1942 WWII Army Air Force Silhouette 172 Model Japan Mitsubishi T-96 N. H. B
Model: Japanese Mitsubishi T-96 N. Maker: Army Air Forces - Aircraft Identification Section - Washington D. This is New Old Stock. This is the first series of these Aircraft Identification Silhouette Models that were made to teach aircraft spotters how to identify planes they scan for. These silhouette models are in unpunched condition.
This one is dated 1942 and are scale 1:72. This model is 22"x14". They will come with original instructions or printed instructions. (This is a printed instruction from a later set released in 1943). Most of what you find are from 1943 and instructions are printed on envelopes but these have their own sheet and came in blank envelopes.
Coca Cola supported this effort as they support the WWII American effort in many different ways. We will be listing more silhouette models of Japan, British, German and U. There will be different sizes. Cardboard "silhouette" recognition training models as used during World War II were pioneered by the Special Devices Section of the US Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics, beginning in 1941. Not content to let the Navy lead anything, the USAAF started to produce a few of the same models under their own aegis.
See below for distinguishing markings. Eventually the military forces decided to cooperate rather than compete, and the "Joint Services" sets were released. All of these models/sets had a date of 2/22/43.Set "A" had 78 models in it. Set "B" had a subset of 50 models in it. The military decided to focus on then-current front-line combat aircraft, so the earlier models of obsolete aircraft fell by the wayside, making them some of the rarest collectibles around today. The 78 models were grouped by country. For example, CM-1 through CM-17 are models of Japanese planes, CM-101 to CM-114 are of German planes, CM-501 to CM-531 are of US planes, and CM-601 to CM-616 are of British planes.
As a rule of thumb, whenever you see a CM-xxx number you know that it is from the Army/Navy Joint Services effort. Any S-yyy reference numbered model is from the earlier stand-alone USN effort. There were a few cooperative Army/Navy models which were issued just prior to the boxed sets. For example, some number of the CM-xxx models were issued individually. And dated between November 1942 and January 1943. Thereafter, all models were dated 2/22/43 and were intended for distribution in boxed sets. The early USN program used blank envelopes which were inked with the name of the model. The instructions were printed on a separate sheet of paper which was then inserted into the paper sleeve. By the time the Joint Services boxed sets were issued, every envelope had the assembly instructions printed on the outside, probably to prevent the accidental loss of the instruction sheet. A company called Burton-Rodgers, in Cincinnati, Ohio, made these silhouette models for the military. B-R was formerly known as "Co-operative Displays", a company founded in 1934.The name was changed in 1943 because displays were no longer the sole product of the company. "Co-operative Displays" continued as a division of Burton-Rodgers, and began offering sets of models to the public, as well. This effort began in March 1943 just after the contents of the boxed sets were finalized, and the models were used extensively by "plane spotters" of the Aircraft Warning Service (AWS). The process of assembly was intended to reinforce the design elements of the aircraft in the mind of the builder.
These ID training models were intended to be viewed from about 36 feet away. That is about 1/2 mile at scale, and was the effective range of the weapons of the era.At 30+ feet they make for remarkably realistic viewing. According to published sources, about 7 million models were produced of 142 aircraft types. In fact, about a dozen of the early S-series models still remain to be identified. The reference number exists, but no one knows what plane was assigned that particular number.