Fujimi Kugisho E14Y Glen
The Kugisho E14Y Type Zero Reconnaissance Seaplane (Allied reporting name “Glen”) bears the distinction of being the only Axis aircraft to bomb the continental United States during the Second World War. The mission was to start forest fires in Oregon by dropping incendiary bombs. The Glen was carried to its launch point aboard the Type B-1 submarine I-25 and was flown by WO Nobuo Fujita (pilot) and CPO Shoji Okuda (observer) on 09SEP42, with a second night time mission flown on 29SEP42. Both missions were successful, but neither resulted in wide-spread fires.
Fujita volunteered as a Kamikaze, but the war ended before he was assigned a mission. In a strange twist, the town of Brookings Oregon invited him for a visit in 1962, and this resulted in multiple visits over the years. Fujita planted trees near the bomb site as a gesture of peace and donated his Katana to the local library. When he passed in September 1997 his daughter buried his ashes in the Oregon forest.
There are no photos of this aircraft for this mission, but Fujita states that, “All the Hinomarus were lightly oversprayed with dark green paint so they were hardly recognizable from a distance.” The I-25 left Japan in August 1942 which was prior to the order which directed the wing leading edges on Japanese aircraft to be painted yellow so these would not have been carried by Fujita's Glen. I felt the other markings would likely have been overpainted as well, especially the tail code I-25 which would have identified the parent submarine.
Construction here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2025/03/14/fujimi-kugisho-e14y-glen-build-in-1-72-scale-part-i/
Great post Jeff, and great looking Glen.
Did the Fujimi kit include the guide ramp or was that a scratch build?
Looks amazing, especially that’s it’s 1/72.
The catapult section is in the kit, the deck is Evergreen car siding.
Really nicely done! Very cool subject and looks great on the catapult.
Excellent result, Jeff!
Well done!
Jeff (@inchhigh),
Your article really adds more relevance to your build. The back story explains why the model is what it is and adds more interest. A real jewel of a build with some strong work.
Very nice
Excellent build with a great base.
Bravo
and interesting story behind!
Nice build and great article - very interesting.
This is really wonderful, Jeff @inchhigh
Especially considering this is just 1/72
Great background information as well.
Really excellent work on this. Considering how small the Glen was, doing it in 1/72 and getting this result is a real triumph of talent and skill.
Nicely done Jeff, well presented.
Excellent build, Jeff. Your careful construction and painting of this little bird and its crew wonderfully disguises the 1/72 scale of the kit, and your attention to smoothing out the seam in the two-part cowl is especially admirable! For those interested, Hobby 2000 has released two versions of the Fujimi kit, early and late, which equates to black, silver, and red for the early, and black and dark green for the late, each with its own set of markings and both with a launching catapult and canopy masks. H2K72033 and H2K72034 should be around £10 or $13 each. The box art for the late version shows the rear canopy top opened with an MG mount, however neither the separate canopy parts nor the MG are provided. The late version has decals for Fujita's aircraft, but I rather think Jeff has better researched and executed the paint scheme. The decals for both include pilot and observer instruments, or Yahu makes a nice full depth set of panels and pilot's side boards.
Jeff, the first word that came to mind when I saw the view highlighting the figures was excellent, and I see that the response is not unique. The diorama is really nicely done.