The Mitsubishi 1MF10 or Mitsubishi Experimental ''7-Shi'' Carrier Fighter (七試艦上戦闘機) was a prototype Japanese monoplane single-seat carrier-based fighter aircraft of the 1930s. Two were built for the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...

, but both were lost in crashes, with no production following.

Design and development

In April 1932, the

issued a specification for a replacement for its current carrier-based fighter, the

Nakajima A2N The Nakajima A2N or Navy Type 90 Carrier Fighter was a Japanese carrier-borne fighter of the 1930s. It was a single-engined biplane of mixed construction, with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage. Design and development The A2N was originally deve ...

, asking for designs from both Mitsubishi and Nakajima. Unlike the biplane which was to be replaced, both competitors submitted

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

s, with Nakajima offering a version of its Type 91 parasol-wing fighter, already in production for the Japanese Army. Mitsubishi assigned design of its contestant to a team led by

Jiro Horikoshi was the chief engineer of many Japanese fighter designs of World War II, including the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter. Early life Jiro Horikoshi was born near the city of Fujioka, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, in 1903. Horikoshi graduated from the new ...

, which created the first low-wing

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...

monoplane to be designed in Japan, the Mitsubishi 1MF10.Mikesh and Abe 1990, p. 170.Green and Swanborough 1994, p. 407. The 1MF10 was of all-metal construction, with a

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

duralumin

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraf ...

, with duralumin wing structure covered in fabric, with the pilot accommodated in an open cockpit. The aircraft was powered by a Mitsubishi A4 two-row 14-cylinder

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...

driving a two-bladed propeller. It had a fixed tailwheel undercarriage. The first prototype 1MF10, with the Navy designation Experimental ''7-shi'' Carrier Fighter made its maiden flight in March 1933. It was destroyed in July 1933 when its tail broke up during diving tests, although the pilot escaped by parachute. The second prototype had a revised undercarriage, with the main wheels and undercarriage legs faired into streamlined spats. It was also destroyed in a crash, when it could not be recovered from a flat spin in June 1934 by pilot Motoharu Okamura. Although the design was advanced, it was rejected by the Japanese Navy, having poor handling and not meeting the performance requirements of the specification. It did form the basis of more advanced designs, however, with Horikoshi using elements of it such as the box-

spar SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...

in the later successful

Mitsubishi A5M The Mitsubishi A5M, formal Japanese Navy designation , experimental Navy designation Mitsubishi Navy Experimental 9-''Shi'' Carrier Fighter, company designation Mitsubishi ''Ka''-14, was a Japanese carrier-based fighter aircraft. It was the world ...

fighter of similar layout.Mikesh and Abe 1990, pp. 170–171.

Specifications

Notes

References

* * {{Mitsubishi aircraft 1MF10 1930s Japanese fighter aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1933

Design and development

Specifications

See also

Notes

References