| The
Battle of Midway June 3 - 6, 1942 |
READER CONTRIBUTIONS BATTLE OF MIDWAY MODELS: BY KEN DURLING |
LT Kobayashi Michio's
Aichi D3A1 Type 99 "Val"
Hiryu Kanjo Bakugekikitai
By Ken
Durling
Photo by Ken Durling
This Hasegawa 1/48th scale Aichi D3A1 Type 99 "Val" has been built to depict the plane flown by LT Kobayashi Michio, Commander of Hiryu's Bombing Squadron on June 4, 1942. Kobayashi, flying BII-201, along with his gunner, WO Ono Yoshinori, led the first counter attack by Hiryu against Yorktown on the afternoon of June 4. This strike composed of 18 D3A1s, divided into two nine plane Chutai (the rough equivalent of US divisions) and six A6M2 Zeros.