was a converted Mitsubishi G3M2 Model 21 bomber operated by the

Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...

newspaper and used to make a round-the-world flight in 1939.

The round the World flight

''Nippon'' took off from

Haneda airport , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...

now

Tokyo International Airport , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...

in the district of Kamata in Tokyo on 25 August 1939, flew around the globe and returned to Tokyo, after 55 days, on 20 October 1939 having flown in 194 flying hours.

The aircraft

''Nippon'' had the armament removed, was equipped with the latest

autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...

and could carry 5,200 L of fuel enabling it to fly continuously for 24 hours.

Flight course

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- Chitose -

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, USA - Whitehorse - Seattle - Oakland, USA - Los Angeles - Albuquerque, USA - Chicago - New York - Washington D.C - Miami -

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- Cali, Colombia - Lima - Arica - Santiago - Buenos Aires - Santos (Brazil) - Dakar - Casablanca

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- Seville, Spain - Rhodos,

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- Basra (Iraq) - Karachi - Kolkata, India - Bangkok - Taipei - Haneda, Tokyo

Specifications (Mitsubishi G3M2 Model 21)

Occupants

There were seven occupants in total. ;Captain : Sumitoshi NAKAO 中尾純利 ;Flight engineer : Hajime SHIMOKAWA 下川一 ;Communication operator : Nobusada SATO 佐藤信貞 ;Pilot : Shigeo YOSHIDA 吉田重雄 ;Professional Engineer : Hiroshi SAEKI 佐伯弘 ;Flight engineer : Nagasaku YAOKAWA 八尾川長作 ;Ambassador of goodwill: Takeo OHARA 大原武夫, Aerial director of Mainichi Shimbun.

Notes

References

* (new edition 1987 by Putnam Aeronautical Books, .) * * 翼をください, 2009, * 毎日新聞ウェブページ・ニッポン号：世界一周の快挙から70年
JCAL NIPPON Round the World Flight
Japanese

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nippon History of aviation Aircraft manufactured in Japan Mitsubishi aircraft Individual aircraft