Designed by John Digby, it was a large aircraft because of the large engine (24 cylinders) and the intention to fit a turboprop at a later date.
This involved removing the undercarriage and the aircraft landed by bouncing down onto the rubberised flight-deck.
The Royal Navy obtained 402 aircraft under the Lend-Lease scheme, 832 Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm was the first to be equipped with them in early January 1943.
By 1940, total production had arisen by more than 75 percent; heavy industrial production by almost 500 percent; and 17 percent of Japan's total output was being devoted to direct war purposes and expansion of her munition industries, as against 2.6 percent at that time in the United States.
The share of the gross national product devoted to direct war and munitions expenditures increased from 23 percent in 1941 to 31 percent in 1942, 42 percent in 1943 and 52 percent in 1944.
Aircraftproduction of all types, including training planes, was stepped up from 700 planes per month in the summer of 1942 to 2,572 planes in September 1944.
Feeds |
Contact