Mitsubishi Ki-15 Kamikaze

Even before the Type 97 Command Reconnaissance Plane was formally adopted for use by the Army, the Asahi Newspaper obtained a prototype of the aircraft in order to sponsor a celebratory flight in conjunction with the coronation of the Great Britain’s King George IV and planned for a flight to London to break the previous record for flight time between Tokyo and London. Leaving from Tachikawa (a city near Tokyo) on April 6th, 1937, Kamikaze-go made the flight in 94 hours 17 minutes and arrived in London on April 9th. This was a world record at the time. Most in the world considered Japanese aviation to be underdeveloped, thus this world record-breaking flight was a shock that was widely praised.