The was a 14-cylinder, air-cooled, twin-row radial aircraft engine developed by

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...

in Japan in 1934 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 ...

. The Mitsubishi model designation for this engine was A8 while it was an experimental project; in service, it was known as the MK8 "Kinsei" by the Navy. In 1941 the engine was adopted by Army, receiving designation Ha-112 (later Ha-112-I, 1,300hp Army Type 1). In May 1943 it received Ha-33 unified designation code.

Design and development

Early Kinsei models (1 and 2) had A4 internal designation and their cylinder and detail design was based on the single-row, 9-cylinder air-cooled

Pratt and Whitney Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation (especially airlines) and military av ...

R-1690 Hornet. In 1933 engine underwent a major redesign and redesignated A8. Head layout was reversed to allow exhaust exit to the rear, reducing back-pressure and allowing for a cleaner installation. Compression ratio increased from 5.3:1 to 6.0:1. These changes resulted in a significant performance uplift, compared to previous variants. Kinsei 41 saw ever further increase in compression ratio from 6.0:1 to 6.6:1, and a larger supercharger. It's also the first variant to receive a two-digit model numbers. 40 series remained in production from 1936 till the end of the war. Kinsei 50 series saw the final compression ratio increase to 7.0:1. Indirect fuel injection was fitted as well as a larger two-speed supercharger. Kinsei 60 series was introduction of direct injection and later, a

turbo-supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pr ...

. Its development was run parallel to 50 series. Production started in 1940 and lasted till the end of the war.

Variants

Early (A4) variants

''Data from Goodwin'' ;Kinsei 1 : at 2300 rpm at takeoff : at 2100 rpm at sea level ;Kinsei 2 : at 2350 rpm at takeoff : at 2100 rpm at

Late (A8) variants

''Data from Goodwin'' ;Kinsei 3 : at 2150 rpm at ;Kinsei 41 : at 2500 rpm at : at 2500 rpm at :Higher compression ratio, supercharger ;Kinsei 42 : at 2500 rpm at : at 2500 rpm at :Air pump ;Kinsei 43 : at 2400 rpm at sea level : at 2400 rpm at :De-rated for economy ;Model 44 : at sea level : at : Machine gun synchroniser ;Kinsei 45 : at sea level : at ;Kinsei 46 : at sea level : at :De-rated for extreme economy ;Kinsei 51 (MK8A) : at 2500 rpm at : at 2500 rpm at :Redesigned cylinder head, added indirect fuel injection, larger two-speed supercharger ;Kinsei 52 (MK8B) (Ha-112-I) : at 2500 rpm at : at 2500 rpm at :Added water injection ;Kinsei 53 (MK8C) : at 2500 rpm at : at 2500 rpm at :Higher pressure oil pump ;Kinsei 54 (MK8D) : at 2500 rpm at : at 2500 rpm at :Added machine gun synchroniser ;Model 61 (Ha-112-II) : at : at :Added direct fuel injection ;Kinsei 62 (MK8P) : at 2600 rpm at : at 2600 rpm at ;Kinsei 62 Ru (Ha-112-II Ru) : at 2600 rpm at : at 2600 rpm at : at 2600 rpm at :Ru-102 turbo-supercharger

Applications

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 a ...

Aichi E13A The Aichi E13A ( Allied reporting name: "Jake") was a long-range reconnaissance seaplane used by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from 1941 to 1945. Numerically the most important floatplane of the IJN, it could carry a crew of three and a bombl ...

* Aichi E16A * Aichi M6A2 * Kawanishi H6K * Kawanishi N1K5-J * Kawasaki Ki-96 *

Kawasaki Ki-100 The Kawasaki Ki-100 (''キ100'') is a single-seat single-engine monoplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service during World War II. The Japanese Army designation was . It was not assigned an Allied code name. 275 Ki- ...

* Kawasaki Ki-102 * Mitsubishi A6M8 *

Mitsubishi B5M The Mitsubishi B5M was an Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) land-based attack aircraft, originally intended for carrier use. The B5M was also given the long formal designation and Allied reporting name of Mabel. The B5M was designe ...

Mitsubishi G3M The was a Japanese bomber and transport aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) during World War II. The Yokosuka L3Y (Allied reporting name "Tina"), was a transport variant of the aircraft manufactured by the Yokosu ...

* Mitsubishi Ki-46-III * Nakajima/Mahshu Ki-116 * Showa/Nakajima L2D2-L2D5 * Yokosuka D4Y3-D4Y4

Specifications (Kinsei-44)

References

Bibliography

* * Matsuoka Hisamitsu, Nakanishi Masayoshi. The History of Mitsubishi Aero Engines 1915–1945. Miki Press, Japan, 2005. * Gunston, Bill. ''World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines''. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. * ''Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II''. London. Studio Editions Ltd, 1989. * Peattie, Mark R., ''Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power 1909-1941'', Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2001, {{Imperial Japanese Navy aero engines Aircraft air-cooled radial piston engines 1930s aircraft piston engines Kinsei