Saturday 9 October 2021

Mitsubishi Ki-21, foreign users

 
The Mitsubishi Ki-21 was a Japanese twin-engined bomber which took part in the World War II. Its main user was Japan, however, it was used by some other users:
  • France: After the War, some few Ki-21 were used in Indochina by the French Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) during the First Indochina War. They were originally Ki-21-IIb bombers converted ad-hoc into transports with their defensive armament removed. These machines were very worn out so their usage through that conflict wasn't very prolonged and they were most likely, replaced. 
  • Manchukuo: The Manchukuo Imperial Air Force had 6 Ki-21-Ia bombers in strength in the year 1941. They were assigned to 2nd Air Unit, based in Fengtian, but, most probably, they were not used very much and were either destroyed on ground or left to rot. 
  • Thailand: Nine Ki-21-IIa bombers were sold to the Kingdom of Thailand in 1940 to be used by the Royal Thai Air Force against the Vichy French forces in Indochina. However they couldn't take part in the Franco-Thai War as crews didn't complete training in time. They were part of the 62nd Squadron and were based at Don Muang, in Bangkok. In 1942, when the Japanese Army invaded Burma, the Thai Army invaded the Shan States, using their Ki-21 extensively against the defending Chinese forces. Two Thai Ki-21s were lost on air raids on 2nd May 1943 and 30th November 1944 when they were based in Lampang, North-West of Thailand. The remaining seven were kept in active after the war and it wasn't until 1949 that they were written off service and were immediately scrapped.















Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_Ki-21
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchukuo_Imperial_Air_Force
3. https://www.traditions-air.fr
4. http://wings-aviation.ch/51-Profiles/M/M-Basis-en.htm (translated)

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