*coming to you from my computer training class in Boulder CO*
Actually there was an older version of the "George" we have. The N1K2-J
The N1K1-J. Performance wise it was very similar to the N1K2 we have now, except it had approximately 100 hp less.
Also its wing 20mm armament was mount in pods similar to a 109G6/R6, instead of in the wing like the N1K2. And it also had 2 nose mounted machine guns (either 7.7mm or 12.7mm depending on when in the production run)
Physically it looked somewhat different, because the K1 was a mid-wing design, with a very long and weak landing gear.
The K2 changed to a different gear mounted in a low wing design. And the armament difference I noted above.
Imagine the wing/fuselage difference in the F4F and the F6F, and you get a good physical difference in the N1K1 and the N1K2.
The N1K1-J was available in late 42/early 43 if I remember correctly, and would be a very deadly aircraft in a rolling planeset.
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Vermillion
**MOL**, Men of Leisure,
Dicta Verm: "Never give the suckers an even break!" or translated "Never engage without an advantage"
