Aiči D3A1 [Val]

Aichi D3A1 11
- / - / Val
九九式艦上爆撃機一型 / Kyukyushiki kanjo bakugekiki / naval deck bomber type 99 model 11


Brief history:
The Kaigun Koku Hombu (Naval Air Command) began to worry about replacing the obsolete D1A biplanes as early as 1936, with the issuance of the 11-Shi rust specifications, which called for a single-plane design of the deck dive bomber. The result was the designs of two aircraft factories, firstly Aichi Kokuki K.K. with the D3A1 design and then Nakajima Hikoki K.K. with its design and later three prototypes of the dive bomber D3N1. The D3A1 aircraft had a fixed undercarriage, which gave it a certain archaic appearance. The fixed landing gear has a large aerodynamic drag compared to retractable landing gear, but this drag was used to mitigate the speed of the aircraft during the dive itself. The designers of the Nakajima factory used a modern retractable landing gear, but this ran into problems with the high speeds in this flight mode, eventually leading to the elimination of their aircraft from competition. The winner was the Aichi factory's D3A1.
The prototype had elliptical wings, and was powered by a nine-cylinder Nakajima Hikari 1 engine with a maximum output of 710 horsepower. The first prototype still had problems with aerodynamic brakes.
The second prototype was already devoid of childhood diseases - the underpowered engine was replaced by a fourteen-cylinder Mitsubishi Kinsei 3 engine of 840 hp and the aerodynamic brakes were strengthened. The wingspan was also increased by 400 mm and the tail surfaces were modified.
It was accepted into service as Aichi D3A1 Type 96 Model 11. During series production, more powerful versions of the Kinsei engine were installed, namely the 43 of 1000 hp and the 44 of 1070 hp.
It was first assigned aboard the aircraft carriers Akagi[/b:aaaa] and Kaga, he had his baptism of fire in China, soon formed the backbone of bomber aircraft aboard carriers, and contributed significantly to Japan's initial successes in the first phase of fighting in the Pacific theater.

D3A1 (AI-205), which attacked the US Naval Base on December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor. The Japanese bomber shown operated from an aircraft carrier Akagi.

Fotografie D3A1.


Zdroj:
http://www.aviation-history.com/aichi/d3a.html
upload.wikimedia.org
upload.wikimedia.org

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Zdroj: archiv autora