The Project Z (also called the "Z Bombers Project") was a military project of the
Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...
, similar to the Nazi German
Amerikabomber
The ''Amerikabomber'' () project was an initiative of the German Ministry of Aviation (''Reichsluftfahrtministerium'') to obtain a long-range strategic bomber for the ''Luftwaffe'' that would be capable of striking the United States (specificall ...
project, to design an intercontinental bomber capable of reaching North America.
The planned aircraft
The Project Z aircraft was to have six engines; the
Nakajima Aircraft Company
The was a prominent Japanese aircraft manufacturer and aviation engine manufacturer throughout World War II. It continues as the car and aircraft manufacturer Subaru.
History
The Nakajima Aircraft company was Japan's first aircraft manufacture ...
quickly began developing engines, proposing twinned Nakajima Ha-44 engines (the most powerful aircraft engine available in Japan at the time).
Designs were presented to the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
, including the
Nakajima G10N
The Nakajima G10N ''Fugaku'' (Japanese: 富岳 or 富嶽, " Mount Fuji") was a planned Japanese ultra-long-range heavy bomber designed during World War II. It was conceived as a method for mounting aerial attacks from Japan against industrial ta ...
,
Kawasaki Ki-91
The Kawasaki Ki-91 was a Japanese heavy bomber developed by Kawasaki Aircraft Industries during the later years of World War II.
Development
In early 1943, following the cancellation of the Nakajima Ki-68 and Kawanishi Ki-85 due to the failure ...
, and
Nakajima G5N
The Nakajima G5N ''Shinzan'' (, "Deep Mountain") was a four-engined long-range heavy bomber designed and built for the Imperial Japanese Navy prior to World War II. The Navy designation was "Experimental 13-Shi Attack Bomber"; the Allied code name ...
. None, save for the G5N, developed beyond prototypes or wind tunnel models. Late in the war, Project Z and other heavy bomber projects were cancelled.
See also
*
American Theater (World War II)
The American Theater was a theater of operations during World War II including all continental American territory, and extending into the ocean.
Owing to North and South America's geographical separation from the central theaters of ...
References
{{reflist
External links
J-Aircraft.org
World War II Japanese heavy bombers
American Theater of World War II
Abandoned military aircraft projects of Japan