Nakajima B5N (Kate)

History

When the United States entered the war in late 1941, Japan's Nakajima B5N series torpedo bombers were considered the best of their kind in the world. The aircraft was developed in 1935 at the request of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and made its first flight in January 1937. It served during the outbreak of World War II (1939-1945) and was one of the most important and important aircraft. Effective aircraft used by the Japanese Navy in its various attacks - including the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

A total of 1,149 prototypes of the B5N were built and have served in most conflicts around the world.

The general layout of the aircraft was conventional for the time, with a single air-cooled radial engine mounted in the nose. The wing main aircraft is mounted low on the side of the fuselage and slightly forward in the middle. The stern uses one vertical plane and two lower horizontal planes.

The three crew members - the pilot, Bombardier navigator and machine gunner - lined up under a long "greenhouse"-style canopy. The main landing gear legs are retractable and the tail wheel remains free during flight.

The B5N is powered by a single Nakajima radial piston engine - the B5N1 model features a "Hikari" radial engine, while the B5N2 features 1,000 "Sakae 11" radial engines. The B5N2 has a top speed of 235 mph, a range of up to 1,240 miles, and a service ceiling of up to 27,100 feet.

The armament consists of a 7.7mm Type 92 machine gun mounted on a trainable mount in the rear gunner's position. Some B5N1 models have 2 x 7.7mm Type 97 machine guns mounted on the wings for a wider frontal "strike".

For offensive work, the aircraft was approved to carry a 1,760-pound Type 91 torpedo or for conventional bombing in lieu of 2 x 550-pound bombs and 6 x 295-pound bombs.

The original B5N form became the "Type K" prototype in 1937, followed by the B5N1 production combat-quality model in 1938. The name B5N1-K is used to denote the B5N1 transformed for the training role.

The improved B5N2 - with a more powerful Sakae engine and a smaller fairing - arrived in 1939 and marked its final production form.

Initial combat operations deployed B5Ns over China, where they were used as both carrier-based and land-based attack aircraft. The aircraft's power and accuracy quickly won the respect of the world, and on December 7, 1941, it became part of the Japanese attacking force deployed at Pearl Harbor.

At least 144 B5N2 aircraft were involved in the attack. The aircraft would have future success over the Coral Sea, Midway, and the Santa Cruz Islands in subsequent campaigns - destroying many Allied ships along the Pacific coast, and for sinking the vital U.S. aircraft carrier USS Hornet, The aircraft carriers USS Lexington and USS Yorktown.

As Allied pilots battle-tested and delivered vastly improved fighters, the inherent shortcomings of the B5Ns became apparent - their weak defensive armament, poor overall protection, and the presence of weight when carrying heavy war loads question. This meant that those incapable of being targeted by Allied gunners were easy prey.

As a result, losses began to mount, and the last major engagement involving B5N aircraft was recorded over the Philippines in 1944. The series was phased out at the end of the war, but the aircraft in active duty - due to their still excellent range - were used for non-direct combat missions such as anti-ship, reconnaissance and maritime patrol.

Some were introduced as kamikaze raiders before the final months of the war.

The Nakajma B6N Jill (detailed elsewhere on this page) became the direct successor to the B5N, which came out in August 1943. It was produced in 1,268 units and set its own war record.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes