(For an embarrassment of detail photos, jump to the end after addresses and references. You’re welcome, modelers.)

In a war-scarred and still healing 1947 Japan, Godzilla brings his unique brand of urban renewal to Tokyo once again. Disarmed and occupied, the nation’s only hope to stop him lays with a disgraced naval aviator ready to deliver magnificent lightning to the titanic terror in the form of a fighter aircraft as strange as the king of the monsters himself.

The fighter wasn’t fictional nor entirely CGI, but a full-sized replica of a late war prototype interceptor, the Kyushu J7W1 Shinden (Magnificent Lightning). It now lives in the Chikuzen-machi Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum (which we visited in 2016) in Fukuoka Prefecture where anyone can get up close with a fighter that never got to prove itself, at least until Godzilla needed an opponent.

Though it looks like a work of fiction, the movie’s Kyushu J7W1 Shinden (Magnificent Lightning) was a real prototype interceptor. The pusher design with a rear-mounted engine and propeller and forward canards (the small wings at the front) was designed by Imperial Japanese Navy Lt. Cmdr. Tsuruno Masaoki, in response to a 1943 naval requirement for a heavily-armed, high-speed, high-altitude interceptor for combating Allied bombers.

J7W1 Shinden undergoing evaluation at Wright Field in 1946. (NARA via Wings of the Rising Sun)

The first proof of concept gliders, the Yokosuka MXY6, was built in 1943 and flown by Tsuruno himself. The results were promising and the navy ordered the powered-version into production before one had even been built. (If this designation sounds familiar, it’s because the Yokosuka MXY7 is the rocket-powered Ohka suicide aircraft) This technically made Japan the only nation to order a pusher design into production during the war. The propeller-driven aircraft was initially designated 18-shi or Prototype 18, as it was built for a 1943 (Showa 18) design requirement. This was later officially replaced with the project codename “Shinden” to obfuscate what it was.

The production order went to Fukuoka-based Kyushu Aircraft Co., who predominantly built trainers and reconnaissance aircraft. They were not the first or best choice for building the Shinden, but they were a naval aircraft manufacturer that was relatively unburdened by work orders and whose facilities were intact. Kyushu Aircraft Co. employed 27,000 workers and typical of the late war, 9,200 workers came from women’s associations and drafted teenagers, mostly from Fukuoka girls’ high schools, though some came from as far away as Kyoto.

USMC Photo by Sgt. Joe O’Donnell via National Archives (127-N-136381)

Two proto

USMC Photo by Sgt. Joe O’Donnell via National Archives (127-N-136379)

types were built and delivered in early June 1945, though hydraulic and engine cooling issues delayed testing for a month. Ground and flight tests were conducted at Mushiroda Air Base, now Fukuoka Airport, with Tsuruno at the controls for ground tests in July. Testing was delayed again when Tsuruno raised the nose too high and the propeller struck the ground. A replacement propeller was cannibalized from the second prototype and tail wheels from a pair of Kyushu K11W Shiragiku bomber trainers were added to the bottom of the rear stabilizers to prevent another incident.

Kyushu J7W1 Shinden (National Air & Space Museum collection)

Tsuruno was forbidden to fly the Shinden for his safety, so now with Kyushu test pilot Yoshitaka Miyaishi at the controls the Shinden made its maiden flight on Aug. 3, 1945. Flown for 15 minutes with its landing gear extended, the feat was repeated twice more on Aug. 6 and 8 for a total 45 minutes of flight time. These simple test flights found there was still much work to be done before the Shinden was ready to strike.  The Shinden program ended with the Aug. 15 acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration, while the first prototype lifelessly waited for a new engine. Post-war it was brought to the US for study. It is currently displayed in a dismembered state on the floor of the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.  Wingless and propeller-less, it no longer provokes dreams of flight.

The movie replica is a different story. Standing high on its gangly landing gear and ready to take off, it faithfully recreates the Shinden from the core design right down to the information inscribed on the landing gear manufacturer’s plate. Sitting side by side with a battle-worn Zero, it feels just as real, as if it had its own 15 minutes of fame in the air and not just on screen. Truly, it is a “magnificent lightning.”

The replica differs from the prototype, as it depicts a production model with nose-mounted gun ports for 30mm cannons and lacks the prototype training wheels. There is also a small movie-specific touch in the cockpit, but you’ll have to watch the film to figure out what it is.

Its configuration with a rear-mounted propeller also created two other issues to overcome, though they are not visible on the aircraft externally. To bail out, there is a lever in the cockpit which shoots the canopy back and detonates a charge to blow off the propeller, allowing the pilot to get out safely. It also has internal shell casing holders attached to its cannons, as externally ejected casing would be a danger to the propeller.

As good as the “production” replica looks, like the evolving monster of the previous Toho outing, Shin Godzilla, this version of the Shinden was not meant to be an end point to the design but a stage of development. First came the glider, then the propeller-driven aircraft and its ultimate evolution was to have been a jet fighter. Logistically though, this was unlikely to have happened even if the war continued. According to a gakuto-doin (“student draftee”) Kyushu Aircraft was struggling to stay supplied without a ground invasion and workers found themselves with little to do as they awaited parts. It’s a testament to Tsuruno, his design team, and the people of Kyushu Aircraft that they were able to build such a unique prototype under late wartime conditions.

Though the Godzilla -1.0 fanfare for the Shinden began after the new movie came out and the museum could acknowledge their Shinden is the hero aircraft, it was actually low-key on display for over a year. I first came across a photo of the Shinden months ago and having been to Tachiarai before, it struck me as odd that a small, rural museum in a remote corner of Fukuoka Prefecture could afford to commission such a thing. Maybe it was an old movie prop? Then the movie came out and putting together two and two noticed it was turned over to the museum by a “production company” right as Godzilla, as we now know, finished filming. It must have been hard keeping such a big secret to themselves for over a year!

It’s fitting Tachiarai was able to procure the replica as preserving the memory of Kyushu Aircraft Co. is part of its mission. The other part is sharing the story of Tachiarai army airfield and remembering their war dead, even a B-29 crew who died in a crash here. To this end they maintain two last of their kind warbirds. One is the squared-off wing tip A6M3 Model 32 Zero fighter and the other is an Army Type 97 fighter. I’m happy to see this new aircraft generate more interest in it so they can continue to share their stories.

Tachiarai’s A6M3 Model 32

From November 2023 until Mar. 20, 2024 there is also a special Godzilla -1.0 exhibit with the cockpit close up props and lots of production photos. I was surprised to see many of the cockpit instruments are real, looking at the backside they have connection points and engraved manufacturer’s plates. If you want to visit where the Shinden scenes were shot, you’ll have to fly up to Narita and take the train to Ibaraki and the former Kashima Naval Air Base, now a publicly accessible park.

They also have museum-specific Godzilla and Shinden merchandise, as well as a special 1/72 Hasegawa Tachiarai Peace Museum Edition 2-pack A6M3 and Type 97. Of note is that the Type 97 Tachiarai squadron insignia on the tail was designed by army pilot Maj. Matsumoto Tsuyoshi, father of manga legend Matsumoto Leiji. (Space Battleship Yamato, Galaxy Express 999, Captain Harlock)

Admission is 600 yen.

Because Tachiarai requires a day trip, I suggest pairing a visit with a tour of the Kirin Brewery just down the road. After the museum we ate at the Kirin Beer Farm which provided excellent meaty meals and cold, fresh beer to cap off the day. Another daytrip pairing option is the Hirazuka Kawazoe Architectural Park, which recreates ancient Yayoi-era houses.

Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum

HOW TO GET THERE

By train, take the JR line from Sasebo to Tosu, switch to a local train for Kiyama and at Kiyama switch to the Amagi Railway Line for Tachiarai. The train station is home to the Tachiarai Retro Station whose collection of technology and common items of life during the early to mid-20th century complements the larger Peace Memorial Museum just across the street. With the T-33 Shooting Star jet trainer mounted out front, it feels like it should be a Route 66 diner or gas station from the 1950s, even passing by in a car the Retro Station is impossible to miss.

Chikuzenmachi Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum

ADDRESS: 2561-1 Takada, Chikuzen-machi, Asakura-gun, Fukuoka prefecture 838-0814
TEL: 0946-23-1227
Email: tachiarai-heiwa@jewel.ocn.ne.jp
http://tachiarai-heiwa.jp

Kirin Brewery & Kirin Beer Farm
ADDRESS: 3601 Mada, Asakura, Fukuoka 838-0058
TEL: 0946232132
https://www.kirin.co.jp/experience/factory/english/beer/

Hirazuka Kawazoe Architectural Park
ADDRESS: 444-4 Hirazuka, Asakura, Fukuoka 838-0059
TEL: 0946-21-7966
https://www.city.asakura.lg.jp/www/contents/1449019135497/index.html

Former Kashima Naval Air Base Site
Oyama, Miho, Inashiki District, Ibaraki 300-0402
Plus Code: 293C+GG Miho, Ibaraki

REFERENCES

Kyushu J7W1 Shinden (Magnificent Lightning)
https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/kyushu-j7w1-shinden-magnificent-lightning/nasm_A19600333000

Some information conflicts between the version of events as depicted in the Smithsonian telling and the Tachiarai version; when in conflict I went with Tachiarai as it readily gives out details and explanations such as the Kyushu test pilot making the flights and when the smaller wheels were added.

The Shinden Gallery