Aichi D3A
D3A | |
---|---|
Aichi D3A1 from carrier Akagi. | |
Role | Carrier-based dive bomber |
Manufacturer | Aichi Kokuki KK
|
First flight | January 1938 |
Introduction | 1940[1] |
Retired | 1945 |
Primary user | Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service |
Number built | 1,495 (479 D3A1) (1016 D3A2) |
Developed into | Yokosuka D3Y Myōjo |
The Aichi D3A (Navy designation "Type 99 Carrier Bomber";
The Aichi D3A was the first Japanese aircraft to bomb American targets in the war, commencing with
Design and development
In mid-1936, the Japanese Navy issued the 11-Shi specification for a monoplane carrier-based dive bomber to replace the existing D1A biplane then in service.[1] Aichi, Nakajima, and Mitsubishi all submitted designs, with the former two subsequently being asked for two prototypes each.
The Aichi design started with low-mounted elliptical wings inspired by the
.The first prototype was completed in December 1937, and flight trials began a month later, after which it was designated as D3A1. Initial tests were disappointing. The aircraft was underpowered and suffered from directional instability in wide turns, and in tighter turns it tended to snap roll. The dive brakes vibrated heavily when extended at their design speed of 200 knots (370 km/h), and the Navy was already asking for a faster diving speed of 240 knots (440 km/h)[6][7]
The second aircraft was extensively modified before delivery to try to address the problems. Power was increased by replacing the Hikari with the 626 kW (839 hp)
In December 1939, the Navy ordered the aircraft as the Navy Type 99 Carrier Bomber Model 11 (kanjō bakugekiki, usually abbreviated to 艦爆 kanbaku.[9]). The production models featured slightly smaller wings and increased power in the form of the 746 kW (1,000 hp) Kinsei 43 or 798 kW (1,070 hp) Kinsei 44. The directional instability problem was finally cured with the fitting of a long dorsal fin-strake which started midway down the rear fuselage, and the aircraft actually became highly maneuverable.[10][7]
In June 1942, an improved version of D3A1, powered by a 969 kW (1,299 hp) Kinsei 54, was tested and designated as D3A2 or the Model 12. The extra power reduced range, so the design was further modified with additional
Equipment
The
Armament was two fixed forward-firing 7.7 mm (0.303 in)
Initially, D3A dive bombers were painted in silver. During the summer of 1941, the paint finish changed to light olive grey. The color changed again in early 1942 to dark green.[7]
Operational history
An individual D3A dive bomber was commanded by the senior ranking crew member aboard, which could be the observer rather than the pilot.
The D3A1 first saw combat operation in November 1939, one month prior to its official acceptance as the Navy Type 99 dive bomber. Nakajima sent several examples to the 14th Air group operating at Haikou on Hainan island in South China. These D3A1s were commanded by Lieutenant Sadamu Takahashi and supported the Imperial Japanese Army in the capture of Nanning, which was intended to cut the supplies coming from French Indochina. After the capture of Nanning, they continued to be operated in the area in 1940. In May 1940, 12th Air Group became the second front-line unit to be equipped with the new D3A1 dive bombers. They first participated in the capture of Yichang and conducted anti-shipping operations on Yangtze river, west of Yichang, in order to cut the Chinese supplies coming from Chongqing. In September, D3A1 from the 12th Air Group started to fly missions against Chongqing, which was the Chinese capital at the time. After the invasion of Indochina in autumn 1940, 14th Air Group operated at Hanoi and flew missions against Kunming and Burma Road.[7]
The D3A1 commenced carrier qualification trials aboard the
Before the Indian Ocean raid, the established doctrine regarding attacks against ships was to arm all D3A1 dive bombers with semi-AP bombs. On 5 April 1942, an IJN carrier force attacked
During 1942, dive bombing attacks by carrier-based D3A1 and D3A2 bombers significantly contributed to sinking of three US fleet carriers:
During the course of the war, D3A dive bombers often combined their attacks upon enemy warships with the IJN Nakajima B5N Kate torpedo bomber; consequently enemy vessels were often sunk by a combination strike of bombs and torpedoes. However, there were occasions when just the D3A's would make the attacks, or at least score the sinking hits. Discounting the Pearl Harbor strike, which also used the B5N for level bombing and torpedo attacks, D3A dive bombers were credited with sinking the following Allied warships (partial list):[18][19]
- USS Peary, American destroyer, 19 February 1942 – Australia (Darwin)[20]
- USS Pope, American destroyer, 1 March 1942 – Java Sea
- USS Edsall, American destroyer, 1 March 1942- Indian Ocean
- USS Pecos, American oiler, 1 March 1942- Indian Ocean
- HMS Cornwall, British heavy cruiser, 5 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
- HMS Dorsetshire, British heavy cruiser, 5 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
- HMS Hector, British armed merchant cruiser, 5 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
- HMS Tenedos, British destroyer, 5 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
- HMS Hermes, British aircraft carrier, 9 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
- RFA Athelstone, British freighter, 9 April 1942 - Indian Ocean
- HMS Hollyhock, British corvette, 9 April 1942 - Indian Ocean
- SS British Sergeant, British Tanker, 9 April 1942 - Indian Ocean
- SS Norviken, Norwegian Cargo Ship, 9 April 1942 - Indian Ocean
- HMAS Vampire, Australian destroyer, 9 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
- USS Sims, American destroyer, 7 May 1942 – Pacific Ocean
- USS De Haven, American destroyer, 1 February 1943 – Pacific Ocean (Ironbottom Sound)
- USS Aaron Ward, American destroyer, 7 April 1943 – Pacific Ocean (Ironbottom Sound)
- USS Kanawha, American oiler, 8 April 1943 – Pacific Ocean (Tulagi, Solomon Islands)
- USS Brownson, American destroyer, 26 December 1943 – Pacific Ocean[21]
- USS Abner Read, American destroyer, sunk by kamikaze 1 November 1944 – Pacific Ocean[22]
- Okinawa)
As the war progressed, there were instances when the dive bombers were pressed into duty as
Operators
Surviving aircraft
A D3A2 is currently under restoration at the
There are two unrestored D3As on display at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas.[27][28] In 2022, the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum began acquiring the remains of a D3A from Papua New Guinea for eventual exhibit.Specifications (D3A2 Model 22)
Data from Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War [29]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 10.195 m (33 ft 5 in)
- Wingspan: 14.365 m (47 ft 2 in)
- Height: 3.847 m (12 ft 7 in)
- Wing area: 34.9 m2 (376 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 2,570 kg (5,666 lb)
- Gross weight: 3,800 kg (8,378 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Mitsubishi Kinsei 5414-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 970 kW (1,300 hp) for take-off
- 1,200 hp (890 kW) at 3,000 m (9,800 ft)
- 1,100 hp (820 kW) at 6,200 m (20,300 ft)
- Propellers: 3-bladed metal constant-speed propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 430 km/h (270 mph, 230 kn) at 6,200 m (20,300 ft)
- Cruise speed: 296 km/h (184 mph, 160 kn) at 3,000 m (9,800 ft)
- Range: 1,352 km (840 mi, 730 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 10,500 m (34,400 ft)
- Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 5 minutes 48 seconds
- Wing loading: 108.9 kg/m2 (22.3 lb/sq ft)
- Power/mass: 3.9 kg/kW (6.4 lb/hp)
Armament
- Guns: 2x forward-firing 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 97 aircraft machine guns in the forward fuselage upper decking + 1x 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 92 machine gun on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit
- Bombs: 1x 250 kg (550 lb) under the fuselage and 2x 60 kg (130 lb) bombs under the wings
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- ANBO VIII
- Blackburn Skua
- Breda Ba.65
- Curtiss SB2C Helldiver
- Douglas SBD Dauntless
- Fairey Barracuda
- Junkers Ju 87
- Loire-Nieuport LN.401
- Saab 17
- Vultee A-31 Vengeance
- Yokosuka D3Y
- Yokosuka D4Y
Related lists
Notes
- ^ Note: This code name was applied mid-to-late 1943; more often the D3A was referred to as the "Type 99 navy dive bomber" by Allied forces.
References
Citations
- ^ a b Chant 1999, p. 16.
- ^ Angelucci & Matricardi 1978, p. 142.
- ^ Worth 2001, p. 170.
- ^ Casey 1977, p. 87.
- ^ Francillon 1979, p. 272.
- ^ Francillon 1979, pp. 272–273.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Tagaya 2011.
- ^ Francillon 1969, p. 24.
- ^ Parshall & Tully 2007, p. 80.
- ^ a b Air International 1987, p. 289.
- ^ Mikesh 2004.
- ^ Air International 1987, p. 288.
- ^ a b c Lundstrom 2005b.
- ^ Francillon 1979, p. 274.
- ^ Lundstrom 2005a.
- ^ 江間 1991.
- ^ Hata, Izawa & Shores 2011.
- ^ Brown 1990, pp. 60–125.
- ^ Stuart, Robert (2006). "Leonard Birchall and the Japanese Raid on Colombo". Canadian Military Journal.
- ^ Roscoe 1953, p. 96.
- ^ Parkin 1995, p. 198.
- ^ Parkin 1995, p. 251.
- ^ Francillon 1969, p. 25.
- ^ Air International 1987, p. 209.
- ^ "Restoration Projects". Planes of Fame Air Museum. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ Taylan, Justin (17 September 2020). "D3A2 Model 22 Val Manufacture Number 3178". Pacific Wrecks. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ Taylan, Justin. "D3A2 Model 22 Val Manufacture Number 3357 Tail 582–248". Pacific Wrecks. Pacific Wrecks Inc. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- ^ Taylan, Justin. "D3A2 Model 22 Val Manufacture Number 3105". Pacific Wrecks. Pacific Wrecks Inc. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- ^ Francillon 1979, pp. 271–276.
Bibliography
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- Brown, David (1990). Warship Losses of World War Two. London: Arms and Armour. ISBN 0-85368-802-8.
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- Chant, Christopher (1999). Aircraft of World War II – 300 of the World's Greatest Aircraft 1939–45. London: Amber Books Ltd. ISBN 0-7607-1261-1.
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- Millot, Bernard (January 1977). "Aichi D3A "Val"... la terreur qui tombait du ciel (2)" [Aichi D3A Val... The Terror That Falls from the Sky, Part 2]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (86): 28–33. ISSN 0757-4169.
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