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80-709: Technical Air Intelligence Units (TAIU) were joint Allied military intelligence units formed during World War II to recover Japanese aircraft to obtain data regarding their technical and tactical capabilities. The first such unit, known later as Technical Air Intelligence Unit– South West Pacific (TAIU–SWPA), was formed in November 1942 by the United States Navy (USN), United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) at Eagle Farm Airbase , Brisbane , Australia, in November 1942. During 1943–44, three other TAIUs were formed in

160-461: A Kawasaki Ki-45 "Nick" fighter, about which little was known. Another fighter, a Kawasaki Ki-61 "Tony", was also examined. One of the biggest problems faced by the TAIU teams was Allied troops, who commonly stripped enemy aircraft for "souvenirs". Efforts were made to minimize souvenir hunting, but most of these efforts were in vain, and it remained a constant problem throughout the war. Another obstacle

240-531: A Nakajima J1N and Aichi M6A , but the rest of the aircraft is in storage at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility . Data from Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War General characteristics Performance Armament 1 × 37 mm (1.457 in) Ho-203 cannon , 1 × 20 mm (0.787 in) Ho-3 cannon , 1 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) Type 98 machine gun on

320-433: A Toryu clipped the stacks from astern, and rammed the bridge. A second Toryu hit the foredeck, opening a 7 m (23 ft) hole in the deck. The ensuing fires demolished the ship, and after the surviving crew was rescued by fellow fast transports, destroyer escort Bunch and destroyer-transport Herbert , the ship was towed out to sea and scuttled. In 1945, the forward and upward-firing guns showed some results with

400-904: A common Anglo-American vision of the postwar world, as formalized by the Atlantic Charter . At the Second Inter-Allied Meeting in London in September 1941, the eight European governments in exile, together with the Soviet Union and representatives of the Free French Forces, unanimously adopted adherence to the common principles of policy set forth in the Atlantic Charter. In December, Japan attacked American and British territories in Asia and

480-608: A domination of the world completely different from any known in world history. The domination at which the Nazis aim is not limited to the displacement of the balance of power and the imposition of the supremacy of one nation. It seeks the systematic and total destruction of those conquered by Hitler and it does not treaty with the nations which it has subdued. He destroys them. He takes from them their whole political and economic existence and seeks even to deprive them of their history and culture. He wishes only to consider them as vital space and

560-560: A formalized group upon the Declaration by United Nations on 1 January 1942, which was signed by 26 nations around the world; these ranged from governments in exile from the Axis occupation to small nations far removed from the war. The Declaration officially recognized the Big Three and China as the "Four Powers", acknowledging their central role in prosecuting the war; they were also referred to as

640-535: A key role in achieving victory. A series of conferences between Allied leaders, diplomats, and military officials gradually shaped the makeup of the alliance, the direction of the war, and ultimately the postwar international order. Relations between the United Kingdom and the United States were especially close , with their bilateral Atlantic Charter forming the groundwork of their alliance. The Allies became

720-640: A massive air attack on Germany, but Stalin kept wanting more. Although the U.S. had a strained relationship with the USSR in the 1920s, relations were normalized in 1933. The original terms of the Lend-Lease loan were amended towards the Soviets, to be put in line with British terms. The United States would now expect interest with the repayment from the Soviets, following the initiation of the Operation Barbarossa , at

800-640: A separate colony. British Malaya covers the areas of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore , while British Borneo covers the area of Brunei , including Sabah and Sarawak of Malaysia. British Hong Kong consisted of Hong Kong Island , the Kowloon Peninsula , and the New Territories . Territories controlled by the Colonial Office , namely the Crown Colonies , were controlled politically by

880-599: A vacant territory over which he has every right. The human beings who constitute these nations are for him only cattle. He orders their massacre or migration. He compels them to make room for their conquerors. He does not even take the trouble to impose any war tribute on them. He just takes all their wealth and, to prevent any revolt, he scientifically seeks the physical and moral degradation of those whose independence he has taken away. France experienced several major phases of action during World War II: In Africa these included: French West Africa , French Equatorial Africa ,

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960-621: The B-29 Superfortress raids which started in June 1944 . However, its performance was insufficient to counter B-29s flying at 10,000 m (32,800 ft). Modifications such as reduction of fuel and ordnance were attempted to raise performance, to little avail, and in the end aircraft were used effectively in aerial ramming attacks. They were also used in kamikaze attacks, such as the attack on USS  Dickerson on 2 April 1945 off Okinawa. The commanding officer and 54 crew were killed when

1040-535: The British West Indies , British Honduras , British Guiana and the Falkland Islands . The Dominion of Newfoundland was directly ruled as a royal colony from 1933 to 1949, run by a governor appointed by London who made the decisions regarding Newfoundland. British India included the areas and peoples covered by later India , Bangladesh , Pakistan and (until 1937) Burma/Myanmar , which later became

1120-530: The Flying Tigers . In September of the same year, they met P-40s over Hanoi with similar results. It became clear that the Ki-45 could not hold its own against single-engine fighters in aerial combat. It was subsequently deployed in several theaters in the roles of interception, attack (anti-ground as well as anti-shipping) and fleet defense. Its greatest strength turned out to be as an anti-bomber interceptor , as

1200-602: The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service made a forced landing in June 1942 on Akutan Island , off Alaska . The aircraft (known later as the " Akutan Zero ") was recovered by the USN and shipped to NAS North Island , California, where it was repaired and made a number of test flights to determine its performance and capabilities. In late 1942, the Australian Army captured lightly damaged or incomplete examples of

1280-725: The Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa ("Oscar") – the main fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force during the war – in Papua New Guinea . The Ki-43s were discovered nearly intact at Buna Airfield , after the Battle of Buna–Gona , and were shipped to Australia for examination. In order to consolidate and co-ordinate these different operations, the Technical Air Intelligence Unit

1360-469: The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics . Crashed and captured aircraft were located, identified, and evaluated (often in or near the front lines), before being recovered for further tests. Aircraft that were not too badly damaged were rebuilt for test flights that revealed vulnerabilities that could be exploited. Examination of the materials used in the construction of aircraft allowed

1440-706: The Showa L2D "Tabby" transport, and the Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" reconnaissance aircraft. A joint RAF /USAAF unit, known as the TAIU for South East Asia (ATAIU-SEA) was formed in Calcutta in late 1943, and disbanded at Singapore in 1946. Two other units were also created; "TAIU for the Pacific Ocean Area" (TAIU-POA), a U.S. Navy unit which operated in the Pacific Islands, and "TAIU for China" (TAIU-CHINA) under

1520-529: The escort carrier Copahee , and sent to Wright Field where it was flown and evaluated. Further success came in late December 1943, when US Marines captured the airfield at Cape Gloucester on the north coast of New Britain , finding many wrecks and several nearly intact aircraft. TAIU officers logged the serial numbers of the aircraft, and engine configurations, serial numbers and dates of manufacture. They inspected cockpits for layout and control locations, and armour plate. They recovered armaments, including

1600-712: The " Big Four " – the United Kingdom , United States , Soviet Union , and China . Membership in the Allies varied during the course of the war. When the conflict broke out on 1 September 1939, the Allied coalition consisted of the United Kingdom, France , and Poland , as well as their respective dependencies , such as British India . They were joined by the independent dominions of the British Commonwealth : Canada , Australia , New Zealand and South Africa . Consequently,

1680-510: The " trusteeship of the powerful", and later as the " Four Policemen " of the United Nations. Many more countries joined through to the final days of the war, including colonies and former Axis nations. After the war ended, the Allies, and the Declaration that bound them, would become the basis of the modern United Nations ; one enduring legacy of the alliance is the permanent membership of

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1760-496: The 1920s, culminating in the invasion of Manchuria in 1931. The League of Nations strongly condemned the attack as an act of aggression against China; Japan responded by leaving the League in 1933. The second Sino-Japanese War erupted in 1937 with Japan's full-scale invasion of China. The League of Nations condemned Japan's actions and initiated sanctions; the United States, which had attempted to peacefully negotiate for peace in Asia,

1840-587: The 20 mm (0.79 in) cannon, and this time placed an automatic 37 mm (1.46 in) gun in the nose. A later addition in the Tei type were twin obliquely-firing 20 mm (0.79 in) Ho-5 cannons behind the cockpit, and often propulsive exhaust stacks. Soon after entering service, the Ki-45 was assigned to home defense, and several were dispatched against the Doolittle raid , though they did not see action. The craft's heavy armament proved to be effective against

1920-572: The Allies to analyse Japanese war production. The unit also absorbed a small team who developed the code name system for Japanese aircraft, and produced aircraft recognition charts and photographs. After the attack on Pearl Harbor , several shot down aircraft were recovered from Hawaii and examined by the Naval Air Test Center and the USAAF Test Training Unit, who completed their own separate studies. A Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" of

2000-652: The American Harry Hopkins . It is also often called the "Strange Alliance", because it united the leaders of the world's greatest capitalist state (the United States), the greatest socialist state (the Soviet Union) and the greatest colonial power (the United Kingdom). Relations between them resulted in the major decisions that shaped the war effort and planned for the postwar world. Cooperation between

2080-458: The Big Three leaders, although they were not enough to break the alliance during wartime. In 1942 Roosevelt proposed becoming, with China, the Four Policemen of world peace. Although the 'Four Powers' were reflected in the wording of the Declaration by United Nations , Roosevelt's proposal was not initially supported by Churchill or Stalin. Division emerged over the length of time taken by

2160-662: The British Government during the Second World War and made part of the British Army structure. It was mostly Greek Cypriot volunteers and Turkish Cypriot inhabitants of Cyprus but also included other Commonwealth nationalities. On a brief visit to Cyprus in 1943, Winston Churchill praised the "soldiers of the Cyprus Regiment who have served honourably on many fields from Libya to Dunkirk". About 30,000 Cypriots served in

2240-637: The Cyprus Regiment. The regiment was involved in action from the very start and served at Dunkirk , in the Greek Campaign (about 600 soldiers were captured in Kalamata in 1941), North Africa ( Operation Compass ), France, the Middle East and Italy. Many soldiers were taken prisoner especially at the beginning of the war and were interned in various PoW camps ( Stalag ) including Lamsdorf ( Stalag VIII-B ), Stalag IVC at Wistritz bei Teplitz and Stalag 4b near Most in

2320-529: The Czech Republic. The soldiers captured in Kalamata were transported by train to prisoner of war camps. After Germany invaded Poland, France declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939. In January 1940, French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier made a major speech denouncing the actions of Germany: At the end of five months of war, one thing has become more and more clear. It is that Germany seeks to establish

2400-406: The Declaration was signed by Iraq, Iran, Brazil, Bolivia and Colombia. A Tripartite Treaty of Alliance with Britain and the USSR formalised Iran's assistance to the Allies. In Rio de Janeiro , Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas was considered near to fascist ideas, but realistically joined the United Nations after their evident successes. In 1944, Liberia and France signed. The French situation

2480-650: The German war machine. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland ; two days later Britain and France declared war on Germany. Roughly two weeks after Germany's attack, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east. Britain and France established the Anglo-French Supreme War Council to coordinate military decisions. A Polish government-in-exile was set up in London, joined by hundreds of thousands of Polish soldiers, which would remain an Allied nation until

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2560-589: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, after which it declared war and officially joined the Allies. China had already been at war with Japan since 1937 , and formally joined the Allies in December 1941. The Allies were led by the so-called "Big Three"—the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the United States—which were the principal contributors of manpower, resources, and strategy, each playing

2640-532: The League of Nations mandates of French Cameroun and French Togoland , French Madagascar , French Somaliland , and the protectorates of French Tunisia and French Morocco . French Algeria was then not a colony or dependency but a fully-fledged part of metropolitan France . Kawasaki Ki-45 In response to the rapid emergence in Europe of twin-engine heavy fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf 110 ,

2720-460: The Pacific, resulting in the U.S. formally entering the war as an Allied power. Still reeling from Japanese aggression, China declared war on all the Axis powers shortly thereafter. By the end of 1941, the main lines of World War II had formed. Churchill referred to the "Grand Alliance" of the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union, which together played the largest role in prosecuting

2800-448: The Soviet Union, were accepted as members of the United Nations as a way to provide greater influence to Stalin, who had only Yugoslavia as a communist partner in the alliance. British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain delivered his Ultimatum Speech on 3 September 1939 which declared war on Germany , a few hours before France. As the Statute of Westminster 1931 was not yet ratified by

2880-615: The TAIU and reassigned to NAS Anacosta to form the Technical Air Intelligence Centre (TAIC) to centralise and co-ordinate the work of test centres in the United States with the work of TAIUs in the field. The unit was then renamed TAIU for the South West Pacific Area (TAIU-SWPA). Technical Air Intelligence operations were fully developed by the time of the invasion of the Philippines . Considerable instruction

2960-682: The Treaty of Versailles and made claims over German-populated Austria and the German-populated territories of Czechoslovakia. The likelihood of war was high, but none of the major powers had the appetite for another conflict; many governments sought to ease tensions through nonmilitary strategies such as appeasement . Japan, which was a principal allied power in the First World War, had since become increasingly militaristic and imperialistic; parallel to Germany, nationalist sentiment increased throughout

3040-606: The U.N. Security Council , which is made up exclusively of the principal Allied powers that won the war. The victorious Allies of World War I —which included what would become the Allied powers of the Second World War—had imposed harsh terms on the opposing Central Powers in the Paris Peace Conference of 1919–1920 . Germany resented signing the Treaty of Versailles , which required that it take full responsibility for

3120-574: The UK and therefore also entered hostilities with Britain's declaration of war. At the outbreak of World War II, the British Indian Army numbered 205,000 men. Later during World War II, the British Indian Army became the largest all-volunteer force in history, rising to over 2.5 million men in size. Indian soldiers earned 30 Victoria Crosses during the Second World War. It suffered 87,000 military casualties (more than any Crown colony but fewer than

3200-557: The UK. However, lack of shipping space prevented this operation and only four eventually arrived in England to be put in display in museums. Allies of World War II The Allies , formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during World War II (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers . Its principal members by the end of 1941 were

3280-597: The United Kingdom and the United States had cooperated in a number of ways, notably through the destroyers-for-bases deal in September 1940 and the American Lend-Lease program, which provided Britain and the Soviet Union with war materiel beginning in October 1941. The British Commonwealth and, to a lesser extent, the Soviet Union reciprocated with a smaller Reverse Lend-Lease program. The First Inter-Allied Meeting took place in London in early June 1941 between

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3360-453: The United Kingdom and the United States was especially close and included forming a Combined Chiefs of Staff . There were numerous high-level conferences ; in total Churchill attended 14 meetings, Roosevelt 12, and Stalin 5. Most visible were the three summit conferences that brought together the three top leaders. The Allied policy toward Germany and Japan evolved and developed at these three conferences. There were many tensions among

3440-515: The United Kingdom). The UK suffered 382,000 military casualties. Kuwait was a protectorate of the United Kingdom formally established in 1899. The Trucial States were British protectorates in the Persian Gulf. Palestine was a mandate dependency created in the peace agreements after World War I from the former territory of the Ottoman Empire , Iraq . The Cyprus Regiment was formed by

3520-420: The United Kingdom, the four co-belligerent British Dominions (Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa), the eight governments in exile ( Belgium , Czechoslovakia , Greece , Luxembourg , the Netherlands , Norway , Poland , Yugoslavia ) and Free France . The meeting culminated with the Declaration of St James's Palace , which set out a first vision for the postwar world. In June 1941, Hitler broke

3600-434: The United States aboard the USS Barnes for evaluation after World War II. It underwent an overhaul at Middletown Air Depot , Pennsylvania, and was test-flown at Wright Field , Ohio, and Naval Air Station Anacostia in Washington, D.C.. The United States Army Air Forces donated the Toryu to the Smithsonian Institution in June 1946. The fuselage only is currently on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center , alongside

3680-439: The United States, with 73 going to the Army and 42 to the Navy. However, lack of funds, storage space and interest meant that only six aircraft were restored, flown and evaluated by the Army and only two by the Navy. Eventually, 46 complete aircraft were sent to various museums while the rest were scrapped. By early 1946 ATAIU-SEA in Singapore had collected 64 Japanese Army and Navy aircraft, most in flyable condition, for shipment to

3760-536: The Western Allies to establish a second front in Europe. Stalin and the Soviets used the potential employment of the second front as an 'acid test' for their relations with the Anglo-American powers. The Soviets were forced to use as much manpower as possible in the fight against the Germans, whereas the United States had the luxury of flexing industrial power, but with the "minimum possible expenditure of American lives". Roosevelt and Churchill opened ground fronts in North Africa in 1942 and in Italy in 1943, and launched

3840-409: The army ordered development of a twin-engine, two-seat fighter in 1937, and assigned the proposal by Kawasaki Shipbuilding the designation of Ki-38 . This only went as far as a mock up, but by December of that year the army ordered a working prototype as the Ki-45 , which first flew in January 1939. Results from the test flights, however, did not meet the army's expectations. The Ha-20 Otsu engine

3920-442: The commencement of night time bombing raids, but the lack of radar was a considerable handicap. By the spring of 1945, the advent of American carrier-based fighters and Iwo Jima -based P-51s and P-47s escorting B-29s over the skies of Japan brought the Ki-45's career to an end. The next version, the Kawasaki Ki-45 KAId , was developed specifically as a night fighter , which was supposed to be equipped with centimetric radar in

4000-404: The control of Chiang Kai-shek 's Nationalists. Technical Air Intelligence Units operated in Japan after the end of the war, shifting from tactical intelligence to post-hostilities investigations. General Hap Arnold ordered the preservation of four of every type of aircraft. By the end of 1945 these were collected together at Yokohama Naval Base. One hundred and fifteen aircraft were shipped to

4080-453: The declaration; the Big Four were listed first: The United Nations began growing immediately after its formation. In 1942, Mexico, the Philippines and Ethiopia adhered to the declaration. Ethiopia had been restored to independence by British forces after the Italian defeat in 1941. The Philippines, still owned by Washington but granted international diplomatic recognition, was allowed to join on 10 June despite its occupation by Japan. In 1943,

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4160-405: The different subtypes. The information below is based on Japanese work, not on usual 'western' data. Even the NASM claims that the Ki-45 on display is a hei (c) type whereas Japanese press would read it is a tei (d) type nightfighter version with dorsal armament. Total production : 1,691 or 1,701 units. Only one Ki-45 KAIc remains today. It was one of about 145 Japanese aircraft brought to

4240-637: The end of the war—the United States were not looking to support any "postwar Soviet reconstruction efforts", which eventually manifested into the Molotov Plan . At the Tehran conference , Stalin judged Roosevelt to be a "lightweight compared to the more formidable Churchill". During the meetings from 1943 to 1945, there were disputes over the growing list of demands from the USSR. Tensions increased further when Roosevelt died and his successor Harry Truman rejected demands put forth by Stalin. Roosevelt wanted to play down these ideological tensions. Roosevelt felt he "understood Stalin's psychology", stating "Stalin

4320-487: The end. After a quiet winter, Germany began its invasion of Western Europe in April 1940, quickly defeating Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. All the occupied nations subsequently established a government-in-exile in London, with each contributing a contingent of escaped troops. Nevertheless, by roughly one year since Germany's violation of the Munich Agreement, Britain and its Empire stood alone against Hitler and Mussolini. Before they were formally allied,

4400-547: The initial alliance resembled that of the First World War . As Axis forces began invading northern Europe and the Balkans , the Allies added the Netherlands , Belgium , Norway , Greece , and Yugoslavia . The Soviet Union, which initially had a nonaggression pact with Germany and participated in its invasion of Poland , joined the Allies after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. The United States, while providing some materiel support to European Allies since September 1940, remained formally neutral until

4480-432: The main advocates of appeasement, decided that Hitler had no intention to uphold diplomatic agreements and responded by preparing for war. On 31 March 1939, Britain formed the Anglo-Polish military alliance in an effort to avert an imminent German attack on Poland; the French likewise had a long-standing alliance with Poland since 1921 . The Soviet Union , which had been diplomatically and economically isolated by much of

4560-477: The non-aggression agreement with Stalin and Axis forces invaded the Soviet Union , which consequently declared war on Germany and its allies. Britain agreed to an alliance with the Soviet Union in July, with both nations committing to assisting one another by any means, and to never negotiate a separate peace. The following August saw the Atlantic Conference between American President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill , which defined

4640-509: The nose, a single Type 97 20 mm (0.79 in) cannon in the belly offset to the right, and a trainable 7.92 mm (0.312 in) machine gun in the rear cabin; this was followed by the Otsu with the lower 20 mm (0.79 in) cannon replaced by a 37 mm (1.46 in) Type 94 tank gun, to counter B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. While the firepower was devastating, manual reloading meant that typically only two rounds could be fired on each gunnery pass. The next type ( Hei ) restored

4720-416: The nose; due to production difficulties, this did not occur. The aircraft took part in night defense of the Home Islands and equipped four sentais from the autumn of 1944 to the war's end. They obtained notable successes, and one Ki-45 sentai claimed 150 victories, including eight USAAF B-29 Superfortresses in their first combat. The Ki-45 was to be replaced in the ground-attack role by the Ki-102 , but

4800-445: The other Allied theatres of the Pacific War . A proposed joint U.S. Army-U.S. Navy research unit in the continental United States was never established, as neither service was prepared to work with the other. Some Japanese aircraft were tested in the US, at various bases, by pilots from the Naval Air Test Center , the USAAF Test Training Unit (which was established with the assistance of RAF technical intelligence units in Europe) and

4880-432: The parliaments of Australia and New Zealand, the British declaration of war on Germany also applied to those dominions . The other dominions and members of the British Commonwealth declared war from 3 September 1939, all within one week of each other; they were Canada , British India and South Africa . During the war, Churchill attended seventeen Allied conferences at which key decisions and agreements were made. He

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4960-427: The severity of the economic crisis on the Treaty of Versailles. The far-right Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler , which had formed shortly after the peace treaty, exploited growing popular resentment and desperation to become the dominant political movement in Germany. By 1933, they gained power and rapidly established a totalitarian regime known as Nazi Germany . The Nazi regime demanded the immediate cancellation of

5040-430: The unchallenged Japanese expansion in the East, particularly considering their defeat in previous wars with Japan; the Soviets also recognized, as the U.S. and Britain had suggested, the advantages of a two-front war . Franklin D. Roosevelt , Winston Churchill , and Joseph Stalin were The Big Three leaders. They were in frequent contact through ambassadors, top generals, foreign ministers and special emissaries such as

5120-505: The war, Britain could remain the sole great power in Europe facing the Communist threat, as it was in 1940 and 1941 against Nazism. During the early part of 1945, Peru, Chile, Paraguay, Venezuela, Uruguay, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria (these latter two French colonies had been declared independent states by British occupation troops, despite protests by Pétain and later De Gaulle) and Ecuador became signatories. Ukraine and Belarus , which were not independent states but parts of

5200-488: The war, lose a significant portion of territory, and pay costly reparations, among other penalties. The Weimar Republic , which formed at the end of the war and subsequently negotiated the treaty, saw its legitimacy shaken, particularly as it struggled to govern a greatly weakened economy and humiliated populace. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , and the ensuing Great Depression , led to political unrest across Europe, especially in Germany, where revanchist nationalists blamed

5280-428: The war. The alliance was largely one of convenience for each member: the U.K. realized that the Axis powers threatened not only its colonies in North Africa and Asia but also the homeland . The United States felt that the Japanese and German expansion should be contained, but ruled out force until Japan's attack. The Soviet Union, having been betrayed by the Axis attack in 1941, greatly despised German belligerence and

5360-411: The world, had sought an alliance with the western powers, but Hitler preempted a potential war with Stalin by signing the Nazi–Soviet non-aggression pact in August 1939. In addition to preventing a two-front war that had battered its forces in the last world war, the agreement secretly divided the independent states of Central and Eastern Europe between the two powers and assured adequate oil supplies for

5440-431: Was "the most important of the Allied leaders during the first half of World War II". British West Africa and the British colonies in East and Southern Africa participated, mainly in the North African, East African and Middle-Eastern theatres. Two West African and one East African division served in the Burma Campaign . Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing colony, having received responsible government in 1923. It

5520-504: Was completed in September 1941 and was officially adopted for use by the army in February 1942 as the "Type 2 two-seat fighter". The prototype of a single-seat fighter variant, the Ki-45 II , was also built; development continued under the designation Ki-96 . The Ki-45 was initially used as a long-range bomber escort. The 84th Independent Flight Wing (Dokuritsu Hikō Chutai) used them in June 1942 in attacks on Guilin , where they encountered, but were no match for, Curtiss P-40s flown by

5600-458: Was especially angered by the invasion and sought to support China. In March 1939, Germany took over Czechoslovakia , just six months after signing the Munich Agreement , which sought to appease Hitler by ceding the mainly ethnic German Czechoslovak borderlands; while most of Europe had celebrated the agreement as a major victory for peace, the open flaunting of its terms demonstrated the failure of appeasement. Britain and France, which had been

5680-467: Was essential, and more extensive reports detailed the age and condition of captured equipment to give an indication of the general state of the Japanese war economy, paying particular attention to the name plates and markings which gave information on the manufacturers. Eventually a special unit known as "JAPLATE" was created to conduct this task, and 6,336 intact name plates or their details were collected. In mid-1944, U.S. Navy personnel were withdrawn from

5760-633: Was formed, based in Hangar 7 at the RAAF/USAAF Eagle Farm Airbase , in Brisbane , Australia, during November 1942. By early 1943 an "Oscar" had been built using parts from five different aircraft. Test flights included a mock dogfight against a Spitfire V . It was concluded that the "Oscar" was superior to the Spitfire below 20,000 feet. In late 1943 the aircraft was shipped to the United States aboard

5840-563: Was given to the troops on the equipment likely to be found and the importance of its preservation. Aircraft acquired there included examples of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero , Mitsubishi J2M "Jack", Kawasaki Ki-45 "Nick", Kawasaki Ki-61 "Tony", Kawanishi N1K "George", Nakajima Ki-44 "Tojo", and Nakajima Ki-84 "Frank" fighters; the Nakajima B5N "Kate", Nakajima B6N "Jill", Yokosuka D4Y "Judy", and Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" bombers;

5920-457: Was not a sovereign dominion. It governed itself internally and controlled its own armed forces, but had no diplomatic autonomy, and, therefore, was officially at war as soon as Britain was at war. The Southern Rhodesian colonial government issued a symbolic declaration of war nevertheless on 3 September 1939, which made no difference diplomatically but preceded the declarations of war made by all other British dominions and colonies. These included:

6000-518: Was not wholly supplanted by the war's end. Three Ki-45s fell into communist Chinese hands after World War II . Unlike most captured Japanese aircraft, which were employed in the training role, the three Ki-45s were assigned to the 1st Squadron of the Combat Flying Group in March 1949 and were used in combat missions. These aircraft were retired in the early 1950s. There is sometimes a confusion in

6080-442: Was that most Japanese aircraft fell into the ocean, and those that did not often crashed in isolated areas that were difficult to reach. The TAIU had to recruit local men to cut a trail to the crash site with machetes, and then carry out the engine on a cradle woven from tree bark. Crashed Enemy Aircraft Reports (CEARs) were systematically compiled from April 1943. In February 1944, it was agreed that production data on enemy equipment

6160-559: Was the case with the Bf 110 in Europe. In New Guinea , the IJAAF used the aircraft in an anti-ship role, where the Ki-45 was heavily armed with one 37 mm (1.46 in) and two 20 mm (0.79 in) cannons and could carry two 250 kg (550 lb) bombs on hard points under the wings. 1,675 Ki-45s of all versions were produced during the war. The first production type ( Ko ) was armed with two 12.7 mm (0.50 in) Ho-103 machine gun in

6240-416: Was too anxious to prove a point ... he suffered from an inferiority complex." During December 1941, Roosevelt devised the name "United Nations" for the Allies and Churchill agreed. He referred to the Big Three and China as the " Four Policemen " repeatedly from 1942. The alliance was formalised in the Declaration by United Nations signed on 1 January 1942. There were the 26 original signatories of

6320-511: Was underpowered and failure-prone, while the airframe suffered from nacelle stall . The Ki-45 did not enter service, but the army, insistent on having a working twin-engine fighter, ordered Kawasaki to continue development. Kawasaki responded by replacing the engines with the proven Nakajima Ha-25 . Flight tests were promising. In October 1940, the army ordered continued improvements such as switching to 805 kW (1,080 hp) Mitsubishi Ha-102 engines. This craft, designated Ki-45 Kai ,

6400-511: Was very confused. Free French forces were recognized only by Britain, while the United States considered Vichy France to be the legal government of the country until Operation Overlord , while also preparing U.S. occupation francs . Winston Churchill urged Roosevelt to restore France to its status of a major power after the liberation of Paris in August 1944; the Prime Minister feared that after

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