Zero Fighter Part ID???

……I am trying to get in contact with Japanese 1930’s aviation buffs – is this a doorway in ?

Have you tried the folk at J-Aircraft (link below)?

http://www.j-aircraft.org/smf/index.php

Regards,
…geoff

Would check here…
http://www10.ocn.ne.jp/~a6m232/page023.html

QldSpitty, what is this site – show and tell or banzaibay ? Are these items for swap or sale or ID purposes ?
Sorry, can’t read kanji. I am trying to get in contact with Japanese 1930’s aviation buffs – is this a doorway in ?

Its the blue paint that gets me. Its not that metallic blue/green you would normally associate with interior colors on a Japanese aircraft, its more like a light blue. I was thinking a gun mounting of some sort.

The part with the hole in it was at one stage covered with aluminum plate, like the part with the symbol on it. Now if this was in the wing they wouldn’t bother with such aesthetics would they? They’ve covered it because it must have been in prominent view or in an environment where the pilot was operating.

Part of wing folding mechanism…?

Flap track?

Would check here…
http://www10.ocn.ne.jp/~a6m232/page023.html

That is a substantial looking piece of airframe. Is that a steel forging riveted to the (for want of a better description) ‘spar’; I cannot imagine that this can be anything other than engine or undercarriage mountings.

Guesswork really; engine or (fixed?) undercarriage mounting point on wing-spar?

I agree entirely with the ‘Spitfire Syndrome’ comment; hope we’re proved wrong!

The symbol is the Kanji character ‘Naka’ or ‘Chu’ ( how it is read usually depends on context, and the other Kanji it is paired with ), and in your photo it needs to be rotated 90 degrees right. The long stroke should be vertical.

It can mean ‘inside’, ‘interior’, ‘centre’, ‘middle’ etc – again depending on context.

No idea what the part is ( sorry ) but best to bear in mind that it’s just as likely to be from any number of other Japanese aircraft as a Zero. It’s Spitfire Syndrome.