 1944. 12. Agusana, Mindanao 7 Jun 1945. 13. “former e-bay purchase” 14. “former e-bay purchase” 15. p/i—passed in (no bids)

AANALYSISNALYSIS

The Size of the Market

The overall market for militaria is enormous. On 12 July 20091 a combined total of 139,799 militaria items were on sale world-wide on e-bay,2 with another 207,211 completed auctions.3 The world-wide market for World War II militaria (1939-1945) is smaller, but still sizable, with 31,177 active4 and 55,450 completed listings. While these figures are only a snap-shot in time, they indicate the magnitude of offers.

The lots examined here were offered by 14 different sellers, two of which (brentsantiquesinc [USA, 23 items] and 42-105051 [Australia, 16 items]) dominated by far. Several of the other sellers also specialised in militaria, but during the time of assessment had only one Japanese aircraft part on offer.

The size of the market interested in Japanese plane parts is hard to estimate. As a proxy, at least for the auctions examined in this brief study, we can use the number of bidders and their bidding frequency.5 For the purposes of this analysis, 59 items had successful bids. A total of 243 individuals placed bids on these items, with 5 individuals bidding on ten or more items and another 15 individuals bidding on five or more items.

Sources and Destinations

While seller location of an object is always provided on the auction listing, the location of the successful bidder could only be ascertained in about 80% of all cases. The biggest market, both in terms of sales and purchases, was the USA, followed by Australia (Table 3). Japan and Spain were represented among the buyers. In addition, two items, both not sold, originated from the UK and from China.

Table 3. Sources and Destinations of Japanese Artefacts

From

Australia USA Total

Australia 8 1 9

Japan 1 8 9

Spain 3 2 5

To USA 2 21 23

Total 14 32 46

Analysis

13 Price Range

In total, nine of the 73 auction lots analysed were passed in, either because the reserve was not met, or because the buy-it-now pieces was too high. Of the latter five sold at lower prices when auctioned. At the end of data collection, a further six items were still for sale as buy-it-now items, all of which had been on offer for at least two weeks. The successful sales ranged in price from $26 to $3,050. The total sales volume for the period under assessment was $20,136.59.

As can be expected, there are differences in the prices paid, depending on the nature of the object. Overall, most sought after by collectors are pieces of aircraft skin with identification numbers, followed by instruments and aluminium aircraft ID plates (Table 4). The average price of instruments was skewed by two outliers, a WW2 Japanese Fighter Aircraft Gun Sight in Case ($3,050; eBay # 170324827546) and a WW2 Japanese Aircraft Clock Seikosha $1,900; (eBay # 190323235336). If both are removed, then the average price for the other 27 instruments drops to $267 (Figure 3).

Table 4. Prices paid for Japanese aircraft parts

Min Average Max n

Skin w nº $200.00 $529.13 $1,008.78 6

Instrument $26.00 $419.35 $3,050.00 29

ID plate $53.69 $272.87 $669.00 12

Skin w KanJi $76.00 $174.90 $291.00 5

Skin piece $44.85 $164.95 $350.00 3

Engine Piece $52.00 $52.00 $52.00 1

Tags $72.00 $25.57 $108.16 2

Clearly, the prices fetched depend on the size of the object, its state of preservation and specially their historic connotations. A large, 11 x 12” section of a wing flap of a Nakajima A6M2-N ‘Rufe’ / ‘Suisen’ with stencilled serial number in excellent condition (Figure 8) sold at eBay auction for USS$ 809.99 in March 2005 (or US$893.24 in June 2009 terms).6

Analysis

14

Figure 2. Prices paid for Japanese

aircraft parts. The shaded bars show the standard deviation from the average price, while the dashed white

bars show the maximum price range.

Figure 3. Prices paid for Japanese aircraft parts with outliers removed. The shaded bars show the standard deviation from the average price, while the dashed white

bars show the maximum price range.

Provenance

As with any of the auctions in the legitimate art business, provenance is of prime importance. The veracity of the provenance adds both value to an object, as it traces a ‘lineage of possession’ with, in many cases, a range of associations with significant events and/or people. In addition, the accuracy of the provenance also assures the buyer that the object for sale has not been acquired illegally and thus the buyer can enjoy the possession of the object unfettered.

An overwhelming majority of items offered has no specific provenance (63.8 % of all items offered). A few items had specific provenance data stated such as Ebeye (Marshalls);7 Kiska;8 Mindanao (Philippines);9 Philippines;10 and Saipan.11 Three items were purportedly on-sales of previous eBay purchases.12 In all but

Analysis

15 one case the collection dates of the objects, where given, were dates of Wrld War II vintage.

During the survey period, one of the sellers, brentsantiquesinc of Greensboro, NC, USA, offered a major collection of items. In his commentary to the objects he noted:

“I have the previlge [sic] to offer on Ebay several pieces of scarce crashed WWII Aircraft relics all brought home as war souviners [sic] by WWII American veterans. All items are being offered from a old collection of 35 years of collecting these rare pieces. I have aircraft Skin, Aircraft metal, Metal Aircraft ID tags & more some with period notes on the back as to the history, location or plane types they were removed from. I have decided to offer the entire collection over the new few weeks for sale on Ebay as each items or small groups. Here is a rare chance to build or add to a collection. All items are guaranteed for life as being 100% original.”13

Attributions

As can be expected, some type of planes are more popular than others, such as the iconic Mitsubishi A6M ‘Zero”. Thus parts from such. planes command a premium. As a result, many descriptions are loosely and suggestively worded. One of the objects offered, for example, was described as

“Lot # 4 This is a WWII Japanese Crashed Aircraft ID Tag. Note reads Main tag from B6N2 "Jill" Torpedo Aircraft.”

The piece of aircraft metals exhibits the text (in stencilled Numerals and KanJi characters): “Wata Nabe 5165 Go.” One side of the metal is greyish and the other has a deep green top coat over a red undercoat/primer. All B6N2 Tenzan Type 97 Carrier Attack Bombers (‘Jill’) were manufactured by Nakajima. None, as far as can be ascertained, were made by Watanabe.14

Rather than from a B6N2, the piece of aircraft skin originates from a Watanabe-built Aichi E13A1 Type 0 (‘Jake’) reconnaissance seaplane with the serial number 165.15 That aircraft most probably was encountered either on Attu or on Kiska, because a US intelligence assessment of 1943 on the production rate of E13A1s refers to a ‘Jake’ with the serial number #167 as having encountered at Chichagof Harbor, Attu.16

It can be appreciated that the initial identification of the object may have been mistaken by the collector at the time, often an soldier unskilled in the recognition of heavily damaged aircraft, Moreover, some aircraft came with a cachet of fame or notoriety, such as the Mitsubishi A6M ‘Zero’, leading to conscious or subconscious mislabelling. A case in point is object eBay nº 260432484803, described “Lot #20 WWII Japanese Zero Aircraft metal skin numbered to aircraft #1420. Back of this piece is inscribed "From Jap Zero Prop Casing Measures 1 1/2 x 7 inches.”17 Instead it is a fuselage piece of a Watanabe-built Aichi E13A1 Type 0 (‘Jake’) reconnaissance seaplane with the serial number 420. Given the high serial umber, there is nothing to indicate that the provenance of ‘Ebeye Island, Kwajalein Atoll [Marshall Islands] April 30th, 1944’ is incorrect. The piece is probably from a Watanbe-built E13A flown by the 252nd Ku Suitai Sentai.

Analysis

16

Figure 4. Piece of aircraft metal from a Watanabe E13A

‘Jake,’ serial number #5165

(eBay nº 260424921649).

Verso.18



(eBay nº 260424921649).

Recto.

Analysis

17



(eBay nº 260432484803).

Verso.



(eBay nº 260432484803).

Recto.

Analysis

18

Figure 8. Part of a Nakajima A6M2-N wing flap with the

serial number 7133.

(The Japanese KanJi characters

read: ‘Ni Shiki Sui Sen | Naka Jima

7133 Go). Verso.19

Analysis

19

Notes to this Section

1. At 00:48 GMT+11. 2 The figure was arrived at by choosing the Category “Collectibles Militaria” and

selecting the world-wide option. 3 Not all of these item would have been sold, however, and several would have

been re-listed and thus be included in the number of active listings. 4. The figure was arrived at by choosing the Category “Collectibles Militaria

WW II (1939-45)” and selecting the world-wide option, 5 The screen names of eBay bidders are encoded to ensure anonymity. They are

normally represented by a five-digit code, comprised of three asterisks with alphanumeric characters at the beginning and front. Own experience in bidding shows that this encoding remains stable for a prolonged period. Thus, while the individuals are not known, the encoded identities permit an analysis of bidding frequencies. When examining the feedback pages of successful sales over the past 60days, it was noted that the buyer ID was not encoded. This allowed correlating the encoded identities with actual bidder screen names. The profile pages of the screen names provide generic locational details (country), which could be used for further analysis of artefact movements.

6 Corrected for inflation using US CPI data: http://www.bls.gov/cpi/. 7. E-bay item nº 260425558670; 260432484803 8. E-bay item nº 260432363688. 9 E-bay item nº 260432488366. 10. E-bay item nº 260432350100. 11. E-bay item nº 230350610715. 12. E-bay item nº 330339651292; 330339667032. 13. E-bay item nº 260424921649. 14. Francillon 1979, p. 434. 15. The first digit of the serial number is a filler designed to obfuscate the real

sequence. It did not take long, however, until US Intelligence had understood the pattern: The first digits is derived by deducting the last digit of the real serial number from 10 (with a serial number ending in ‘0’ being code as it would end in ‘9’). As a result, the first digit of each serial number can be ignored.

16. Sources: Rate of Production of Japanese Type 0 Reconnaissance Seaplane ‘Jake’ JICPOA Bulletin 49-43.1 November 1943. Joint Intelligence Center Pacific Ocean Areas, Commandant Navy #128, San Francisco, CA.

17 eBay auction nº 260432484803, ended 30 June 2009. 18. Nomenclatorically, for the description of the pieces of aircraft skin, recto (‘the

right way up”) refers to the external surface and verso to the internal surface. 19. Collection Jim Lansdale, Pampano Beach, FL..—The piece was bought on eBay

(nº 6517030247 offered by the seller "thechinaempress") on 13 March 2005 for the winning bid of $809.99 (pers.comm J. Kansdale).

09-05 market for japanese aircraft - charles sturt...

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