Mitsu (or anyone else), I got a couple questions...

[Mathman]

Not sure if this is the right forum, but here goes:

I don't know how much about the history of Japan in WW2 you know (I am certain it is more than I do ), but I have a question about the IJAAF vs. the IJN.  From some of the books that I have been reading, I get the impression that it was much more prestigious to be a pilot in the IJN than the IJAAF.  It almost seems as if the pilots in the JAAF were looked down uopn.  I am not sure if I am just reading this wrong so I was just wondering if this was the case.

Also, it seems that the IJAAF was a bit further thinking and much more adaptable than the IJN was.  The Army seemd to introduce planes that were much more comparable to the Western planes that they were fighting against.  The IJN stuck with the A6M throughout the war and really doesn't seem to have had any real plans to replace it until the end of the war with the Reppu (I think), whereas the Army was introducing the Ki 61, 44, 84, and 100 in the hopes of competing with the more powerful and better armed US planes.

I am a big fan of the PTO (kind of obvious in my plane choice), but have only recently started reading about the Japanese side of things.  Anyways, just a few questions that popped into my mind

[Karnak]

The A7M should have been in service in late 1943 or early 1944.  A few things got in the way, Mitsubishi,  the IJN and mother nature.

1) Jiro Horikoshi, the lead fighter designer at Mitsubishi, started work on the A7M as soon as the A6M was entering service.  The IJ had presented specs for the A7 fighter to replace the A6M as soon as the A6M had entered service.  This was standard for both the IJN and USN, ordering the replacement as soon as the new aircraft entered service.  However, Mitsubishi kept reassigning Horikoshi to the A6M upgrade program which took his efforts off of the A7M program.  The A6M upgrade program should have been left to junior Mitsubishi aircraft engineers and Horikoshi should have been kept on the A7M program.

2)  The A7M was ready for test flights in late 1943, despite Mitusbishi's interference.  Horikoshi wanted to use the 2,200hp Mitsubishi Ha-43.11 engine, but the IJN wished to standardize on the Nakajima Homare 21 that the N1K2-J used.  Horikoshi told themit wasn't powerful enough, but they instructed him to proceed with the Homare.  Once the redesign work was done, the A7M1 prototype, powered by a Nakajima Homare 22 engine, flew on May 6, 1944.  The IJN's comments were that it possessed exellent stability and controlability, but was decidedly underpowered.  The IJN then told Mitsubishi to proceed with the originally intended Ha-43.11 engine.  When this prototype, the A7M2, was flown (I don't know the date) it was immediately obvious that manuverability, rate of climb and maximum speed were noticably improved, while it retained its excellent stability and control features.

3)  An earthquake seriously damaged the Mitsubishi factory intended to produce A7M2s, delaying production by months.

4) USAAF B-29s bombed the factory (we didn't know what was produced there, simply that it was a Japanese factory) further delaying production.

A few A7M2 production aircraft were completed before the war ended, but they saw no combat.  Despite the lack of combat, I would almost like to see the A7M2 added to AH as a perk Japanese fighter.

[brady]

The IJN also intrudeced the Jack, and the George, and number of sea planes, so they were bussy themself's.


 

[eddiek]

"A few A7M2 production aircraft were completed before the war ended, but they saw no combat. Despite the lack of combat, I would almost like to see the A7M2 added to AH as a perk Japanese fighter."

But doing that opens up a whole can of problems, for everyone.
The "had to see combat" criteria, to me, is essential in determining what planes get modeled here.  
And this is not an oppositional post, just my thoughts on what your originally said in this thread.
I can guarantee you, this BBS would be flooded with requests for planes that never saw the light of day, much less combat, and rightly so.  Bend the rules for one side, and you have to bend them for ALL sides.
It would be interesting if HTC got "bored" and created a "what if" arena, one where aircraft who were in production or on the way to the combat areas, yet didn't actually see combat were modeled.

[Mathman]

Originally posted by brady
The IJN also intrudeced the Jack, and the George, and number of sea planes, so they were bussy themself's.


 

I didn't mean to imply that they were sittin on their asses, just that it seems, at least from the outside looking in, that the Army was much more active in fighter development.  Like I said, I am just starting to get into the Japanese side of things (well, at least in more detail than previously - I know a bit mroe than the basics, but not much more ).

[brady]

O I understand Mathman, I have been a military history fan since I was old enough to read prety much, and I only started reading and realy diging into the Japanese aspect seriously about 5 years ago. I realy enjoy it it is very interesting. I aslo have started exploring the Italian experance in WW2, a couple years ago, good stuff to. Before that it was German and British and of course US, but hey it is all fun:) I think the fact that it is almost imposable to know it all is what drives me on.

[Angus]

I read that somewhere too Math.
The Japanese system was full of rivalry, the navy and army sometimes being well apart. This was hampering all sorts of progress throughout the war.
Ah, "Blood tears and folly" by Len Deighton has some part of it dedicated to this.

[DarkglamJG52]

I can't imagine a Zeke with 2100 HP.