――In 1935, the Japanese Navy ordered both Mitsubishi and Nakajima to make prototypes under the name of the Nakajima D3N attack aircraft.
--The Navy's demands are much higher than the 96-type carrier-based attack aircraft that was just adopted at that time, and Nakajima, which received the prototype request, lost to Mitsubishi in the competition for the main models of the Navy aircraft. , I took the company's luck to develop it.
――The Nakajima B5N carrier-capable attack aircraft, which incorporates a number of new innovations, is the first Japanese Navy aircraft to have a low-wing monoplane structure with a mono-cock structure.
--Adopting an epoch-making hydraulic retractable main landing gear, the width of the fuselage is narrowed down to the maximum near the cockpit for a three-seat aircraft.
--The overall width is shortened by adopting the upward folding main wing, and the storage space inside the aircraft carrier can be reduced.
――By adopting an all-metal 2-stage variable-pitch 3-wing propeller, the engine output is efficiently demonstrated according to each situation during takeoff, climbing, cruising, and high speed, and the performance has improved dramatically.
--On November 16, 1937, it was officially adopted as the Type 97 No. 1 carrier-based attack aircraft (B5N1), and it was equipped with a [Hikari] engine with a small power of 300hp instead of the originally planned [Sakae] engine, but the Navy. It was a high performance that exceeded the demands of.
--Autumn 1938 [Sakae] The engine was set to be put into practical use, and it was installed. rice field.
--In December 1941, participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor, which was the start of the Pacific War, and the ninety-seven warships mounted on six aircraft carriers caused fatal injuries to the ships of the US Pacific Fleet with concentrated attacks by bombs and torpedoes, resulting in a great war. gave.
――Among them, the success of lightning strikes on the shallow sea surface, which was considered impossible, is worthy of special mention in combination with the high performance of this machine.
――Even after Operation Hawaii, the attack on Pearl Harbor on each aircraft carrier of the 1st Air Fleet in Solomon, the Southwest Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, etc. was active along with the Zero Fighter and the Aichi D3A.
[Data B5N2]
--Crew: 3 people
--Overall width: 15.518m
--Overall length: 10.3m
--Overall height: 3.7m
--Engine: Nakajima [Sakae] Type 11 (air-cooled double-row radial 14-cylinder)
--Separation output: 1,000hp
--Maximum speed: 378km / h (altitude 3,600m)
--Armed: 7.7mm machine gun (upper rear of the fuselage)
--Bomb: 800kg x 1 / 250kg x 2 / 60kg x 6 / 30kg x 6, torpedo: 800kg x 1
( This is a machine translation. Please allow for possible misinterpretations in the text. )