Happy New Year, Japan: Kamikaze Plane Cards From 1937 [Airplane]

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/image...ikaze-7_01.jpgJapan is just a few hours away from celebrating New Year, the biggest date in the calendar. These cards from 1937 mark the first ever Japanese flight to Europe, which took over 51 hours in the Kamikaze plane.
Back in 1937, the Mitsubishi Ki-15 plane flew from Tokyo to London in 51-hours, 17 minutes and 23 seconds (sure puts the 12-hour flight we endure these days into perspective), with the flight sponsored by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper to celebrate the UK's King George VI's coronation. The Kamikaze was piloted by Masaaki Iinuma, who died a few years later in the Pacific war, and sadly the Kamikaze didn't fare much better either. It was placed in a memorial center a few years after the inaugural flight, but the building, along with the plane, was destroyed in WWII.
These New Year's greeting cards are a beautiful reminder of the journey undertaken 72 years ago. Happy New Year, Japanese readers! [Museum of Fine Arts, Boston via Pink Tentacle]



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