A7M "Reppū"
Mitsubishi A7M
Type	Carrier-based fighter
Manufacturer	Mitsubishi
Maiden flight	1944
Status	Prototype only
Number built	8

The Mitsubishi A7M Reppū (烈風, "Strong Gale") was designed as the successor to the Imperial Japanese Navy's A6M Zero, with development beginning in 1942. 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 P-47 Thunderbolt. An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft. ... For information on Mitsubishi brand computer monitors, see NEC-Mitsubishi Electronics Display of America Inc. ... The Maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1944: Events January January 11 - in one of the largest air raids to date, 570 USAAF bombers strike Brunswick, Halberstadt, and Oschersleben. ... For information on Mitsubishi brand computer monitors, see NEC-Mitsubishi Electronics Display of America Inc. ... For Combined Fleet, please see that article. ... Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero Model 52 The Mitsubishi A6M was a light-weight carrier-based fighter aircraft employed by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1942: Events January January 30 - Canadian Pacific Air Lines formed by the acquisition and merger of Arrow Airways and Canadian Airways, along with all the various subsidiaries of the latter. ... The American Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as Jug, was the largest single-engined fighter of its day. ...

Development of the Zero successor was delayed due to Jiro Horikoshi's work on the Mitsubishi J2M Raiden, a land-based interceptor built to counter high-altitude bombers. However, high attrition rates of Zero fighter planes to the U.S. Navy's F4U Corsair and F6F Hellcat put a high priority on the Navy to bring about a successor. The development team, headed by Jiro Horikoshi, initially intended to develop a new engine, the Ha-43, for the airframe, but was instructed to use the Nakajima Homare. The resulting A7M1, which first flew on 6 May 1944 demonstrated excellent handling and manoeuverability, but was underpowered, and with a top speed barely exceeding that of the Zero, it was a disappointment.^[1] 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 392 mph (628 km/h), while climb and other areas of performance surpassed the Zero, leading the Navy to change its mind and adopt the craft.^[2] The A7M2 was also equipped with automatic combat flaps, used earlier on the Kawanishi N1K-J, significantly improving maneuverability. The Mitsubishi J2M Raiden (雷電, Thunderbolt) was a single-engine, land-based fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. The Allied codename was Jack. // The J2M was designed by Jiro Horikoshi, creator of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. It was strictly a local-defense interceptor intended to... The Chance Vought F4U Corsair was an American fighter aircraft that saw service in World War II and the Korean War (and in isolated local conflicts). ... The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a fighter plane descended from the earlier F4F Wildcat, but was a completely new design sharing only a familial resemblance to the Wildcat. ... Dr. Jiro Horikoshi was the chief engineer behind many Japanese fighters of WWII. Most notable of such was the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter. ... Nakajima Homare engine The Nakajima Homare (誉, praise or, more usually, honour) was a Japanese aircraft engine manufactured during World War II. It was an air-cooled radial engine in the 2000-HP class, and was used widely by both the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy. ... is the 126th day of the year (127th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 211th day of the year (212th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Kawanishi N1K1-J Shiden (紫電 Violet Lightning) was a land-based version of the companys N1K Kyofu seaplane fighter aircraft. ...

The A7M's allied codename was Sam. While it was hoped that the A7M would replace the A6M, production was disrupted by an earthquake in December 1944 in the Nagoya region, and by Allied bombing, with only Eight aircraft completed by the end of the war, with the type never seeing combat. Nagoya ) is the fourth largest city in Japan. ...

Variants

• A7M1 : Initial model powered by 2,000 hp (1492 kW) Nakajima Homare 22 engine. Three built.
• A7M2 : Revised version with 2,200 Mitsubishi Ha-43 engine. Five prototypes.
• A7M3 : Proposed land-based fighter version with supercharged Ha-43 engine. Not built.
• A7M3-J : Proposed land-based fighter version. Not Built.

Nakajima Homare engine The Nakajima Homare (誉, praise or, more usually, honour) was a Japanese aircraft engine manufactured during World War II. It was an air-cooled radial engine in the 2000-HP class, and was used widely by both the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy. ...

Specifications (A7M2)

Data from Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War ^[3]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 10.99 m (36 ft 1 in)
• Wingspan: 14.00 m (45 ft 11 in)
• Height: 4.28 m (14 ft 0½ in.)
• Wing area: 332.2 ft² (30.86 m²)
• Empty weight: 3,226 kg (7,112 lb)
• Loaded weight: 4,720 kg (10,406 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Mitsubishi Ha-43, 2,200 hp (1,640 kW)

The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ...

Performance

• Maximum speed: 630 km/h (339 knots, 390 mph) at 6,600 m (21,660 ft)
• Cruise speed: 417 km/h (225 knots, 259 mph)
• Service ceiling 10,900 m (15,760 ft)
• Endurance: 2.5 hr cruise + 30 min combat
• Climb to 6,000 m (13,100 ft): 6 min 7 sec

V speeds are speeds that define certain performance and limiting characteristics of an aircraft. ... V speeds are speeds that define certain performance and limiting characteristics of an aircraft. ... In aeronautics, a ceiling is the maximum density altitude an aircraft can reach under a set of conditons The service ceiling attempts to capture the maximum usable altitude of an aircraft. ...

Armament

• 2 × 20 mm Type 99 cannon
• 2 × 13.2 mm Type 3 machine guns

For other uses, see Type 99 (disambiguation). ...

See also

Comparable aircraft

• Grumman Hellcat
  

Related lists The Grumman F6F Hellcat started development as an improved F4F Wildcat, but turned into a completely new design sharing a family resemblance to the Wildcat but with practically no shared parts. ...

• List of military aircraft of Japan
• List of fighter aircraft
  

This list of military aircraft of Japan includes prototype, pre-production and operational types regardless of era. ... A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for attacking other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• J. Baugher's Mitsubishi A7M Reppu page