Ok, the RAF thread's been beaten to death I think (time of death could probably have been called at half its current length, we've been beating a dead horse).
Now, what Japanese aircraft would you like to see in AH? We're getting the A6M5b Zero "Zeke", so what next?
I would love to see a Mitsubishi J2M3 Raiden "Jack" as the next Japanese fighter. Saburo Sakai praised this fighter quite a bit.
I would like to get the Kawanishi H8K2 "Emily" as the first Japanese bomber.
A nice light bomber would be the Aichi B7A2 Ryusei "Grace". All of these aircraft saw real service, and so would not be out of place.
All three of these aircraft have variants that could be introduced later with a minimum amount of work on the 3D files.
Mitsubishi J2M3 Raiden "Jack"J2M3
Dimensions:
Span 10.80 m
Length 9.95 m
Height 3.95 m
Wing area 20.1 m2
Weights:
Empty 2,460 kg
Loaded 3,435 kg
Wing loading 171.3 kg/m2
Power loading 1.9 kg/hp
Performance:
Maximum speed 317 kt at 5,300 m
Cruising speed 190 kt
Climb to 6,000 m in 6 min 14 sec
Service ceiling 11,700 m
Normal range 1,025 naut miles
Armament:
Two wing-mounted 20 mm Type 99 Model 2 cannon and two wing-mounted 20 mm Type 99 Model 1 cannon (J2M3, J2M5, J2M6 and J2M7)
Four wing-mounted 20 mm Type 99 Model 2 cannon (J2M3a, J2M5a, J2M6a and J2M7a)
External stores: two 60 kg bombs, or two 200 litre drop tanks
Powerplant:
One Mitsubishi MK4R-A Kasei 23a fourteen-cylinder air-cooled radial, rated at 1,800 hp for take-off, 1,575 hp at 1,800 m and 1,410 hp at 4,800 m, driving a four-blade constant-speed metal propeller (J2M2, J2M3, J2M3a, J2M6 and J2M6a)
Accommodation:
Pilot in enclosed cockpit
Description:
Single-seat interceptor fighter. All-metal construction with fabric-covered control surfaces
Kawanishi H8K2 "Emily"H8K2
Dimensions:
Span 38.00 m
Length 28.13 m
Height 9.15 m
Wing area 160.0 m2
Weights:
Empty 18,380 kg
Loaded 24,500 kg
Maximum 32,500 kg
Wing loading 153.1 kg/m2
Power loading 3.3 kg/hp
Performance:
Maximum speed 252 kt at 5,000 m
Cruising speed 160 kt at 4,000 m
Climb to 5,000 m in 10 min 12 sec
Service ceiling 8,850 m
Maximum range 3,862 naut miles
Armament:
20 mm Type 99 Model 1 cannon in bow, dorsal and tail turrets and two beam hatches, and 7.7 mm Type 92 machine-guns in ventral, port and starboard fuselage sides and cockpit hatches (H8K2, H8K3 and H8K4)
External load: two 800 kg torpedoes, or eight 250 kg bombs, or sixteen 60 kg bombs or depth-charges (H8K1 to H8K4)
Powerplant:
Four Mitsubishi MK4Q Kasei 22 fourteen-cylinder air-cooled radials, rated at 1,850 hp for take-off, 1,680 hp at 2,100 m and 1,540 hp at 5,500 m, driving four-blade metal propellers (H8K2, H8K2-L and H8K3)
Accommodation:
Crew of ten (H8K1 to H8K4). Crew of nine and 29 passengers or 64 troops (H8K2-L)
Description:
Four-engined long-range maritime reconnaissance flying-boat (H8K1 to H8K4) or transport flying-boat (H8K2-L). All-metal construction
Aichi B7A2 Ryusei "Grace"B7A2
Dimensions:
Span 14.40 m
Length 11.49 m
Height 4.08 m
Wing area 35.4 m2
Weights:
Empty 3,810 kg
Loaded 5,625 kg
Maximum 6,500 kg
Wing loading 158.9 kg/m2
Power loading 3.1 kg/hp
Performance:
Maximum speed 306 kt at 6,550 m
Climb to 4,000 m
in 6 min 55 sec
Service ceiling 11,250 m
Normal range 1,000 naut miles
Maximum range 1,640 naut miles
Armament:
Two wing-mounted 20 mm Type 99 Model 2 cannon and one flexible rear-firing 7.92 mm Type 1 machine-gun (B7A1 and early production B7A2).
Two wing-mounted 20 mm Type 99 Model 2 cannon and one flexible rear-firing 13 mm Type 2 machine-gun (late production B7A2).
Bomb-load: one 800 kg torpedo or up to 800 kg of bombs.
Powerplant:
One Nakajima NK9C Homare 12 eighteen-cylinder air-cooled radial, rated at 1,825 hp for take-off, 1,670 hp at 2,400 m and 1,560 hp at 6,550 m, driving a constant-speed four-blade metal propeller (production B7A2)
Accommodation:
Crew of two in tandem enclosed cockpits
Description:
Single-engined carrier-borne torpedo and dive-bomber. All-metal construction with fabric-covered control surfaces
Most of my info was obtained from this site:
http://www.skypoint.com/members/jbp/ijna/ijnaf.htm What do you guys think of these selections?
Sisu
[This message has been edited by Karnak (edited 06-15-2000).]
