T14 0051-1049
D3A Aichi '_Val_' EI-231 a dressed up Vultee BT-13A .
Photo by Bob Nelson.
BT-13s were used by Twentieth Century Fox in the 1970 motion picture "Tora! Tora! Tora!". Nine units were purchased in 1968 and modified to resemble Japanese 'Val' dive bombers. The 'Zero' fighters and 'Kate' torpedo bombers in that movie were modified 'Harvard IV's. The large fleet of Japanese aircraft was created by Lynn Garrison, a well-known aerial action coordinator, who produced a number of conversions. Garrison and Jack Canary coordinated the actual engineering work at facilities in the Los Angeles area. After filming, the studio sold the altered aircraft to private owners. Many are still flying, several of them as part of the Commemorative Air Force's "Tora! Tora! Tora!" squadron, which performs air battle reenactments at air shows. Several "Tora" aircraft also appeared in the later "Pearl Harbor" film -wiki