The Nakajima D3N (also designated Experimental 11-''Shi'' Carrier Bomber and Nakajima DB) was a Japanese

carrier Carrier may refer to: Entertainment * ''Carrier'' (album), a 2013 album by The Dodos * ''Carrier'' (board game), a South Pacific World War II board game * ''Carrier'' (TV series), a ten-part documentary miniseries that aired on PBS in April 20 ...

-based

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

of the 1930s. Three prototypes 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 surrender ...

, but no production followed, with the

Aichi D3A The Aichi D3A Type 99 Carrier Bomber ( Allied reporting name "Val") is a World War II carrier-borne dive bomber. It was the primary dive bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and was involved in almost all IJN actions, including the at ...

being selected instead.

Design and development

In 1936, the

Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service The was the Naval aviation, air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War. The Japanese military acquired their first air ...

issued a specification for a carrier based dive bomber to replace the

Aichi D1A The Aichi D1A or Navy Type 94/96 Carrier Bomber ( Allied reporting name "Susie") was a Japanese carrier-based dive bomber of the 1930s. A single-engine, two-seat biplane based on the Heinkel He 50, the D1A was produced by Aichi for the Imperia ...

,Mikesh 1990, p. 237. a two-seat

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

developed from the German

Heinkel He 66 The Heinkel He 50 was a German World War II-era dive bomber, originally designed for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Serving in ''Luftwaffe'' prewar dive-bombing units, the He 50 served until almost the end of World War II as a night harassment bomb ...

.Francillon 1970, pp. 268–269. The new dive bomber was to be a low-wing

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 confi ...

, with proposals submitted by

Aichi is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectu ...

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

and Nakajima. Orders were placed with Aichi and Nakajima for prototypes in 1934.Francillon 1970, p. 271. Nakajima's design was based on its C3N and

B5N The Nakajima B5N ( ja, 中島 B5N, Allied reporting name "Kate") was the standard carrier-based torpedo bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) for much of World War II. Although the B5N was substantially faster and more capable than its Al ...

that had been designed to meet 1935 requirements for a reconnaissance aircraft and torpedo bomber respectively, and like these aircraft, was a single-engined monoplane of all-metal construction with folding wings for storage aboard ship. It was powered by a single

Nakajima Hikari The Nakajima Hikari (Japanese: 光 "Light") was a nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial aircraft engine developed in Japan for Navy use during World War II by the Nakajima Aircraft Company. It was a development of the Nakajima Kotobuki and Wright ...

nine-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 ca ...

, rated at , and driving a two-bladed variable-pitch propeller. It had a retractable

tailwheel undercarriage Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynami ...

, in which the mainwheels were designed to be lowered for use as

dive brake Dive brakes or dive flaps are deployed to slow down an aircraft when in a dive. They often consist of a metal flap that is lowered against the air flow, thus creating drag and reducing dive speed.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, ...

s, although more conventional dive brakes were added as a result of a change in the specification. The first prototype made its maiden flight in 1937, with the second and third prototypes flying in 1939. Aichi's AM-17 proved superior however, and was ordered into production as the

in December 1939.Francillon 1970, p. 273. The second prototype was retained by Nakajima and used as a testbed, helping in the development of the

Nakajima Sakae The was a two-row, 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine used in a number of combat aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army before and during World War II. Design and development The engine was designed by Nakajima Air ...

and Homare engines, and remaining in use until 1945.Mikesh and Abe 1990, p. 238.

Specifications

Notes

References

* * {{Japanese Navy short aircraft designations Carrier-based aircraft 1930s Japanese attack aircraft D3N

Design and development

Specifications

See also

Notes

References