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A6M2-N
A6M2-N
	A6M2-N
General information
Type	Interceptor/fighter-bomber floatplane
National origin	Japan
Manufacturer	Nakajima Aircraft Company
Primary user	Imperial Japanese Navy
Number built	327
History
Introduction date	1942
First flight	7 December 1941
Developed from	Mitsubishi A6M Zero

The Nakajima A6M2-N (Navy Type 2 Interceptor/Fighter-Bomber) was a single-crew floatplane based on the Mitsubishi A6M Zero Model 11. The Allied reporting name for the aircraft was Rufe.

Design and development

The A6M2-N floatplane was developed from the Mitsubishi A6M Type 0, mainly to support amphibious operations and defend remote bases. It was based on the A6M-2 Model 11 fuselage, with a modified tail and added floats. A total of 327 were built, including the original prototype.

Operational history

The aircraft was deployed in 1942, referred to as the "Suisen 2" ("Hydro fighter type 2"), and was only utilized in defensive actions in the Aleutians and Solomon Islands operations. Such seaplanes were effective in harassing American PT boats at night. They could also drop flares to illuminate the PTs which were vulnerable to destroyer gunfire, and depended on cover of darkness.

The seaplane also served as an interceptor for protecting fueling depots in Balikpapan and Avon Bases (Dutch East Indies) and reinforced the Shumushu base (North Kuriles) in the same period. Such fighters served aboard seaplane carriers Kamikawa Maru in the Solomons and Kuriles areas and aboard Japanese raiders Hokoku Maru and Aikoku Maru in Indian Ocean raids. In the Aleutian Campaign this fighter engaged with RCAF Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers.^{[citation needed]} The aircraft was used for interceptor, fighter-bomber, and short reconnaissance support for amphibious landings, among other uses.

Later in the conflict the Otsu Air Group utilized the A6M2-N as an interceptor alongside Kawanishi N1K1 Kyofu ("Rex") aircraft based in Biwa lake in the Honshū area.

The last A6M2-N in military service was a single example recovered by the French forces in Indochina after the end of World War II. It crashed shortly after being overhauled.^[1]

Operators

Japan

Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
- Yokohama Air Group
- Toko Air Group
- Otsu Air Group
- Yokosuka Naval Air Group (technical evaluation unit)
- 11th Air Fleet
- 5th Air Fleet
- 36th Air Fleet
- 452nd Air Fleet
- 934th Air Fleet

France

French Navy - Postwar, one Nakajima A6M-2N was captured in Indo-China, it was impressed into service with the French Navy in late 1945.

Specifications (Nakajima A6M2-N)

Data from Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War ^[2]

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 10.1 m (33 ft 2 in)
Wingspan: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Height: 4.3 m (14 ft 1 in)
Wing area: 22.44 m² (241.5 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1,912 kg (4,215 lb)
Gross weight: 2,460 kg (5,423 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 2,880 kg (6,349 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Nakajima NK1C Sakae 12 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 700 kW (940 hp) for take-off

950 hp (710 kW) at 4,200 m (13,800 ft)

Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed metal propeller

Performance

Maximum speed: 435 km/h (270 mph, 235 kn) at 5,000 m (16,000 ft)
Cruise speed: 296 km/h (184 mph, 160 kn)
Range: 1,148 km (713 mi, 620 nmi)
Ferry range: 1,783 km (1,108 mi, 963 nmi)
Service ceiling: 10,000 m (33,000 ft)
Time to altitude: 5,000 m (16,000 ft) in 6 minutes 43 seconds

Armament

Guns:
- 2 × 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 97 machine guns in forward fuselage
- 2 × 20 mm (0.787 in) Type 99 Mark 1 autocannon in the outer wings
Bombs: 2 × 60 kg (132 lb) bombs

References

^ Dorr and Bishop 1996, p. 249.
^ Francillon 1970, p.428.

Bibliography

Dorr, Robert F. and Chris Bishop. Vietnam Air War Debrief. London:Aerospace |Publishing, 1996. ISBN 1-874023-78-6.
Francillon, R.J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London:Putnam, 1970. ISBN 0-370-00033-1.
Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War, Volume Six: Floatplanes. London: Macdonald & Co., (Publishers) Ltd., 1962.
Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
Jackson, Robert. Combat Legend: Mitsubishi Zero. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-84037-398-9.
Janowicz, Krzystof. Mitsubishi A6M2-N Rufe (Kagero Famous Airplanes 4) (in Polish/English). Lublin, Poland: Kagero, 2004. ISBN 83-89088-42-8.
Mikesh, Robert C. Warbird History: Zero, Combat & Development History of Japan's Legendary Mitsubishi A6M Zero Fighter. Osceola, Wisconsin: Motorbooks International, 1994. ISBN 0-87938-915-X.
Sakaida, Henry. Imperial Japanese Navy Aces, 1937–45. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 1999. ISBN 1-85532-727-9.
Gunston,Bill. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Combat Aircraft of World War II. London, UK: Salamander Books Ltd., 1978 ISBN 0-89673-000-X