Nakajima B3N
| B3N | |
|---|---|
| Role | Torpedo bomber |
| National origin | Japan |
| Manufacturer | Nakajima Aircraft Company |
| First flight | 1933 |
| Status | Prototype |
| Number built | 2 |
The Nakajima B3N was a prototype
torpedo-bomber aircraft of the 1930s. A single-engined biplane
with a crew of three, it was unsuccessful, only two being built.
Development and design
In April 1932, the
single-bay metal and fabric wings, with both the upper and lower wings gulled to meet the fuselage, with the upper wings gulled normally and the lower wings in an inverted gull arrangement, forming an X shape. It had a tailwheel undercarriage, with the main wheels attached to the lower wing where the gulled section joined the main wing. The new 700 hp (522 kW) Nakajima Hikari engine was chosen to power the aircraft, driving a three-bladed fixed-pitch metal propeller.[2]
Nakajima built two prototypes in 1933, with the internal designation Nakajima Y3B, as the Experimental 7-Shi Carrier Attack Aircraft, with the
Yokosuka B3Y.[4]
Specifications (B3N1)
Data from Japanese Aircraft 1910-41 [2]
General characteristics
- Crew: 3 (pilot, navigator/bomb aimer and gunner)
- Length: 10 m (32 ft 10 in)
- Wingspan: 14 m (45 ft 11 in)
- Height: 3.80 m (12 ft 6 in)
- Wing area: 50.0 m2 (538 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 2,000 kg (4,409 lb)
- Gross weight: 3,800 kg (8,378 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Nakajima Hikari 2 9-cylinder radial engine, 520 kW (700 hp)
- Propellers: 3-bladed
Performance
- Maximum speed: 220 km/h (140 mph, 120 kn)
- Stall speed: 93 km/h (58 mph, 50 kn)
- Endurance: 6 hr
- Service ceiling: 5,500 m (18,000 ft)
- Time to altitude: 12 minutes to 3,000 m (9,800 ft)
Armament
- Guns: 1 × flexibly mounted 7.7 mm machine gun
- Bombs: 1 × 800 kg (1,760 lb) torpedo, or 1 × 800 kg bomb, or 2 × 250 kg bombs
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- Yokosuka B3Y
- Blackburn Shark
References
- Mikesh, Robert C. and Abe, Shorzoe. Japanese Aircraft 1910-1941. London:Putnam, 1990. ISBN 0-85177-840-2.