| schema:description 2 | "This right wing of a Zero fighter plane was used for icing experiments conducted at Mt. Niseko-Annupuri during World War II by a team led by Hokkaido University professor Ukichiro Nakaya, who is known for his research on snow crystals.From 1943 to 1945, icing tests were conducted on fighter planes at Mt. Niseko-Annupuri. At the mountaintop, an atmospheric icing observatory that was large enough to house 20 to 30 adults was built, and numerous researchers and local residents were involved in the effort to elucidate the mechanism of icing. A Mitsubishi Navy Type 96 Carrier-based Fighter was reportedly used for the tests in the winter of 1943/1944, and a Zero fighter plane in the winter of 1944/1945.Immediately after the end of the war, the Zero fighter plane was dumped from the mountaintop into the valley, and its whereabout had remained unknown until 1990, when a search party of reporters from the Hokkaido Shimbun Press identified the location and captured headlines. Years later, as a result of three investigations conducted by the newly founded Kutchan Museum of Natural History, remains from the plane, the right wing, were brought to the museum in June 2004 after much hardship and the wing has been displayed.– Icing is a phenomenon that happens when supercooled water vapor collides with an object in the sky. The impacted water vapor (gas) instantaneously transforms into ice (solid) and freezes on the object. A cause of aircraft crashes, atmospheric icing is called “the greatest enemy of aviation,” because it can result in engine and propeller malfunctions. Elucidating its mechanism was an important issue for aircraft operations....(more)" |
