Mitsubishi A7M 烈風

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The [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] A7M Reppū (烈風, "Strong Gale") was designed as the successor to the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], with development beginning in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Performance objectives were to achieve superior speed, climb, diving, and armament over the Zero, as well as better
maneuverability.

As a result, the wing area and overall size were significantly greater, on par with the American [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The A7M's allied codename was "Sam".



Design and development


Towards the end of 1940, the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] asked Mitsubishi to start design on a 16-Shi carrier-based fighter, which would be the successor to the carrier-based Zero.

At that time, however, there were no viable high-output, compact engines to use for a new fighter.

In addition, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s team was preoccupied with addressing early production issues with the A6M2b as well
as starting development on the A6M3 and the 14-Shi interceptor (which would later become the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Raiden, a land-based [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] built to counter high-altitude [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]).

As a result, work on the Zero successor was halted in January 1941.

In April 1942, the development of the A6M3 and the 14-Shi interceptor was complete, and the Japanese Navy once again tasked Mitsubishi and Horikoshi's team with designing a new Zero successor to be the 17-Shi fighter. In July, the Navy issued specifications for the fighter:
it had to fly faster than 345 kn (639 km/h; 397 mph) above 6,000 m (20,000 ft), climb to 6,000 m (20,000 ft) in less than 6 minutes, be armed with two 20 mm cannon and two 13 mm (0.51 in) machine guns, and retain the maneuverability of the A6M3.

As before, one of the main hurdles was engine selection.

To meet the specifications the engine would need to produce at least 1,491 kW (1,999 hp), which narrowed choices down to Nakajima's NK9 under development (later becoming [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]), or Mitsubishi's MK9 (Ha-43), which was also still being developed.

Both engines were based on 14-cylinder ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], respectively) engines converted to
18-cylinder powerplants.

The early NK9 had less output but was already approved by the Navy for use on the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Ginga, while the larger MK9 promised more horsepower.

With the larger, more powerful engine, wing loading became an issue.

The Navy requested at most 150 kg/m², but wanted 130 kg/m² which complicated design considerations further.

With the NK9 it could achieve 150 kg/m², but with the less power it wouldn't meet the specifications for maximum speed.

With the MK9 the engineers concluded it could fulfill the requirements; however, production of the MK9 was delayed compared to the NK9, and the Japanese Navy instructed Mitsubishi to use the NK9.

Work on the 17-Shi was further delayed by factories prioritizing A6M and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] production as well as further work on A6M variants and addressing Raiden issues.

As a result, the 17-Shi, which became the A7M1, officially flew for the first time on 6 May 1944, four years after development started.

The aircraft demonstrated excellent handling and maneuverability, but was underpowered as Mitsubishi engineers
feared, and with a top speed similar to the A6M5 Zero.

It was a disappointment, and the Navy ordered development to stop on 30 July 1944, but Mitsubishi obtained
permission for development to continue using the Ha-43 engine, flying with the completed Ha-43 on 13 October 1944.

The A7M2 achieved a top speed of 628 km/h (339 kn; 390 mph), while climb and other areas of performance surpassed the Zero, leading the Navy to change its mind and adopt the craft.

The A7M2 was also equipped with automatic combat [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], used earlier on the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], significantly improving
maneuverability.

While it was hoped that the A7M would replace the A6M, production was disrupted by an earthquake in December 1944 in the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] region, and by Allied bombing, with only eight aircraft completed by the end of the war.

The type never saw combat.

Specifications (A7M2)


Data from Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
  
• Length: 10.99 m (36 ft 1 in)
  
• [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]: 14.00 m (45 ft 11 in)
  
• Height: 4.28 m (14 ft 0½ in)
  
• Wing area: 30.86 m² (332.2 ft²)
  
• Empty weight: 3,226 kg (7,112 lb)
  
• Loaded weight: 4,720 kg (10,406 lb)
  
• Powerplant: 1× [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], 1,640 kW (2,200 hp)
  

Armament

• Guns: * 2 × 20 mm [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
  
• 2 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
  

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