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#Post#: 14561--------------------------------------------------
Plane of the Week: Nakajima B5N2 "Kate"
By: vonofterdingen Date: December 7, 2020, 3:36 pm
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Today is Pearl Harbor day in the US. We have covered the
majority of the planes in Plane of the Week that were active
that fateful day, with one notable exception: the Nakajima B5N
(allied code name Kate). When I think of the Pearl Harbor attack
I tend to think of the Zero and the Val. But the Kate played a
very important role due in no small part to the success of the
Japanese “long lance” torpedo. The US Navy had thought that
Pearl Harbor was too shallow to permit a successful torpedo
attack; the B5N’s proved that theory wrong.
From Wikipedia
The Nakajima B5N (Allied reporting name "Kate") was the
standard carrier-based torpedo bomber of the Imperial Japanese
Navy (IJN) for much of World War II.
Although the B5N was substantially faster and more capable
than its Allied counterparts, the American Douglas TBD
Devastator monoplane (the U.S. Navy's first all-metal,
carrier-borne monoplane of any type with retracting gear), and
the British Fairey Swordfish and Fairey Albacore torpedo
biplanes, it was nearing obsolescence by 1941. Nevertheless, the
B5N operated throughout the whole war, due to the delayed
development of its successor, the B6N.
In the early part of the Pacific War, flown by well-trained
IJN aircrews and as part of well-coordinated attacks, the B5N
achieved particular successes at the battles of Pearl Harbor,
Coral Sea, Midway, and Santa Cruz Islands.
The B5N was designed by a team led by Katsuji Nakamura in
response to a 1935 specification by the Navy for a torpedo
bomber to replace the Yokosuka B4Y. Internally designated Type K
by Nakajima, it successfully competed with the Mitsubishi B5M
for a production contract. The first prototype flew in January
1937 and was ordered into production soon afterwards with the
full designation Type 97 Carrier Attack.
Combat experiences during the Second Sino-Japanese War
revealed several weaknesses in the original B5N1 production
model. These were mainly concerned with the lack of protection
that the design offered its crew and its fuel tanks. Keen to
maintain the high performance of the type, the Navy was
reluctant to add weight in the form of armor, and instead looked
to obtaining a faster version of the aircraft in the hopes of
outrunning enemy fighters. The B5N2 was given a much more
powerful engine - Nakajima's own Sakae Model 11, 14-cylinder
twin-row radial, as used in the initial models of the Mitsubishi
A6M fighter – and various modifications were made to streamline
it. Although its performance was only marginally better, and its
weaknesses remained un-remedied, this version replaced the B5N1
in production and service from 1939.
The navigator/bombardier/observer position was equipped with
a Type 90 bombsight, which was a long vertical tube located in
the front-left of the seat. There was also a Type 3 reflector
compass for precise navigation that was mounted on the top of
the cockpit frame. The radio-operator/gunner position was
equipped with one of the standard-issue radio sets for navy
three-seater aircraft (Type 96 Mk3 earlier and Type 2 Mk3 later)
that was mounted in front of the radio-operator/gunner's seat
and behind the navigator/bombardier/observer's seat.
The radio-operator/gunner also operated one flexible 7.7 mm
(.303 in) Type 92 machine gun at the rear end of the cockpit.
One Type 91 torpedo could be mounted on the racks that were
fixed eccentrically to the right at the bottom of the fuselage.
Alternatively, racks could be replaced to carry either one 800
kg bomb (e.g., Type 99 No 80 armor-piercing bomb) or two 250 kg
bombs (e.g., Type 98 No 25 land bomb) or six 60 kg bombs (e.g.,
Type 2 No 6 land bomb). Replacing the racks and exchanging
between the torpedo and bombs was not a trivial process and
could take more than two hours to complete.
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While B5N was primarily employed as a carrier-based aircraft,
it was also occasionally used as a land-based bomber. It carried
a crew of three: pilot, navigator/bombardier/observer, and
radio-operator/gunner.[8] Like with other IJN multi-seat
aircraft, an individual bomber was commanded by the senior
ranking crew member aboard, which could be the observer rather
than the pilot.
The initial model B5N1 first saw action in the Second
Sino-Japanese War. The updated model B5N2 later played a major
role in the Attack on Pearl Harbor. One of B5N2's carried Mitsuo
Fuchida, the commander of the attack, with one from the carrier
Hiryu credited with sinking the battleship Arizona. Five torpedo
bombers were shot down in the first wave. Apart from this raid,
the greatest successes of the B5N2 were the key roles it played
in sinking the United States Navy aircraft carrier Lexington at
the Battle of the Coral Sea and Hornet at the Battle of the
Santa Cruz Islands, and the disabling of the Yorktown at the
Battle of Midway, which led to its sinking by the Japanese
submarine I-168.
B5N2 torpedo bombers normally performed a coordinated attack
on enemy carriers together with Aichi D3A dive bombers. Ideally,
dive bombers would help to suppress the ship's anti-aircraft
fire, which improved the chances of success for low and slow
flying torpedo bombers.[9] During the Battle of the Eastern
Solomons, IJN tried to minimize losses to torpedo bombers and
initially sent only the dive bombers to attack and cripple US
carriers for the subsequent torpedo strike. However, this proved
to be unsuccessful tactic, since torpedo bombers did not even
get a chance to launch before the battle was over.
The B5N served as the basis for a follow-on design, the B6N,
which eventually replaced it in front line service. The B5N
continued to fly in secondary roles, such as training, target
towing, and anti-submarine warfare. Some of the aircraft used
for this latter purpose were equipped with early radars and
magnetic anomaly detectors. B5Ns were also used as bombers
during the unsuccessful defence of the Philippines in October
1944, suffering severe losses. Later in the war, they were also
used for kamikaze attacks.
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In game…
As I have been saying recently, ad nauseum perhaps, I am
discovering new aspects of this old game and one of those new
aspects is torpedo bombing. As with any torpedo bomber in IL-2,
you will want to look at your height and speed parameters for
the torpedo drop using the Comms-Technical key combination. Once
you know your drop speed and altitude I recommend a couple
practice runs. Then you are ready to go out and sink some ships.
Just about all of the torpedo planes in IL-2 are vulnerable to
fighters, however, so keep your “little friends” nearby.
#Post#: 14562--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Nakajima B5N2 "Kate"
By: JG51_Ruski Date: December 7, 2020, 3:48 pm
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Thank you Von another history lesson
#Post#: 14604--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Nakajima B5N2 "Kate"
By: DHumphrey Date: December 9, 2020, 4:03 pm
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A great PoW Von ... enjoyed the read. :)
#Post#: 14605--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Nakajima B5N2 "Kate"
By: cafs Date: December 9, 2020, 5:55 pm
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Simply the better torpedo-bomber plane from the early part of
WW2, thanks Von.
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