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Nakajima AT27

1942 WORLD WAR 2 X-PLANE

History of the Nakajima AT27

The Nakajima AT27 was a pure concept fighter jet that appeared at the beginning of World War II (1941-1945). Titled "Future Designer's Dream" in a Japanese publication (dated April 1941), the aircraft came in the form of a streamlined single-seat twin-engine design with an extremely slim profile - making it both a low drag Product is another small target within reach.

The design was later reported in the American publication "Flight" (December 1941), leading US intelligence agencies - lacking reliable sources on Japanese air power in the early days of the war - to believe that the AT27 was now a very real fighter jet /Interceptor, in service with the Imperial Japanese Air Force. So, in keeping with other Japanese aircraft of the time, the Americans gave it a nickname - "Gus" in this case.

Aside from its slim appearance, one of the more interesting design qualities of the AT27 is its proposed powertrain solution: power comes from 2 V-type 12-cylinder liquid-cooled engines, each developing 1,250 hp, and overall performance An impressive 2,500 hp drives a pair of nose-centred three-bladed propeller units. The blades spin in the opposite direction and create a fair amount of drag, giving the AT27 excellent straight-line performance. Top speed is expected to reach 410 mph, while the range will be over 1,250 miles.

Compared to contemporaries, it's reasonable to assume that the AT27 will have a service ceiling closer to 40,000 feet (40,000 ft) - requiring some form of cockpit pressurization and oxygenation to operate at those altitudes.

The AT27 exudes sleek design and clean lines, with aerodynamic efficiency at the heart of its design. The single-seat cockpit is located under a flat-frame canopy slightly forward in the boat.

The pilot's position was predetermined by the engine pairing, one in the front and the other in the rear, and the shaft was used to drive the propeller unit on the nose. The fuselage tapers back, becoming more and more slender, until it ends with a tail unit at the traditional tail unit. It is assumed that the aircraft has tail-tow landing gear, but it is not specified. The low-mounted main plane would be propelled amidships and was drawn as a straight appendage with rounded tips and tapered edges. Operating weight is estimated at 8,000 pounds empty and nearly 11,600 pounds fully loaded.

Dimensions are not given.

While armament is unknown, AT27 is likely to align with other wartime fighter-interceptors: possibly 4 x 20mm autocannons, or a mix of 2 x 20mm autocannons and 12.7mm heavy machine gun (HMG)-mounted on the fairing and/or wing main aircraft.

It wasn't until later that US intelligence realized that the AT27 was mistakenly mistaken for the real design, as the Japanese were showing their hands every month and the name Gus disappeared from intelligence reports during the war - And the AT27 is nothing more than a fantasy IJA/IJN design.