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> 「クジョーの奴は、ばらばらに吹っ飛ん **だんだったか** 」
>
> 「ええ」
>
>
> 自走地雷──爆薬の詰まった胴体に棒状の手足と顔のない頭部のついた、遠目には人に見えなくもない出来の悪い対人兵器を負傷兵と見誤って組みつかれた。夜戦の、他部隊の救援任務中だった。
>
> 「そりゃあよかった。逝けたのか、あいつは」
>
> 「おそらくは」

From 86─エイティシックス─ 安里アサト

The speaker was recalling that his comrade クジョー was killed by some kind of
landmine.

My grammar book says the 〜のだった is used when you recall some past event
emotionally. And with 〜たのだった, there is an extra nuance that you want to
confirm the past single event when you recall it.

I think this explanation applies to the bold example and the か at the end of
sentence emphasize the confirmation tone.

Am I on the right track?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-24T13:46:38.827
91332
2021-11-25T00:02:55.940
36662
question
grammar
Understanding た form+のだった+か
Yes you're on the right track.

  * 吹っ飛んだ。  
→ neutrally describes a past event

  * 吹っ飛んだ **んだ** 。  
→ with explanatory-no

  * 吹っ飛んだん **だった** 。  
→ with [modal-ta](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/85949/5010), adds a
nuance of "I (emotionally) recall" or "I just recalled/noticed"

  * 吹っ飛んだんだった **か** 。  
→ with the question marker to confirm, "..., huh?"

So the speaker just recalled the past fact (ばらばらに吹っ飛んだ), but added "huh" since
he was not completely sure.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-25T00:02:55.940
91337
2021-11-25T00:02:55.940
5010
91332
answer