WW2 Japanese Pilot’s Type 2 Flight Calculator 1939

Here is a World War II Japanese flight navigation calculator.  It is fully functional. All the wheels and knobs turn freely.

The data plate indicates it is a Type 2 and was made in Showa 14 (1939), February.

The pilot painted his name 笹 on it.

Each Japanese pilot was issued a flight calculator.  This was the best technology available prior to radar-assisted navigation.

Pilots were instructed in pre flight briefings to fly on particular azimuth(s), for a certain time, at a certain speed to reach their target.

This was the device that helped them confirm  that orders were correct so they could fly to and from  their destination, on time.

Flying over the vast Pacific Ocean with few, if any, landmarks, requires training and confidence, but also technology to avoid getting lost and having to ditch at sea.  At the base level, this is an elaborate slide rule.

Pilots kept these in the cockpit at all times. 

According to Gary Nila, author of the great book Japanese Naval Aviation Uniforms and Equipment 1937-45, by Osprey, these calculate

• “Time, speed, and distance
• True airspeed
• Pressure altitude
• Density altitude
• Rate of fuel consumption and endurance
• True temperature”

No Japanese pilot display is complete without such an instrument. These are as integral as a life jacket, goggles or boots, for without this device, no pilot would ever take off from an aircraft carrier or Pacific Island airfield.

The data plate says:

Navigation Calculation Board Type 2
NO. 2264
Showa 14 2nd Month

GomeihánKa Measurement