The Manchuria Airplane Manufacturing Company (

traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

:滿洲國飛行機製造株式會社;

shinjitai are the simplified forms of kanji used in Japan since the promulgation of the Tōyō Kanji List in 1946. Some of the new forms found in ''shinjitai'' are also found in Simplified Chinese characters, but ''shinjitai'' is generally not as extensi ...

: 満州国飛行機製造株式会社 Japanese Hepburn: ''Manshū Koku Hikōki Seizō Kabushiki Kaisha''; Chinese ) was an aircraft company in

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 after the Japanese ...

in the 1930s and 1940s, producing a variety of mostly military aircraft and aircraft components. It was named Manshū or Mansyuu in short.

History

The Manchuria Airplane Manufacturing Company was established in late 1938 under the supervision of the Japanese government as a subsidiary of 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 manufactur ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. Its main plant was located in

Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest c ...

, Manchukuo. From 1941 to 1945, Manshū produced a total of 2,196

airframe The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aerospa ...

s (eighth among Japanese airframe manufacturers), of which 798 were combat aircraft. The company also produced 2,168 aircraft engines (sixth among Japanese aircraft engine manufacturers). In addition, Manshū provided repair services for a variety of aircraft in the Manchukuo Air Force and for

Imperial Japanese Army Air Force The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) or Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF; ja, 大日本帝國陸軍航空部隊, Dainippon Teikoku Rikugun Kōkūbutai, lit=Greater Japan Empire Army Air Corps) was the aviation force of the Im ...

units stationed in Manchukuo.

Licensed production

Manshū produced a variety of Japanese aircraft under license production agreements: * Kawasaki Ki-10 ( World War II Allied reporting name "Perry") fighter * Kawasaki Ki-32 (Allied reporting name "Mary") light bomber * Kawasaki Ki-45 ''Toryu'' (Allied reporting name "Nick") twin-engined fighter *

Kawasaki Ki-61 The Kawasaki Ki-61 ''Hien'' (飛燕, "flying swallow") is a Japanese World War II fighter aircraft. Used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service, it was designated the "Army Type 3 Fighter" (三式戦闘機). Allied intelligence initially b ...

''Hien'' (Allied reporting name "Tony") fighter *

Kawasaki Type 88 The Kawasaki Army Type 88 Reconnaissance Aircraft was a Japanese single-engined biplane designed for Kawasaki by Richard Vogt. Originally known by its company designation KDA-2, it was accepted by the Imperial Japanese Army as the Type 88 Reconn ...

(KDA-2) light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft * Mitsubishi Ki-15 (Allied reporting name "Babs") reconnaissance aircraft *

Mitsubishi Ki-30 The was a Japanese light bomber of World War II. It was a single-engine, mid-wing, cantilever monoplane of stressed-skin construction with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage and a long transparent cockpit canopy. The type had significance in being ...

(Allied reporting name "Ann") light bomber *

Mitsubishi Ki-46 The Mitsubishi Ki-46 was a twin-engine reconnaissance aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. Its Army ''Shiki'' designation was Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Aircraft (); the Allied brevity code name was "Dinah". Develop ...

(Allied reporting name "Dinah") reconnaissance aircraft * Manshū Super Universal (license built Fokker Super Universal) * Nakajima Ki-27 (Allied reporting name "Nate") light fighter (1,379 units) *

Nakajima Ki-34 The Nakajima Ki-34 was a Japanese light transport of World War II. It was a twin-engine, low-wing monoplane; the undercarriage was of tailwheel type with retractable main units. During the Pacific War, the Allies assigned the type the reportin ...

(Allied reporting name "Thora") transport * Nakajima Ki-43Ia ''Hayabusa'' (Allied reporting name "Oscar") fighter *

Nakajima Ki-44 The Nakajima Ki-44 ''Shoki'' (鍾馗, " Devil Queller") was a single-seat fighter- interceptor which was developed by the Nakajima Aircraft Company and operated by the Imperial Japanese Army from 1942 to 1945 during World War II. Its officia ...

Ia ''Shoki'' (Allied reporting name "Tojo") fighter * Nakajima Ki-84 ''Hayate'' (Allied reporting name "Frank") advanced fighter (94 units) *

Nakajima Ki-116 The Nakajima Ki-116 was a late- World War II aircraft developed for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. It was essentially a Ki-84 ''Hayate'' with the Nakajima Ha-45 engine replaced with a Mitsubishi Ha-112. The design was handled by Mansyū ...

advanced fighter, also known as Manshū Ki-116 *

Nakajima Type 91 The Nakajima Army Type 91 Fighter was a Japanese fighter of the 1930s. It was a single-engine, single-seat parasol monoplane with a fixed, tailwheel undercarriage. Development Designed in response to an Army requirement of 1927, the Type 91 wa ...

(NC) fighter *

Tachikawa Ki-9 The was an intermediate training aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force built by Tachikawa Aircraft Company Ltd in the 1930s. It was known to the Allies under the nickname of "Spruce" during World War II. Design and development T ...

(Allied reporting name "Spruce") intermediate trainer * Tachikawa Ki-54 (Allied reporting name "Hickory") advanced trainer *

Tachikawa Ki-55 The Tachikawa Ki-55 was a Japanese advanced trainer. Design and development The excellent characteristics of the Tachikawa Ki-36 made it potentially ideal as a trainer. This led to the development of the Ki-55 with a single machine gun. Afte ...

(Allied reporting name "Ida") advanced trainer

Independent designs

Manshū also developed a number of aircraft independently: * Manshū ''Hayabusa'' I, II, and III airliner (30 units) * Manshū Ki-79 advanced trainer version of Nakajima Ki-27 * Manshū Ki-71

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 through ...

prototype (Allied reporting name "Edna") * Mansyū Ki-98 advanced twin-boom high-altitude interceptor project Among the Manshū independent designs, however, only the Ki-79 advanced trainer reached mass production, as the Army Type 2 Advanced Trainer.Francillon, p. 486.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * *

External links

Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
{{Authority control Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Japan Companies in Manchukuo