Nakajima A4N

A4N
General information
TypeFighter aircraft
National originJapan
ManufacturerNakajima Aircraft Company
Primary userImperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Number built221
History
Manufactured1935-1940
Introduction dateJanuary 1936
First flightAutumn 1934
Developed fromNakajima A2N

The Nakajima A4N was a carrier-based fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and the last biplane designed by Nakajima. The first prototype was completed in 1934, but due to engine trouble, the aircraft did not see service until 1936. Given the Nakajima internal designation Nakajima YM, the Japanese Navy designation was Navy Type 95 Carrier Fighter. A total of 221 were built.[1] It saw combat in the Second Sino-Japanese War in the late 1930s.

Design and development

The A4N was a further development of, and replacement for the Nakajima A2N which was a private venture by Nakajima.[2][unreliable source?] The A4N was powered by the Nakajima Hikari 1 nine-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, coupled to a Hamilton two blade metal propeller, and it was armed with 7.7 mm caliber Type 97 machine guns. The aircraft was flown by one pilot.[2][unreliable source?][3][unreliable source?][1]

In 1935 there was a combat trial of many aircraft including the A4N, prototypes, and older aircraft in which the A5M and Ki 10 prototype were considered the most maneuverable.[4]

The Nakajima A4N1 was succeeded by the Mitsubishi A5M Type 96, a monoplane fighter.[5]

Service

Nakajima A4N

The A4N was one of the aircraft types involved in the Panay incident, in which Japanese forces sunk the USS Panay river gunboat. Three Yokosuka B4Y Type 96 bombers and nine Nakajima A4N Type 95 fighters attacked the boat.[6][7] In addition to bombing the Panay, they also strafed the lifeboat evacuating wounded to shore.[7] The USS Panay was evacuating nationals and foreigners, as Japanese aircraft were there in Shanghai because of the Sino-Japanese war, with the incident being resolved diplomatically.

In the Second Sino-Japanese War, A4Ns were used to escort G3M medium bombers starting in August after they proved vulnerable to the Chinese Air Force.[8]

Specifications (A4N1)

Data from Japanese Aircraft, 1910–1941[1]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 6.64 m (21 ft 9 in)
  • Wingspan: 10 m (32 ft 10 in)
  • Height: 3.07 m (10 ft 1 in)
  • Wing area: 22.89 m2 (246.4 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 1,276 kg (2,813 lb)
  • Gross weight: 1,760 kg (3,880 lb)
  • Fuel capacity: 600 L (132.0 imp gal; 158.5 US gal)[9][unreliable source?]
  • Powerplant: 1 × Nakajima Hikari 1 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 500 kW (670 hp) to 540 kW (730 hp)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed Hamilton Standard fixed-pitch metal propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 352 km/h (219 mph, 190 kn) at 3,200 m (10,500 ft)
  • Cruise speed: 233 km/h (145 mph, 126 kn)
  • Range: 846 km (526 mi, 457 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 7,740 m (25,390 ft)
  • Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 3 minutes 30 seconds
  • Wing loading: 76.9 kg/m2 (15.8 lb/sq ft)
  • Power/mass: 0.2884 kW/kg (0.1754 hp/lb)

Armament

  • Guns: 2 × fixed, forward-firing 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 97 machine guns
  • Bombs: 2 × 30 kg (66 lb) or 2 × 60 kg (130 lb) bombs

See also

Related development

Related lists

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nakajima A4N.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Mikesh & Abe 1990, pp. 232–233
  2. ^ a b dreadnaughtz (2021-11-16). "Nakajima A4N fighter (1932)". naval encyclopedia. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  3. ^ Matt, P. E. (2015-03-31). "Nakajima A4N Type 95". Pacific Eagles. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  4. ^ D’Angina, James (2016-10-20). Mitsubishi A6M Zero. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-0823-3.
  5. ^ Khazanov, Dmitriy; Medved, Aleksander; Young, Edward M.; Holmes, Tony (2019). Air Combat: Dogfights of World War II. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 102.
  6. ^ Swanson, Harland J. (December 1967). "The Panay Incident: Prelude to Pearl Harbor". Proceedings. United States Naval Institute.
  7. ^ a b Walling, Michael G. (2017-04-20). Bloodstained Sands: U.S. Amphibious Operations in World War II. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-1440-1.
  8. ^ Harmsen, Peter (2015-10-20). Shanghai 1937: Stalingrad on the Yangtze. Open Road Media. ISBN 978-1-5040-2509-6.
  9. ^ "Nakajima A4N". naval-encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2024-05-01.

Bibliography

  • Mikesh, Robert C.; Abe, Shorzoe (1990). Japanese Aircraft, 1910-1941. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books. ISBN 0-85177-840-2.
  • Passingham, Malcolm (November 1995). "Les premiers chasseurs embarqués Nakajima (3e partie): Le A4N1 Type 95" [The First Nakajima Carrier Fighters, Part 3: The A4N1 Type 95]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (33): 7–13. ISSN 1243-8650.