LIHU'E, Kaua'i — The owners of Ni'ihau have loaned to the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor the remains of a Japanese Zero that was part of the attack that bombed Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941, and which crash-landed on the small island later that day.

The story of the Japanese aircraft became a part of Hawaiian folklore — nicknamed "The Battle of Ni'ihau"— after the pilot terrorized the Ni'ihau community and was killed after repeatedly shooting Ni'ihau native Beni Kanahele, who survived the gunshot wounds.

Museum executive director Allan Palmer said there is not much left of the plane, an A6M2 Type 21 bomber. The U.S. Navy reportedly took the engine and other critical parts shortly after the events. Ni'ihau co-owner Keith Robinson said the main things going to the museum are parts of the wings.

But the museum also has a complete Zero of the same model that is in good condition, Palmer said.

The Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor, on Ford Island, is scheduled to open on Dec. 7 this year, the 65th anniversary of the 1941 attack. There will be a special exhibit of Ni'ihau's place in the history of the war, Palmer said.

The Ni'ihau plane was one of two Japanese bombers that had been damaged by shots from the ground on O'ahu, and which had been seen leaving the battle, streaming fuel, Palmer said. It made it to Ni'ihau, which had previously been identified by Japanese forces as a possible landing site. There is some evidence there may have been a Japanese submarine stationed off the island to pick up any aviators who landed there.

Also going to the museum on a five-year loan are the remains of plows, both draught-animal-drawn and mechanical, that were used to furrow the flat places on Ni'ihau in the years leading up to World War II in the Pacific — specifically to prevent Japanese use of the island as an airfield.

It is one of the little-known stories of the war that the likelihood of a Japanese attack on Hawai'i had been predicted nearly two decades earlier, and that the owners of Ni'ihau had been asked by the U.S. military to sabotage its use for aircraft by plowing a mesh of deep furrows across the island.

Robinson said that an Army major named Gerald C. Brant visited the Robinson family in the 1920s and again about 1933, at which time he was a lieutenant colonel. He told them of intelligence that the Japanese might be planning an attack on Hawai'i and that one scenario was to air-drop troops and supplies onto Ni'ihau, which would serve as a base for an air attack on the rest of the territory.

"He said Pearl Harbor would be attacked on a Sunday, and if war went well, then at a later date all of Hawai'i would be seized," Robinson said. "Ni'ihau, the westernmost island, would be seized first and would be used as an advance air base. We were specifically told the intended seizure would be made from the air, using air drops."

Robinson said he learned of the discussions between Brant and the Robinsons from his parents and from his uncle, Aylmer Robinson, who at the time was the 75 percent owner of the island and the manager of Ni'ihau Ranch.

"Uncle Aylmer once told me about going out riding on Ni'ihau with an Army officer, and I'm sure that was Col. Brant," he said.

As a result of the discussions, Ni'ihau Ranch spent eight years plowing a 100-by-100-foot gridwork across the island's flat areas and gentle slopes — initially with a plow pulled by horses and mules, and later with a Cleveland Tractor Co. "Cletrac" tractor and plow. Something on the order of 50 square miles was crisscrossed with the furrows.

"It took three men eight years to complete," Robinson said. The work was finished several months before the Pearl Harbor attack.

Robinson said the story of the advance knowledge of a possible Japanese attack has long been a tradition in his family, but he was not able to find information outside the family traditions until he discussed it with the Pacific Aviation Museum's aircraft restoration supervisor, Syd Jones.

"I had known his name for 50 years, but I never found evidence that he actually existed," Robinson said.

Palmer said Brant was closely tied to controversial World War I flyer Gen. Billy Mitchell, who had prepared a report in the 1920s, predicting an attack by Japan 17 years before it happened. Brant retired as a major general, he said.

"Mitchell came out here in 1924 and said, 'I think the Japanese may have the intention to attack,' " and that they could launch an attack from Maui or Ni'ihau. Eerily, Mitchell predicted accurately that the attack would occur at 7:30 a.m. on a Sunday. "That was the direct report from Billy Mitchell," Palmer said.

Palmer said that the role of the Robinson family in the plowing of Ni'ihau — at their own substantial expense — is an impressive indication of patriotism.

"Here's a case where an American citizen ... took action to protect the country. It was a hell of an effort."

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.