Why the Shinden was made

The story of how the U.S. bombing raids during WWII lead the Japanese military to develop the Shinden.  The plane made famous for its appearance in Godzilla Minus One.  

Transcript

Paula: 0:00

For the Best Aerospace Era this is mansplaining. Here is the host Anthony L. Sealey

0:08

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. Have you ever finished watching a movie and saw an airplane rocket or spacecraft that captured your interest? Then immediately afterwards looked up information on that craft that was featured in the film. If the answer is yes, then you are an aerospace enthusiast. And you are in the right place listening to Mansplaneing. Today, I'm talking about that very interesting aircraft from the 2023 hit film, Godzilla minus one. And why the Japanese made such an unusual aircraft during World War ii. The Godzilla franchise is one of the most famous movie franchises in cinematic history. And has some surprising connections to the best aerospace era, and as the franchise has just recently celebrated its 70th anniversary, I felt this would be a perfect time to talk about the fighters and bombers from the films. According to the internet, there are 38 films starring the iconic Godzilla. With that many movies, not all of them are going to be cinematic masterpieces. One thing is for sure when mankind is faced with an adversary the size of Godzilla. Almost all of the films you'll see some kind of fighter or bomber sent to try and stop him from destroying Japan or the world. Godzilla was conceived by Japanese film producer, Tomoyuki Tanaka. I have read that he originally got the idea one day when he was a passenger on a plane flying over the ocean. He looked out at the sea while trying to come up with a new idea for a movie. Tanaka was distraught because his latest film project was just canceled. As Tanaka stared out at the endless ocean, he wondered what large creatures could be lurking deep in the ocean depths. The seeds of a legendary horror movie franchise took shape in his mind. During that flight. Haven't you figured out a problem or had a great idea while staring out the window of an airplane? Thousands of feet in the air? Before the more ridiculous movies of the sixties and seventies or more recent action packed American movies. Godzilla was originally an anti-war symbol and nature's revenge on mankind, in particular Japan for his devastating violence of World War ii. Depending on the film, Godzilla was either woken up by or changed into the king of the monsters by nuclear testing done by the US government on their remote bikini Alto Islands in the Pacific Ocean during the 1940s and fifties. Godzilla's, atomic breath or heat Ray. From his mouth destroys everything in its path. This was a way to show the destructive power of nuclear weapons and radiation. This hit home that mankind's war like nature had gone too far. However, mankind would turn to these weapons of war, such as fighters and bombers to try to stop him. Here are just a few examples in the first film in the franchise, Gojira, or Godzilla, released by Toho Studios in 1954, the first jet fighter seen on film attacking Godzilla was an F 86 Saber. F 86 Saber are seen in many early Godzilla films. In the 1984 film with the same name as the first Mitsubishi F1 fighters attacked Godzilla in this 30th anniversary film. In the film, Godzilla 2000 released in the US in, well, 2000, had a truly awesome aerial scene. Godzilla is in route to destroy some nuclear power plants near Tokyo because that's what he does. Godzilla is shown in the middle of the frame as 12 missiles appear from six different directions after the missiles impact and engulf him six F 15 J Eagles that fired the missiles appear. They fly straight at Godzilla and climb vertically at the same time. It's an awesome scene from a forgotten movie. F 35 Lightnings can be seen attacking Godzilla in the American film Godzilla 2014 in Shin Godzilla released in 2016 there is a scene where B two Spirit bombers hit the fast growing and evolving Godzilla with penetrating bombs. That brings us to Godzilla minus one or released in 2023. No aircraft before in the Godzilla franchise has received this much fame and attention as the Shinden. Now this is your spoiler warning for anyone who has not seen the movie it is set before the other films mentioned here taking place right after the Second World War. It is called minus one because this was the lowest point for the Japanese people. You're placed in this desperate and depressing time through the characters in the film. There is no government or infrastructure. Basic necessities like food, water, and shelter are hard to come by and Godzilla cannot have picked a worst time to show up because of tensions between the US and the USSR. The people of the War toren in Japan would have to defend themselves from Godzilla on its own. For their plan to work, an airplane would be needed, and the production team for the movie cannot have picked a rarer or more interesting aircraft to use for the film and the film. An airplane is found in a warehouse and is described as being a bit unique by Kenji NoDa, who was a mastermind of the plan to stop Godzilla. The short range interceptor is called the Shinden, which means magnificent lightning. Cool name, right. It was a canard design with a pusher engine and armed with 30 millimeter guns. The engine is located at the aft or rear of the fuselage of the aircraft. The engine's, six propell blades would push, as the name implies the aircraft up to speed until the swept main wings fixed towards the aft or rear of the Fuselage, produce enough drag to lift the aircraft into the air and into action. The word canard refers to the small wings fix at the nose of the aircraft. To some people, the airplane looks backwards. In the movie the shinden was a prototype and was abandoned in the final days of the War. it sat abandoned in a warehouse for two years, so an aircraft mechanic, and survivor of a prior Godzilla encounter Name. Tachibana was needed to make it air worthy once again. He also equipped it with a bomb in the nose section of the aircraft at the request of its pilot Shikishima, who intended to kamikaze the Shinden into Godzilla a suicide mission. By the way, the music score by Composer Naoki Sato during the first scene where the Shinden is unveiled is awesome and portrays a sense of excitement. The Shinden piloted by Shikishima. Appears to be highly maneuverable in the film and is able to dodge Godzilla's jaws and tail before luring him into a trap. The plan to kill Godzilla however fails, but does appear to hurt him and piss him off. Godzilla began to build up his atomic heat ray to deliver a killing blow to the men who volunteered to try and stop him. They sat helplessly on the ships as they watch Godzilla build up his heat ray. Then suddenly everything goes silent until you hear the piston engine of the Shinden. Shikishima pilots a Shinden into a Kamikaze maneuver. Into Godzilla's mouth just before impact. He released the safety on the bomb placed in the nose. He, however, decides to eject at the last second. That bomb goes off in Godzilla's mouth and killed the king of the monsters. Now before we talk about the real Kyushu, J7W1 Shinden, I want to answer the question, Why did the Empire of Japan develop such an unconventional interceptor during World War ii? Didn't the Empire of Japan already have formidable aircraft at their disposal like the famous and Deadly Mitsubishi, A six M or zero? In order to answer that question, we need to go back a few years from the setting of Godzilla and minus one. And to America's response to the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Sunday, December 7th, 1941. A date that most Americans now learn to remember in school, right? The Japanese surprise attack on Pearl harbor. The US military needed to strike back, and they turned to James Harold Doolittle to organize and lead the first response. A squadron of medium range B 25 bombers took off from the aircraft carrier Hornet on April 18th, 1942. This was something the medium range B 25 bombers were never designed to do. Their target was Tokyo. Just over four months after Pearl Harbor, what became known As the Doolittle raid successfully returned the favor, this bombing raid was just a prelude for what was to come from the American forces in the war. The empire of Japan seemed to be unstoppable in the decades leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan had conquered the Korean peninsula parts of China, and occupied many small and large islands in the Pacific ocean in order to defeat the Japanese war machine. More large scale bombing raids would be needed before a large scale invasion of Japan could happen. The marinara islands, which includes Guam needing to be claimed and ready to stage the formidable B 29. Super fortress, long range bombers. However, there is a problem. The P 51 Mustang fighters cannot escort the B 29s from the Mainrara Islands to Japan and make it back. Another strategic island will be needed to stage the fighters. Iwo Jima, a small island about halfway between the Japanese mainland. And the air bases in the marinara Islands was selected. This is where we meet Captain Jerry Yellen. A 21-year-old P 51 Mustang pilot of the 78th Fighter Squadron. Captain Yellen arrived at a five star resort and hotel on Iwo Jima in early March, 1945. No wait, that's not right. He and the 78th landed in a war zone. They landed on a landing strip that was built by the Japanese forces that the US Marines had just recently secured. Only the southern third of the island was under US. Control. After landing Captain Yellen was ordered to keep his head down, dig a foxhole and asleep. There were enemy bodies pile up beside the runway, nearby sounds of shouting, gunfire and explosions everywhere. It was hot. It was loud, it smelled. Death was everywhere. How could you sleep in these conditions? Could you? After a few days, the island was deemed secure and most of the Marines moved on construction. On two. More runways began because more fighter groups were expected. This was a grave miscalculation, however. One morning around 0400 Japanese forces hiding in tunnels emerged on a suicide attack known as Bonsai, because that's what they yelled. They cannot retake the island, but they could go down fighting and die for the empire. The pilots only had their standard issue, 1911 sidearm to defend themselves. As awesome of a gun as a 1911 is, you'd probably want something with more firepower and more rounds in this situation. If you have seen the HBO series, the Pacific released in 2010, then you can imagine the conditions on Iwo Jima and other Pacific Islands during World War ii. Early in the morning of April 7th, 1945, 300 B-29s took off from Saipan in the marinara islands, bound for Japan. Later that morning, captain Yellen, along with this fighter group of over a hundred P 51 and a few P 61 fighters. Would take off from Iwo Jima and rendezvous with the B-29s Every aircraft played an important role in the armada. A few P 61 fighters would provide radar and navigation for the P 51 fighter squadrons. The P 51 fighters would escort and protect the B 29 bombers during their bombing raids over targets in Tokyo. The B-29s would be the prime target for the Japanese interceptors as well as anti-aircraft guns on the ground. This would've been an awesome site to see all those aircraft in formation unless you were on the Japanese side. Captain Yellen was instructed to keep Mount Fuji in his 50 caliber gun sites of his P 51 that he nickname Dory R. After his love interest back home, he hoped to see her again if he survived this mission. He and the armada encountered their first enemy fighter. A Ki-44 Shoki known as Tojo, the first of many enemy aircraft that they would face as they cross Sagami Bay. They approached the city anti-aircraft, fire increased. The B-29s target was an industrial complex that included An aircraft engine factory, captain Yellen described the scene. I saw little dots of light spring from the ground as the bombs exploded. Wave after wave of bombers drop their cargo inside the squares of fire on the ground. We fighter pilots were in constant state of alert. Japanese fighters were all over the sky. And the aerial battles between us were fierce. He went on to say, when I had a chance to look down, I could see fire raging. All of the city it seemed was on fire. Captain Yellen in the 78th did everything they could to protect the B-29s, but the Japanese pilots were determined to destroy as many as they could. Captain Yellen said, I saw one of our B-29s get hit and the right wing fell off. The plane burst into flames when parachute came out. Then the second and the third, then the huge lumbering plane keeled over of the 12 crew members on board. Only three had bailed out as the Japanese empire did not treat their POWs. Humanly whatsoever. One has to wonder what happened to those three men that bailed out once back at a Iwo Jima, captain Yellen and the other pilots received their post mission briefing. The reports were positive. The 78th remarkably did not lose anyone from their squadron, and of the 100 B-29s nines they escorted. Only three were lost for the Japanese 21 fighters were taken out of the sky trying to intercept and stop the attack on Tokyo. This included. The Ki 44 known as Tojo, the Ki 45 known as Dragon Slayer, the KI 46 known as Dinah, the Ki 61 known as Tony, and most likely a few of the famous A6M known as zero were in the sky as well. This is why capturing Iwo Jima and using it as an airbase was so important. And this is why we honor and remember the Marines who fought and died to capture the island. Captain Jerry Yellen's story from the best aerospace era is fascinating. He was actually the last fighter pilot to fly a combat mission over Japan in World War ii. If you'd like to learn more about Captain Yellen and his accounts from World War ii, then look for his book, the Last Fighter Pilot. By Don Brown and Captain Yellen. It's a very short book, but a very interesting read. These numbers were not good for Japan. A new interceptor was needed. The Japanese needed a B 29 killer, a fast agile short range interceptor that could fight through the P 51 escort and take out the B-29s. Captain Masaoki Tusruno and the Japanese Navy technical staff along with The Kyushu aircraft firm were tasked with designing and developing the Shinden. The first two prototypes were first flown on August 3rd, 1945. The radial air cooled engines was planned to be replaced with a turbo jet engine in the future. It was armed with four 30 millimeter cannons placed in the nose. A Japanese Navy ordered production of 150 Shinden before its first test flight even took place. Its first test flight was performed just under four months after the successful April 7th American bombing raid, which I just told you about. Some major events happened during these four months. President Roosevelt died in office on April 12th, and Harry s Truman became President Nazi Germany surrendered on May 7th, leaving Japan without an ally, and the US continued bombing raids on major Japanese targets. The Shinden was one Japanese interceptor that Captain Yellen and the rest of the 78th would never see. Three days after its first test flight on August 6th, the B 29 and Enola Gay dropped the first nuclear bomb on the city of Hiroshima, the second by the B 29 Bockscar on the city of Nagasaki. On April 9th, the Japanese empire surrendered. Finally, days later on August 15th, 1945. Bringing it into the world conflict. Some say Godzilla is a metaphor for these nuclear attacks The unique design of the Shinden is rare, but not unprecedented. Some of the first flying machines at the Dawn of flight were pusher aircraft, like the Wright flyer and the 14 bis that first flew 40 years prior to the Shinden. Also, there are modern aircraft like the Rutan Long EZ. That are out there today. of the two Shinden prototypes that were built and test flown. One of them was destroyed and the other was taken apart and shipped back to the US by Naval intelligence for testing. I have seen the last remaining Kyushu J7w1 Shinden and so can you at the Steven F Udvar Hazy Center, the National Air and Space Museum. The museum is located right near IAD Dulles International Airport, although it's also about 35 minutes away from DCA Washington Reagan International Airport. If you're wanting some flight options. The fuselage of the Shinden is on display. It looks very unassuming, without that it's swept wings, canards, and engine. I believe the rest of it is in storage. Ironically, the very aircraft it was designed to intercept is also on display there as well. That'd be 29 and Enola Gay. I highly recommend that you go to visit the National Air and Space Museum, Stephen f Udvar Hazy Center. I plan on covering more movies that are about the best aerospace era here on Mansplaneing. Are there other fighters, bombers, rockets, or spacecrafts from your favorite movies that have captured your attention and want to know more about, then follow mansplaneing for more. Hopefully I will cover one of your favorite movies from the best aerospace era in the future. Until then, thank you so much for listening, and remember, there's always a light at the end of the runway.

Paula: 28:53

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