Photo found in the WW2f albums

I found this photo browsing through the albums here:

Message - WWII Forums Gallery

While I have little doubt that this photo was taken in the Pacific, since Uganda served there after her transfer to Canada, I don't think that's a Japanese strike aircraft. When I first saw the photograph, I immediately thought the aircraft looked American, and my gut told me it was a Corsair.

After further consideration here's what I see:

First, the canopy on the aircraft is aft of the wings, which isn't really consistent with any IJN type. It is, however, pretty characteristic of the F4U. Second, the personnel in the picture appear pretty relaxed. I would expect people to be more tense if there were a strike aircraft that close. Further, there are neither shell bursts nor tracers visible to my eye in the frame. The 20mm gunner seems to be just casually aiming in the general direction of the aircraft, almost as though it's practice, or even just routine.

Any thoughts, folks? Interesting picture, in any case. But I'm guessing this bogey's a friendly.

 

Information regarding the ship HMCS Uganda, here:

The Royal Canadian Navy - Selected Photographs: Navy - Faces of War - Library and Archives Canada

And this is a link to the photograph as it appears in the Library and Archives Canada site - someone there or the donator of the photo collection must have identified it as a Japanese attack:

Description found in Archives - Search - Library and Archives Canada)

Description found in Archives - Search - Library and Archives Canada)

 

Well, it could be a Ki-115 Tsurugi, which was a dedicated kamikaze aircraft, but I doubt that. IIRC, the Ki-115 never flew in combat, but I may be wrong on that point.

I concur, looks like a Corsair doing a flyby. The guns below the visible gun director are level and not ready to shoot, although the line of fire is masked by the gun director. The 20mm gun, if it fires, looks like it will take out some of the signal flag halyards, and maybe the yardarm. In the gun director tub(lower center right) one sailor is watching the plane and the other is not. Like you said, it is to relaxed for combat. Also, as you have said, the sky is devoid of tracers and AA bursts.

BTW, Captain Queeg would have a fit since the 20mm gunners are not in full battle dress, the again this is the Canadian Navy.

This is what Wikipedia Commons has to say

 

It looks kida Corsair-ish to me as well and I am thinking the white blob on the fuselage behind the canopy might be a star. I dunno.

Another thing that leads me to believe it is a friendly is that none of the deck crew are wearing helmets and they don't appear to be at "general quarters" and when you take into account the person whose album it's from it looks even more like a Corsair.

 

"It's enemy until it's friendly."

I like it. It's enemy until you fish the crew out of the water and realize you had breakfast with them just a few hours ago. Lot of that going around over the course of the war.

"Sorry, but you will have to excuse the next 4 salvos as they are already on the way."

 

As proved by these incidents:
Friendly Fire

This one is good: "Flight of B-17 seeking Japanese cruisers after Battle of Midway reported sinking one in 15 seconds. Submarine Grayling complained of being bombed by B-17's at that exact location."

There is another one I read about, where a Corsair of VMF-214 attacked a PT Boat. The boat responded with .50 cal fire, and downed the corsair into a beach. So, that's a friendly-firing corsair being downed by friendly fire.