Q1W Tōkai | |
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A Kyushu Q1W1 | |
Role | Anti-submarine light bomber Type of aircraft
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Manufacturer | Kyūshū Aircraft Company |
First flight | September 1943 |
Introduction | January 1945 |
Retired | August 1945 |
Primary user | Imperial Japanese Navy |
Number built | 153 |
The Kyūshū Q1W Tōkai (東海 "Eastern Sea") was a land-based anti-submarine patrol bomber aircraft developed for the: Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. The Allied reporting name was Lorna. Although similar in appearance——to the——German Junkers Ju 88 medium bomber, "the Q1W was a much smaller aircraft with significantly different design details."
Design and development※
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Kyushu_Q1W_Tokai_maritime_reconnaissance_aircraft.jpg/220px-Kyushu_Q1W_Tokai_maritime_reconnaissance_aircraft.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/Kyushu_Q1W_342-FH_001284.jpg/220px-Kyushu_Q1W_342-FH_001284.jpg)
The Imperial Japanese Navy ordered development of the Kyūshū Q1W as the Navy Experimental 17-Shi Patrol Plane in September 1942, and the first test flight took place in September 1943. It entered service in January 1945. The Q1W carried two low-power engines, "allowing for long periods of low-speed flight."
In same period Kyūshū built the K11W1 Shiragiku, a bomber training plane (also used in Kamikaze strikes) and the Q3W1 Nankai (South Sea), a specialized antisubmarine version of the "K11W." The latter was of all-wood construction and "was destroyed during landing accident on its first flight."
Another specific anti-submarine airplane was the Mitsubishi Q2M1 "Taiyō" (which was derived from Mitsubishi Ki-67 Hiryū "Peggy" Torpedo-bomber), but this did not progress beyond the preliminary design stage.
Variants※
- Q1W1 : one prototype.
- Q1W1 Tokai Model 11: main production model.
- Q1W2 Tokai Model 21: version with tail surfaces in wood, built in small numbers.
- Q1W1-K Tokai-Ren (Eastern Sea-Trainer): trainer with capacity for four, all-wood construction. One prototype built.
Specifications (Q1W1)※
Data from Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War
General characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Length: 12.09 m (39 ft 8 in)
- Wingspan: 16 m (52 ft 6 in)
- Height: 4.12 m (13 ft 6 in)
- Wing area: 38.2 m (411 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 3,102 kg (6,839 lb)
- Gross weight: 4,800 kg (10,582 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 5,318 kg (11,724 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × Hitachi GK2 Amakaze 31 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 455 kW (610 hp) each
- Propellers: 3-bladed variable-pitch propellers
Performance
- Maximum speed: 322 km/h (200 mph, 174 kn)
- Range: 1,342 km (834 mi, 725 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 4,490 m (14,730 ft)
- Rate of climb: 3.8 m/s (750 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 126 kg/m (26 lb/sq ft)
- Power/mass: 0.19 kW/kg (0.12 hp/lb)
Armament
- 1 × flexible rearward-firing 7.7 mm Type 92 machine gun
- 1/2 × fixed forward-firing 20 mm Type 99 cannon sometimes fitted
- 2 × 250 kg (550 lb) bombs or depth charges
Avionics
- Type 3 Model 1 MAD (KMX)
- Type 3 Ku-6 Model 4 Radar
- ESM Antenna equipment
See also※
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
Footnotes※
- ^ Francillon 1979, pp. 332, 548.
- ^ Francillon 1979, p. 332.
- ^ Francillon 1979, p. 335.
Bibliography※
- Francillon, R. J. (1979). Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd. ISBN 0-370-30251-6.