This type of toy was all the rage in the 1950s and was a specialty of Japanese manufacturers.
Children held the plane by the handle and pulled the trigger, imagining themselves in the cockpit of the plane chasing an enemy. The propeller spun and roared, the machine guns spat sparks or glowed red, and they were in their element.
Frankonia
Cap Firing Fighter Plane
1950s, lithographed tinplate, toothed-rack mechanism, the propeller turns, 14 x 15 cm
Nomura Toys
Phoenix Gun Shooting Fighter
1950s, lithographed tinplate, electric motor, the propeller turn battery-operated lights (machine-gun), 22.5 x 22 cm
Navy Gun Shooting Fighter
Ca. 1950, lithographed tinplate, pulling the trigger rotates the propeller, causing a roaring sound and sparks flying from the machine gun, 18 x 20 cm
Trigger Plane
Ca. 1950, lithographed tinplate pulling the trigger rotates the propeller, causing a roaring sound and sparks flying from the machine gun, 21 x 21 cm