Blade over Pacific

This digital painting “Blade over Pacific” is the combat of the Shiden-kai at the last month of the WW2 and inspiration coming from the Genda unit which have used this type of aircraft with much of success. He organized an elite Japanese air unit (the 343 Kokutai) near the war’s end as an alternative to the suicidal Kamikaze units. Genda believed that even late in the war Japanese pilots were capable of fighting experienced American pilots on equal terms if properly trained and supplied with state-of-the-art aircraft. Genda personally felt that the Kawanishi N1K2-J Shiden-Kai (Allied code name, “George”) was equal to the American F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair. This unit had some success against American aircraft and fought with distinction.

Srecko Bradic