Kyushu J7W Shinden
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The Kyushu J7W Shinden (震電 Shinden, lit. "Magnificent Lightning"), also known simply as the Local Fighter Shinden in Godzilla Minus One or simply the Shinden, is a World War II Japanese propeller-driven prototype fighter plane that was intended for use as a land-based interceptor, specifically designed to confront and target bombing raids by American Boeing B-29 Superfortresses. It is featured in the 2023 Godzilla film Godzilla Minus One.
Production
Takashi Yamazaki included the Kyushu J7W Shinden, as well as other Japanese military vehicles such as the warships Takao and Yukikaze in Godzilla Minus One, because he has an interest in military history and had never depicted them onscreen before.[2]
For its appearance in Godzilla Minus One, the Shinden was initially intended to be depicted exclusively through CGI. According to Yamazaki, "Initially, the budget didn't allow for any portion of the [airplane] to be built" but "thinking outside the box, having a plan B, we were able to find a museum that was willing to purchase the prop after the film was made, which offset the production budget it would have taken to produce the plane in the first place."[3] Accordingly, a full-scale model of the Kyushu J7W Shinden was built for the film by TOHO Studios, with the Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum in Chikuzen, Fukuoka, purchasing the model upon completion of the film's principal photography.[4] As only a single example of the Shinden exists - in a partial state of completion - in the collection of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in the United States, the scale model is the most complete version of the aircraft today. Since only two prototypes - neither of which were armed with any weaponry - were built before the end of World War II, the Shinden featured in Godzilla Minus One represents a production model of the type, as indicated by its nose-mounted Type 5 cannons.
While the Shinden was represented through CGI in longer shots and during energetic flight maneuvers, the scale model was used for close-up shots, as well as the scenes set in the warehouse where the aircraft was stored. The model features a modular design, allowing for portions to be removed depending on how close a shot of the aircraft was intended to be. For scenes of the Shinden banking, it was attached to a rig that allowed it to be moved by hand, with the film crew standing on either side of the rig to lift and lower the scale model to give the impression of it banking.[5]
In July 2022, the Shinden scale model was placed on display at the Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum. To keep details about its appearance in Minus One a secret, Toho donated the model anonymously and did not reveal that it had produced it under after the film commenced its theatrical release.[4]
History
- Godzilla Minus One (2023)
Reiwa era
Godzilla Minus One
During the closing stages of World War II in 1945, the Kyushu J7W Shinden was developed and put into limited production, with the Imperial Japanese military anticipating that it would be used to attack bomber fleets during a battle over Mainland Japan. However, this battle would never take place, and a number of Shindens which were field deployed ended up being abandoned, including one which was stored inside a hangar at an airbase.
In 1947, following Godzilla's devastating attack on Ginza, Tokyo, Operation Wada Tsumi was formulated as the plan that would finally bring about an end to the threat Godzilla posed to Japan. Former kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima asked Kenji Noda, the plan's architect, if he could source him an aircraft to use. While the vast majority of Japan's aircraft had been decommissioned by the Allies following the end of World War II, the Shinden was not among them. However, the two years it had spent in storage had left it inoperable, and it would require restoration works to be made before it could fly again. To solve this, Shikishima drew out mechanic Sosaku Tachibana, the only other survivor of Godzilla's attack on Odo Island in 1945, by writing poison-pen letters to comrades from Tachibana's postings before Odo Island. After Tachibana agreed to repair the Shinden, the race to make it airworthy in time for the operation was on. Shikishima secretly planned to fly and crash the plane into Godzilla's mouth in a suicide attack; accordingly, Tachibana replaced a fuel tank, two of the forward machine guns, and their respective magazines, with heavy bombs — one in the nose and the other in the fuselage.
On the day of the operation, Tachibana showed Shikishima a German-made ejection seat he had also installed, urging him to choose life over death, and the Shinden was launched from the airbase. Following tests of the plane's control surfaces, Shikishima flew the plane to Godzilla, who had made landfall ahead of schedule, and attracted his attention with a close pass. Upon sighting the plane, Godzilla immediately tried to attack it by snapping at it with his jaws, but the Shinden was able to avoid this attack with ease. Making a second pass, Shikishima fired at Godzilla with the plane's cannons, then dodged an incoming tail swipe by the monster. Irritated, Godzilla pursued the Shinden offshore and into Sagami Bay, continuing to give chase until he was within range of the fleet of ships tasked with carrying out the main phase of the operation.
With Godzilla in position, Shikishima used the Shinden to distract Godzilla by circling him, buying time for the Yukikaze and Hibiki to deploy the cables and freon tanks, making repeated close passes while firing the plane's cannons. Godzilla repeatedly attempted to attack the plane, but each attempt failed. With Godzilla having neglected to pay attention to the vessels around him, the cables were tightened, and the freon tanks were detonated shortly afterwards, sending Godzilla plunging into the depths of the bay.
After the decompression strategy had succeeded in critically injuring Godzilla through barotrauma, but had failed to kill him, an enraged and brutally-mutilated Godzilla surfaced from Sagami Bay and attempted to fire his atomic breath at the ships, though the sheer extent of his injuries meant that he appeared to have trouble firing the beam. In an instant, Shikishima flew the Shinden at top speed, blazing past the ships on a direct course for Godzilla. As everyone below watched on, he armed the bombs and ejected at the last possible moment, sending the plane crashing into Godzilla's mouth. A few seconds later, the bombs inside the Shinden exploded, blowing Godzilla's head above his lower jaw clean off. With no means of controlling his energy, Godzilla's body disintegrated.
Capabilities
- Flight
- Being designed for use as an interceptor, the J7W Shinden could fly at tremendous speeds; the prototype aircraft had a top speed of over 400 knots, around 466 mph or 750 km/h. This top speed is consistent with that of the prototype Shinden in real life, which reached these speeds during flight testing.[6] The Shinden is also depicted as being extremely nimble, able to avoid Godzilla's attacks with ease.
- Armament
- Armed with four nose-mounted 30 mm Type 5 cannons, two of which were removed by Tachibana and crew to fit the No.25 bomb.
- Hardpoints for four 30 kg (66 lb) or four 60 kg (130 lb) bombs, but these are unused in Godzilla Minus One.
- Equipped with two internal bombs — a No.25 and a No.50 — for use against Godzilla.
- Miscellaneous
- As part of the modifications made to the Shinden for its use in Operation Wada Tsumi, Sosaku Tachibana sourced and installed a German ejection seat into the Shinden, which Koichi Shikishima used to eject from the aircraft immediately before crashing it into Godzilla's mouth. A nameplate mounted beneath the seat's headrest identifies it as a compressed air ejection seat (German: Druckluft-Schleudersitz) with the name Confirmation (German: Bestätigung).
Video games
- Godzilla Battle Line (2021; added in 2023) - Android, iOS, and PC
- Fleet of Blue Flames (2017; added in 2023) - Android, iOS, and PC[7]
The Shinden in Godzilla Battle Line
Gallery
Production
Godzilla Minus One
Screenshots
Godzilla Minus One
The Kyushu J7W Shinden in unrestored condition, inside the hangar it was stored in
One of the bombs intended for use during Operation Wada Tsumi being installed inside the nose of the Shinden
Sosaku Tachibana checking over the ejection seat he installed in the Shinden
The Shinden taxiing
Koichi Shikishima piloting the Shinden
Godzilla trying to catch the Shinden with his jaws
Godzilla tracking the Shinden by sight after it avoided his attempt at catching it
The Shinden firing its two remaining Type 5 cannons at Godzilla
The Shinden evades Godzilla's tail swipe
The Shinden over Sagami Bay, carrying out a close pass to distract Godzilla while Yukikaze and Hibiki deploy cables and freon tanks
The Shinden en route to stop Godzilla from destroying the ships with his atomic breath
Koichi Shikishima closing in on Godzilla with the Shinden
The lever to arm the bombs mounted inside the Shinden
Shikishima ejecting from the Shinden immediately before it crashes into Godzilla's mouth
The mangled wreckage of the Shinden stuck inside Godzilla's mouth
The Shinden exploding, blowing off Godzilla's head
Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color
Post-production
The full-scale model of the Shinden, built for the filming of Godzilla Minus One, on display at the Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum
References
This is a list of references for Kyushu J7W Shinden. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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