Description
Aichi Ryusei Kai
is a Japanese Navy carrier-based attack aircraft produced at the end of the war. Up until then, the Japanese Navy had produced separate
bombing and attacking aircraft , but the Ryusei was developed to do both in one aircraft.
In 1944, the Navy ordered Aichi Aircraft to develop
an aircraft capable of torpedo attacks, horizontal bombing, and dive bombing as the 16th prototype attack aircraft.
Aichi Aircraft, which required extremely demanding performance in terms of speed, armament, and maneuverability,
began research in October 1942 and completed the first prototype in December 1942.
However, this aircraft was too heavy, so for
the second aircraft, the main wing structure was completely redesigned, and
each part of the aircraft was also redesigned to reduce weight.
The Ryusei had a bomb bay in its fuselage to store bombs, so
the main wings were placed in a mid-wing configuration.
For this reason, in order to prevent the pillars attached to the main wings from becoming too long, a
unique wing style called an inverted gull wing was created.
Other features of the Ryusei include a double-slotted flap,
an aileron (aileron flap) that works with this flap, a horizontal stabilizer angle adjustment device, and a retractable dive brake
for dive bombing .
The Ryusei prototype and additional prototype were called the Prototype Ryusei (B7A1), and
the engine used was the Homare 11 type.
The mass-produced aircraft was called Ryusei Kai (B7A2) and
was equipped with a Homare 12 or 21 engine.
Although 111 Ryusei were produced by the end of the war,
although they were carrier-based aircraft, they were never installed on aircraft carriers and
were only used on land.
《Data》
Crew: 2 people
Overall width: 14.40m
Overall length: 11.49m
Overall height: 4.07m
Complete weight: 5,700kg
Engine: Homare 12 air-cooled double radial 18 cylinders
Output: 1,825hp x 1 engine
Range: 3,040km when bombing , 2,980km when struck by torpedo
Maximum speed: 543km/h
Fixed armament: 2 20mm cannons in the main wing 1 7.7mm or 13mm rotating machine gun in the rear seat
Explosive armament: 1 500kg to 800kg bomb or 2 250kg bombs
Torpedo armament: 1 800kg torpedo
