Yokosuka B4Y Type 96 “Jean”
The Yokosuka B4Y was a carrier torpedo bomber of the IJNAF. The 7-Shi (1932) requirement for a carrier attack bomber produced the Yokosuka B3Y, which was inadequate for the role. So, the 9-Shi (1934) requirements […]
IJNAF
Kawanishi E7K Type 94 “Alf”
The Kawanishi E7K “Alf”, or Type 94 Reconnaissance Seaplane, was designed in response to the 7-Shi requirement specification that also produced the Hiro G2H bomber. The aircraft was to be operated from smaller Japanese warships […]
Nakajima A4N Type 95
The Nakajima A4N was a development of the company’s earlier A2N biplane fighter, and was intended to improve that aircraft so that it could serve as an adequate stopgap until better, more modern fighters like […]
Yokosuka B3Y Type 92
In 1932 the Japanese Navy issued its 7-Shi requirements for a new torpedo bomber, to replace the B2M Type 89. Initially both Nakajima, with their B3N, and Mitsubishi, with their B3M, responded. Both designs proved […]
Mitsubishi A5M Type 96 “Claude”
The 9-Shi specification for an advanced carrier fighter was issued by the Japanese Navy in 1934, calling for an aircraft with a top speed of 350km/h (high for the time) and an ability to climb […]
Hiro G2H Type 95
The Hiro G2H was one of only two successful designs to emerge from a 1932 program to modernise the IJNAF (the other being the Kawanishi E7K Type 94 “Alf”). The “Navy Experimental 7-Shi Attack Bomber” […]
Nakajima E8N Type 95 “Dave”
Designed as a replacement for the E4N Type 90, the Nakajima E8N was a derivative of this older plane but featured a more powerful engine, slimmer wings, and a taller tail. A prototype was entered […]
Nakajima A2N Type 90
The design of the Nakajima A2N was loosely based on the Boeing Model 69 and Model 100 fighters, which had been imported into Japan in the late 1920s. The fighter was developed privately by Nakajima […]
Mitsubishi G3M Type 96 “Nell”
The origins of the Type 96 bomber, later codenamed “Nell” by the Americans, lay in Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto’s plans for attacking enemy battleships and land installations in the far reaches of the Pacific. The new […]
Aichi D1A Type 94/96 “Susie”
The IJN had watched the development of British and American dive-bombers during the interwar period with some interest. Determined to procure their own aircraft of this type, the navy approached the Aichi aircraft company, who […]