Kawanashi N1K2-Ja, 5431
History
Serial number 5341, tail code A343-35, was likely stationed at Omura or Oppama Naval Air Station in Japan in 1945.After the war, it was shipped to the United States for evaluation, possibly at the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia.Subsequently, it was displayed outdoors at the Naval Air Station Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, along with other captured Axis aircraft.
In 1983, the aircraft was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution and placed into storage at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility in Suitland, Maryland. In December 1991, it was loaned to the Champlin Fighter Museum in Mesa, Arizona, where it underwent restoration. The restoration was completed by November 1994, during which the aircraft was painted in the colors and markings of the Imperial Japanese Navy's 343rd Kokutai, based at Omura in 1945.
After the restoration, the aircraft was returned to the Smithsonian and has been on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center since December 2003. It is one of only four surviving N1K2-Ja Shiden Kai aircraft in existence.
The N1K2-Ja Shiden Kai is considered one of the best land-based fighters of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.