was the first prototype and a direct response to the specifications of the 9-Shi of 1934, 2. prototype already had wings pointed to the "W", 3. prototype was powered by a Nakajima Hikari 1 and 4. prototype had a bigger fuel tank. A total of was built six prototypes.
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Mitsubishi A5M - / - / Claude 九六式艦上戦闘機 / shiki kanjo sentoki / marine carrier-based fighter type 96
History & development: In 1932, he started in the city of Omura to work (大村の第二一海軍航空廠 - Omura Well Dai Ni Ichi Kaigun Kokusho) Naval aviation institute, which was charged with research tasks in the field of aviation. This period was for the japanese naval air force period of turbulent development. This development was supported by influential figures such as, for example, was an admiral Matsuyama and admiral Yamamoto. At that time, many japanese naval officers back to Japan from their overseas studies and internships, and with them they brought new experiences and knowledge, which they could now apply. For the japanese armed forces started the development stage, at the end of which was to build a truly modern army and especially the navy.
In this year the command of the japanese naval air force (海軍航空本部 - Kaigun Kōkū Hombu), the ministry issued a technical specification 7-Shi , and through them has formalized the requirements for construction and performance of new, modern naval aircraft of different designation. The highest demands were placed on the development of a new on-board fighter aircraft, which should be at least a match for all ground fighters. Fighter should have been at a height of three thousand meters speed of 335 to 370 km per hour and to this height should rise a maximum of four minutes. Dimension of cabin lifts, which was transported aircraft between the hangar and flight deck and so put limits on wingspan to a maximum of 10.25 meters.
These specifications answered by two large airlines 中島飛行機株式会社 - Nakajima Hikōki Kabushiki Kaisha (hereinafter referred to as Nakajima) and 三菱重工業株式会社 - Mitsubishi Jūkōgyō Kabushiki Kaisha (hereinafter referred to as Mitsubishi). Unfortunately, the design team of the company Nakajima still lingered in dvouplošné concept and the new specifications tried to adapt to an improved type of A1N. The navy, however, has already been decided to go on the way which should guarantee a truly modern aircraft and so the project was rejected.
Spolčnost Mitsubishi in Nagoya used the knowledge of the young engineer Jiro Hirokoshiho, who could now build on their knowledge gained on their placements in Europe and in the USA. Task design for the naval air force on-board fighter new generation Hirokoshi beneath him and not stoop to copy foreign aircraft. He designed his very own all-metal low-wing with an elliptical wing, pointed to the W, the Fuselage was designed as a poloskořepina. Prototype marked 1MF10, however, did not have good flight characteristics, suffered from the instability that resulted from non-compliance with a ratio between the size of the fuselage and wings. Two prototypes of this aircraft crashed and naval fighter air force lost a plane 7-Shi interested. This failure, however, Hirokoshimu brought insights that could soon take advantage of.
Kaigun Kōkū Hombu, thus failing to adopt solutions company Nakajima and eventually withdrew the project from Mitsubishi, but still not a modern fighter aircraft. In 1934, therefore, issued by command of the naval air slightly altered the specifications for 9-Shi, which was the required speed of at least 350 km per hour at an altitude of 3 000 m, rise to a height of 5 000 m had for six and a half minutes, the armament should be the usual - two machine guns, the margin was limited to a maximum value of eleven metres in length and not exceed eight feet. An interesting requirement was a condition that should ensure the installation of the radios in the aircraft. Jiro Horikoshi for the construction of the first prototype used a fundamentally modified type of 1MF10, and kept also a wing that is angled into a "W" for the second prototype already used the wing straight. The prototypes bore the factory designation of the Mitsubishi Ka-14 , and the first had its first flight in February 1935. Powered by was star devítiválcovým engine Nakajima Kotobuki 5, the performances were great and far exceeded the requirements of the 9-Shi. Certain problems brought the engine, the further the design team tried to improve the handling and maneuverability of the aircraft. Modifications were made to the other four tested prototypes, were related to the installation of split flap on the wing, it managed to remove even the instability of the aircraft. There was also an agreement between the representatives of the maritime air force and the factory of Mitsubishi in the final version of the engine, the choice fell finally on the engine Nakajima Kotobuki 2 KAI-1.
Then was the Mitsubishi Ka-14 accepted into the equipment as a "maritime on-board fighter type 96 model 1", or the abbreviated designation of the A5M1. Designation type 96, it meant that the aircraft was adopted into armament in 1936. Mass production delivered in the summer of 1937 a total of 75 aircraft of this version. A distinctive feature of these aircraft was a two-bladed wooden propeller. Aircraft were operationally tested in China, when in August 1937 intervened in the battles of Shanghai and Nanking, their job was to escort bombers G3M from Kanoja Kokutai and Kisarazu Kokutai in the bombing of chinese cities. These fights have found that the japanese naval air force received in the form of these airplanes really good plane, unfortunately, just not enough range for the accompanying action. I still have to mention the interesting ordnance department option. On one A5M1 was experimentally installed there armament in the form of two dvacetimilimetrových Oerlikon in the wing. The navy wasn't about this ordnance department variant of interest and in addition, supposedly the wings were damaged with surges of both cannons.
From the summer of 1937 were manufactured by the more modern A5M2a model 2-1 with a more powerful engine Kotobuki 2 KAI-3 on the power 610/690 horses and already with a metal trojlistou propeller. Also this aircraft was deployed on the chinese battlefield, his performances have been better than the A5M1, but the range was still small, even if it was under centroplán possible, hang a small extra tank. A total of were produced 36 aircraft in this embodiment. Two aircraft of this version were converted to the demonstration prototypes for the army air force and were marked in the system Kitai as a Mitsubishi Ki-33, these machines subsequently took part in the competition for military fighter aircraft. His rivals in the army competition were Kawasaki Ki-28 and Nakajima Ki-27. the Latter aircraft became the winner. No sooner was the army brought in one prototype Mitsubishi Ki-18, which was "denavalizovaný" a prototype Ka-14.
Somewhat visually different was the version of A5M2b model 2-2, which was driven by a motor Nakajima Kotobuki 3 on the take-off power of 640 horsepower, the engine cover has been changed, was now formed by the ring type of the NACA, due to the conservation of the center of gravity was the torso slightly truncated. The biggest change, however, was the closed cab with the back odsuvným cover, the pilot to better protect against external weather influences. Pilots but a closed cabin still did not accept and float with the cover locking in the moved position. Machines later the series came back to the cabin open with a higher "hump" behind the cab, this protrusion to better protect the pilot from overturning the aircraft. Aircraft of this version were produced 124 and thanks to this version of the japanese pilots over China fought for dominance. So far, however, remained navyřešený the problem of insufficient range and over the vast chinese territory, the problem was fairly major, it often happened that stíhacímu accompanied by not enough fuel.
A partial solution to this problem designed by well-known strategist Minoru Genda, one designed to be built forward of the airport, which would then have served accompanying the fighters to stopover and refuel. The idea was implemented in the form of airport Kuang-te, stocks to the airport were transported by air. Kaigun Kōkū Hombu, tried to these problems with a small-range aircraft A5M2 solve even the importation of foreign aircraft, so it was imported, and shortly i deployed the German Heinkel He 112 B-0 under the designation A7He1 and also the american fighter, the Seversky 2PA-B3 as A8V1. Neither of these types of failed, the japanese pilots didn't like and gave it neokrytě it clear, the aircraft was soon withdrawn from the prvoliniových units. The problem of lack of range was partially solved with the advent of the new version of the A5M4 and the final solution transferred to a new type of A6M2 Reisen
The company Mitsubishi tried the japanese naval air force offer a very powerful aircraft A5M3, which was driven by the French ordinary dvanáctiválcem Hispano-Suiza 12Xcrs and the propeller Ratier, where a hollow vrtulovou shaft shot gun Hispano 404 the caliber of 20 mm, the cannon was stored between the rows of cylinders. The engine was performance 610/690 horses. According to me this is the nicest version of the A5M and her performances were also the highest. The navy, first, not to the ordinary engines trust and also logically didn't want to be dependent on the supply of engines from abroad, therefore, was a version of A5M3 model 3-3 made only as a single prototype. After the war, was discovered in the factory archive only its sketch.
The most produced version was A5M4 Type 96 model 2-4 and model 3-4, both models differ the engine, when the first was powered by Nakajima Kotobuki 41 and the second powered Kotobuki 41 KAI both on the power 710 hp at the start and 785 horses at a height of 3 000 meters. The design of this version no longer reflected the combat experience of the japanese pilots from the chinese battlefield and so he was, even despite the higher consumption of a more powerful engine, finally, at least slightly raised and range. Under the fuselage it was possible to hang a fuel tank on the content of 160 litres or even more to 210 gallons of fuel, range then amounted to 1 240 km. Also, this version was used extensively in the fighting over China, accompanied by bombers, were also carried out by small-scale attacks on ground targets for this task were podvěšeny under the wing of two bombs weighing 30 kg. Hlavňová armament was, except for the above, the same, i.e. the two machine guns Type 89 caliber 7.7 mm above the engine, the guns were focuses telescopic sight.
In 1942, at a time when the A5M4 already wasn't getting into fights, held their adjustment for two-digit practice, the stability was increased two plůtky on the sides of the fuselage behind the cockpit, because at the school of aircraft was a greater danger that they find themselves on the ground in an inverted position, were in the pilot seat added kapotované pylons. Such modified machines have been marked as A5M4-K and were made 103 pieces, their production slowly took place in the years 1942 - 1944 in Dai-Nijuichi Kaigun Kokusho in Omuře.
Aircraft A5M4 is in addition to the fighting in China got into fights over the Philippines, ever engage in battles for the city of Davao, it was in December 1941, a year later, already in combat units almost effect. The beginning of the war is caught on the decks of aircraft carriers Hosho, Ryujo, Shoho and Ziuho, but here they were přiřknuta no longer just the role of the escort fighters. His combat career ended when at the conclusion of the war in the Pacific, when they were deployed in suicide attacks.
The aircraft got the two allied code names in the field of far east it was Sandy and in the Pacific a little later Claude, under this name it was then known.
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Reklama
sources: René J. Francillon Ph. d., Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis Maryland, Reprinted 1990, ISBN-0-87021-313-X William Green and Gordon Swanborough, The Complete Book of Fighters, Salamander Books Ltd; New Ed edition, 2001, ISBN-10: 1840652691 Tadeusz Januszewski-Mitsubishi A5M Claude, the Yellow Series No.6107, Mushroom Model Publications, Redbourn, UK, 2003, ISBN ISBN 83-917178-0-1 Famous Airplanes of the World, Type96 Carrier Fighter, No. 27, March 1991, Bunrin-Do Co. Ltd., Nankano, Tokyo 164, Japan Václav Němeček, Military aircraft 2 part, Our Troops, Prague 1987; ISBN 80-206-0117-1 L+To no 24/1991, 25/1991 and 26/1991, Václav Balous, Monographs of the Mitsubishi A5M Claude, L+To no 2/65, Václav Němeček, Aircraft 1939-1945, Mitsubishi A5M http://www.combinedfleet.com/ijna/j2m.htm http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fww2/a5m.html http://www.hikotai.net/datasheets/ka14.htm www.aviastar.org www.aviastar.org http://www.airtoaircombat.com/detail.asp?id=259 archives of the author.
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