Towards the end of World War Two, the Kawanishi company developed the Shiden-Kai to replace the then obsolete Zero. Just as the Zero had been one of the best fighter aircraft of its time, the Shiden-Kai was praised equally by Japanese and foreign pilots for its advanced capabilities. Its reporting name among the Allies was ‘George’.

In 1945, when the Japanese mainland faced an onslaught from Allied aircraft, the Shiden-Kai became the mainstay of the 343rd Naval Air Squadron based at Ōmura Air Base, Nagasaki Prefecture in Kyūshū. On July 24, 1945, a large force of Allied planes attacked Kure in Hiroshima, and a flight of Shiden-Kai planes intercepted them in a wild battle over the Bungo Channel between Kyūshū and Shikoku. Six of the Japanese fighters didn’t return to base.

Then in November 1978, a local diver found a mostly intact Shiden-Kai on the seabed 40 metres below the surface of Kura Bay, Minamiuwa, in Ehime Prefecture. The canopy was open but there were no human remains in the cockpit. On July 14, 1979, the plane was lifted by crane from the sea floor and returned to land after 34 years under water. The fuselage was covered with barnacles and some parts were damaged, but the plane still retained its original shape. The plane’s markings were gone, and it wasn’t possible to ascertain which of the six pilots was flying it. After some repairs and painting to prevent rust, the aircraft was moved to a purpose-built museum on a hilltop in Ainan overlooking Kura Bay where the plane crashed and sank.

When you enter the museum, the fighter is facing you, standing high on its extended landing gear. The four tips of its propeller are bent back from the impact with the sea. Parts of its rudder and ailerons are missing, and there are many small holes in its fuselage. The cockpit is tiny. Four machine gun barrels stick out of the wings. This is the only aircraft of its kind in Japan. Besides the Shiden-Kai itself, exhibits include a diorama of a wartime air base, a painting of the Bungo Channel dogfight, photos of the pilots, miscellaneous aircraft parts, and many little model planes. The museum is free to enter.