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Yokosuka D4Y Suisei (Judy)

1942 WORLD WAR 2

History

The Yokosuka D4Y Suisei (translated as "Comet", referred to by the Allies as "Judy") was a powerful dive bomber that served with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. The system had some reliability issues in early demonstrations and suffered heavy casualties from the Allied carrier group, but the system performed admirably due to the inherent capabilities of the design - of course, in terms of crew protection and structural armor. cost.

The D4Y is a twin-crew, single-engine dive bomber platform. The Mitsubishi MK8P Kinsei 62 radial piston engine in the D4Y3 model provides reliability, capable of traveling at 357 mph and a top speed approaching 35,000 feet per hour. The crew sat in tandem in a long canopy like a greenhouse. Defensive armament consists of two 7.7mm machine guns in the forward position and one 13.1mm machine gun in the trainable rear cockpit mount.

External ordnance is limited to 1,235 pounds of supplies. Overall, the design concept actually came from the German Heinkel He 118, as Japan acquired the manufacturing rights for the German model back in 1938.

The D4Y first flew in late 1942 as a dive bomber, referred to as the D4Y1. Shortly thereafter, the system appeared in the reconnaissance form of the D4Y1-C. It didn't take long for the D4Y series to be deployed in large numbers by several Japanese carrier groups, and another upgraded version - known as the D4Y2 - appeared on the market. This one comes with a 1,400 hp Atsuta 32 Aichi engine. However, it soon became apparent that while the aircraft was performing well, reliability issues with the new engines suffered.

To make matters worse, the power gains gained by the new powerplant were partly offset by the fact that crew and fuel protection were not taken into account, resulting in heavy casualties. The D4Y3 solved the reliability problems of the D4Y2 by introducing the Mitsubishi MK8P Kinsei 62 radial piston engine.

At the end of the war, like most of the IJN's small airframes, the D4Y was converted into a dedicated suicide model. The single-seat aircraft was designated D4Y4 and entered service in 1945.