Stackpole Books

Meatballs and Dead Birds: A Photo Gallery of Destroyed Japanese Aircraft in World War II

by  James P. Gallagher

Reviewed By  Brian R. Baker, IPMS# 43146

MSRP: $18.95 Although this is listed as a first printing, I obtained a copy of the original hardbound book in the early 1970's, and I am as impressed with this new edition as I was with the first edition, which is now a collector's item. The author, James Gallagher, a communications officer, was attached to the 7th Fighter Squadron, 49th Fighter Group, which fought all the way from New Guinea through the Philippines, and finally to the ultimate occupation of Japan in September, 1945. He became fascinated with the many wrecked Japanese aircraft that littered the airfields along the way, and recognizing their historical significance, photographed as many as he could. After losing his first camera in the crash of an RAAF Beaufort, in which he was hitching a ride, he had his parents send him another, which he used for the remainder of the war. Gallagher graduated from Loyola College in 1942, joining the AAF soon afterward. He was an award winning photographer while in school, and used this skill to make a magnificent photographic record of the Japanese aircraft before they were destroyed. When his group moved to Japan after VJ Day, he was based at the former Atsugi Naval Air Station, where hundreds of Japanese planes awaited destruction. He also visited a number of other former Japanese military airfields, photographing both standard Zekes, Vals, Tonys, Judys, etc. but also some of the more unusual types, experimental models, Kamikaze aircraft, and even what had to have been the world's largest model airplane, a full sized wooden B-29 decoy, suitably "camouflaged" to lure attacking American planes into a flak trap. There were no bomb craters nearby, so the plan apparently fizzled. The book has value for a number of reasons. The photos are excellent, and show typical Japanese aircraft along with support equipment and items normally found near aircraft, a useful reference for the modeler. Markings and colors are described, along with colorful stories about the particular aircraft or the type in general, and American aircrew attitudes toward the type. Some highly detailed close-ups are also included, including pictures of many similar variants, such as the "Irving" twin-engine fighter, which appeared in a number of configurations. The new edition, paperback instead of hardbound, is a bargain at $18.95. It contains 156 pages, and includes a few AAF intelligence reports to illustrate some of the points he makes. This book is a must if you are interested in World War II Japanese aircraft. And it is written in ENGLISH!

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