IJA Gosport (Voice talker), made by Takashimaya.

Hello.
This time I would like to introduce a Gosport (voice talker) that was mainly used by the Japanese Army Air Corps.

I have been collecting photos and documents about this Takashimaya Gosport (voice talker) for a long time, but there are not many documents and it has been put away for a long time.

Recently, a Swiss collector asked us a question, and the information provided made it possible for us to reproduce this Gosport (voice talker)
Thank you very much.

Original

With Takashimaya engraving.（髙）
Aluminium metal with leather lining on the sides.
The leather-covered part and the rubber material (rubber) are sewn together with thread.
The leather part serves as a string adjustment.

Reproduction

Original

Leather covering for the adjustment cord (back side).

Black rubber material (rubber).
Has a hole in the same way as the Navy's Gosport (voice talker).

～Navy Gosport (voice talker).～

Original

It has a hole that appears to be a ventilation hole, with four metal fittings fastened to the rubber material, and an outer cover like a black aluminium tube. The Navy does not have such an outer cover.
This Takashimaya mouthpiece is in any case an elaborate piece of work. (They had a reputation as a high-end product at the time.)

Original

There are five holes and four rubber clasps.
The four clasps create a gap.

Reproduction

Original

Reproduction

Now let's look at the joints.

Joint fittings (sockets) are fitted.

Socket removed.

It is not clear how they are joined,
We have reproduced the joint part by guesswork.

IJA 1938 flight helmet (type 2)

Special glass Optical Equipment Co. aviation goggles

IJA 1936 flight helmet（type 1）

Angular aviation goggles

Bomber

Telegraph operator

Pilot

We would like to thank the Swiss collector for his cooperation in reproducing this piece, which has led to many discoveries, research and reproductions.
We are grateful for another step forward and sincerely hope that it will be handed down to the future.

That's all for today.

See you back here!
 

※About ordering※

We manufacture the flight helmets, oxygen masks, receivers, etc. shown in the blog. Please contact us for production orders, film-related orders, etc. 

ry.oide@nifty.com

IJA Oxygen mask with microphone (Made to order)

Hello everyone.
We have received a request from T.W., Ohio, USA, for the production of an IJA Oxygen Mask with Microphone.
 

Type with microphone in the centre.（IJA 1940 flight helmet.）

Type with microphone on the side.（IJA inside pocket type receiver-compatible flight helmet）

The oxygen mask we manufactured this time is a type with a microphone in the centre.

Japanese Army oxygen mask with microphone

The edge of the mask is affixed with a black felt face pad that is double stitched together. From the inside of the mask you can see the metal mounts for the microphone and the oxygen hose.

Opening and closing of the filter lid and removal of the microphone.

At the end of the flexible oxygen hose is a metal spring clamp.

It is secured to the hose with a metal strap.

～Original～

Other types have the microphone attachment port on the side.

Now, let's put it on a mannequin head!

（IJA 1938 flight helmet）

A crew member in an aircraft with two or more seats might be seen with this configuration. I added the Gosport Receiver tube to the left earcup of the flight helmet.

A pilot in a single seat aircraft might be seen wearing this configuration. Here, the flight helmet is fitted with radio receivers in each earcup.

（IJA circa 1942 receiver-compatible flight helmet）

～Oxygen mask with connecting snake tube.～

（IJA outside pocket type receiver-compatible flight helmet）

（IJA circa 1944 flight helmet）
 

Reproduction.

（IJA outside pocket type receiver-compatible flight helmet）
 

That's all for today.

See you soon.
 

※About ordering※

We manufacture the flight helmets, oxygen masks, receivers, etc. shown in the blog. Please contact us for production orders, film-related orders, etc. 

ry.oide@nifty.com

Costume assistance for Godzilla Minus One.

Hello, everyone!

In this first blog of the year 2024, we would like to introduce our costume cooperation for the film "Godzilla Minus One".
 

The film Godzilla-1.0 was released in Japan on 3 November 2023.
It was directed by Takashi Yamazaki in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of Godzilla.
It has since been successively released in other countries, including the US and the UK.
 

This time, I was asked to provide flight helmets and equipment for use in the film.
 

This is the third time I have cooperated on the costumes for a film.

The first was "A Man Called Pirate" by Japanese film director Takashi Yamazaki.

The second was the American film "Midway (2019)" directed by Roland Emmerich.

～Opening scene.～

Ryunosuke Kamiki as Koichi Shikishima, Kamikaze pilot.

It is not often seen in films that the crew members wear flight helmets with their chin straps fastened like this. I believe that the crew members at the time were properly fitted like this.

～Filming scenes.～

Here is what we provided this time.

★IJN early winter flight helmet
★Aviation receiver
★Eagle-eyed aviation goggles
 

Let's take a look at some of the other equipment.

It may be difficult to tell from the film, but some of you have noticed.

You can see the oxygen mask above the cockpit.
 

You can also see the microphone cord of the oxygen mask is also connected.

Note the German language plate.

The words "Druckluft-Schleudersitz" (compressed air ejection seat) and "Bestätigung" (confirmation), among others, are painted in German. This indicates that the seat was a German-style ejection seat, but no such thing was available on the J7W at the time.

I felt that the message was about returning home alive, the preciousness and importance of life.

～Filming scenes.～

Escaping from J7W.

This J7W is now on display at the Fukuoka Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum.

↓The official website of the Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum is here.↓

開館15周年記念企画展『異端の翼「震電（J7W1）」 福岡で開発された局地戦闘機』開催中 ※情報解禁！！ - 大刀洗平和記念館 (tachiarai-heiwa.jp)

I headed to the cinema with high hopes for what the film would be like and how I would feel after watching it.

I also understood the meaning of "Survive and Fight".
 

戦後、日本。

Post-war, Japan.

無(ゼロ)から負(マイナス)へ。

From Zero to Minus

「生きて、抗え。」

"Survive and Fight"

If you haven't seen it yet, I urge you to do so.

That's all for today.

See you soon!

※About ordering※

We manufacture the flight helmets, oxygen masks, receivers, etc. shown in the blog. Please contact us for production orders, film-related orders, etc. 

ry.oide@nifty.com

IJA modified flight helmet

Hello everyone!
How are you doing?

Today I would like to introduce you to the Japanese Army flight helmets. 

At the time, there were traces of modifications made to suit the application and adapt to different situations.

Let's take a look at them right away!

 

Captain Isamu Kashiide, 4th Squadron, Flying Corps.

Captain Isamu Kashiide gained fame for shooting down the most B-29's. In the spring of 1940, he was transferred to Tachiarai and assigned to No.4 Squadron.

Just before the outbreak of war, he temporarily moved to Taiwan and flew air defence missions, but did not participate in the Philippine Air Battle, returning to the mainland and engaging in air defence training with Kawasaki Ki-45 at Ozuki Air Base. He was promoted to Captain in June 1945.

As soon as the B-29s based in China began to attack, the 4th Squadron was sent out to intercept them one after another, and the 37 mm gun's power and successes made the Ozuki Squadron famous, with Lieutenant Kashiide's performance particularly remarkable.

He was commended by the commander of the Western Army for his "fierce fighting spirit and excellent warfare skills" and was awarded the Bu-Kou insignia.
 

The 4th Squadron in formation at Ozuki Air Base.

Kawasaki Ki-45 flown by Lt Isamu Kashiide.

Reproduction of Lt Kashiide's flight helmet.

Look closely at the ears.
The receiver and Gosport (ear tube) are set together.
It is surprising that the communicator and Gosport were used in this way.

Sergeant Tatsuo Morimoto, who serves in the same unit as Captain Kashiide, also wears a Gosport (ear tube) and receiver in one ear. The position of the installation seems to be upside down.

Next is Lieutenant Kazuo Demaru, commander of the Army Special Attack Force "Yasukuni Corps".

A Ki-43, piloted by Lieutenant Kazuo Demaru, commander of the 'Yasukuni Corps', takes off from No. 2 Squadron (Gyeongseong, Korea) on 9 November 1944, bound for Tachikawa Arsenal.

Note the ear cups.
What an interesting way of attaching the receiver.

Let's try to reproduce it right away!

Reproduced flight helmet of Lt. Demaru.

The receiver is attached from the backside of the ear cup (circular with a diameter of approximately 5 cm), the lower end of the ear cup is cut and the receiver cord is passed through there.
 

The ear cups and receiver are exactly the same size.

Unlike Lt Demaru, the other crew members had a large hole drilled through the centre of the ear cup and the receiver fitted into it.
 

Next, Corporal Yukio Araki（17 years old）, 72nd Shinbu-Tai (centre of photo).

Boy airmen holding and smiling at a puppy before a special attack sortie.

Pilots of the 72nd Shinbu-Tai, a special attack unit equipped with Mitsubishi Ki-51s, during the Battle of Okinawa on 26 May 1945. On the following day, 27 May, the 72nd under the command of Lt. Mutsuo Sato, the squadron's commander, launched a sortie from Banze Army Airfield and entered the Destroyer USS Braine 50 km off the coast of Okinawa, achieving certain results in the form of heavy damage and flames.

Mitsubishi Ki-51

All of the members appear to be wearing late-war, Showa 18 and 19 (1944, 45) pattern flight helmets with receivers built-in.Corporal Yukio Araki's flight helmet, in the centre of the photo, has a Gosport (ear tube) in the left ear and a receiver in the right ear.

Reproduction of Corporal Araki's flight helmet.

Every time I make a discovery like this, I am reminded of the fact that it is only under difficult circumstances that one's imagination can be developed.
 

That's all for today.

See you again.

※About ordering※

We manufacture the flight helmets, oxygen masks, receivers, etc. shown in the blog. Please contact us for production orders, film-related orders, etc. 

ry.oide@nifty.com

IJN Early Type Flight Helmet - Simplified Type

Hello everyone!

Today, I would like to continue with the IJN's previously introduced Early Type Flight Helmet.

This type of flight helmet has been in use since the Taisho era (1912-1926), and it has been worn for a long time while changing. Along with the evolution of fighter planes, flight helmets have also changed.

Click here to see the previous page.

IJN Early Type 1 Summer Flight Helmets | akatonbo123 (ameblo.jp)

IJN Early Type 1 Winter Flight Helmet | akatonbo123 (ameblo.jp)

The aviation pageant held at Haneda Airfield on September 20, 1941.
Female students from the Patriotic Children's Troupe present a bouquet of flowers to a Navy pilot.

The green circle has snaps, but the yellow circle does not.
The type introduced here is the yellow type without snaps.

IJN Early Type Flight Helmet - Simplified Type

Without fur (for summer)

With fur (for winter)

This is what it looks like with and without snaps.

These flight helmets have been slightly modified since they were made in the Taisho era.
In the days when fighter aircraft did not yet have windshields, they were worn with a mask attached to the snaps.

Around 1939, the Mitsubishi Zero was introduced into service. It was thought that the snaps for attaching the mask were no longer needed, since the Zero featured a fully enclosed cockpit.

The one presented here is one of the flight helmets that omitted this no longer needed item and was used until the end of the war.

Usually, reinforcement stitching was applied to these seams (circled in green in the image). However, towards the end of the war, the extra stitching was omitted.

That's all for today!

See you then.

※About ordering※

We manufacture the flight helmets, oxygen masks, receivers, etc. shown in the blog. Please contact us for production orders, film-related orders, etc. 

ry.oide@nifty.com