Nakajima G10N

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The Nakajima G10N Fugaku (Japanese: 富岳 or 富嶽, "Mount Fuji"), was a planned Japanese ultra-long range heavy bomber plane designed during World War II.

The Fugaku had its origins in "Project Z", a 1942 specification for an intercontinental bomber which could take off from the Japanese-occupied Kuril Islands, bomb the continental United States, then continue onward to land in German-occupied France. Once there, it would be refitted and make another return sortie.

Project Z called for three variations on the airframe: 4,000 bombers, 5,000 transports (capable of carrying 600 troops), and 2,000 strafing attack aircraft, which would carry 400 downward-firing machine guns in the fuselage, for intense ground attacks at the rate of 6,400 rounds per second.

While the project was conceived by Nakajima head Chikuhei Nakajima, Kawanishi and Mitsubishi also made proposals for the Fugaku. The Nakajima design had straight wings and contra-rotating four-blade propellers; the Kawanishi design had elliptical wings and single four-blade propellers. To save weight, some of the landing gear was to be jettisoned after takeoff (being unnecessary on landing with an empty bomb load). Both designs used six engines.

Development started in 1943, with a design and manufacturing facility built in Mitaka, Tokyo. While Nakajima's 4-row 36-cylinder Ha-54 engine was abandoned as too complex, Mitsubishi successfully built the 2-row 22-cylinder Ha-50 engine for the Kawanishi design, testing three units in May 1944. An example of this engine was unearthed in 1979 during expansion of Haneda Airport and is on display at the Narita Aerospace Museum.

Project Z was cancelled in July 1944 and the Fugaku was never built.

1 Specifications (projected)
2 References
3 External links
4 Related content

[edit] Specifications (projected)

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[edit] General characteristics

Length: 46 m
Wingspan: 63 m
Height: 8.80 m
Wing area: 330.00 m²
Crew: 6 or more
Powerplant: six Nakajima Ha-54 4-row 36-cylinder air-cooled radials, 5000 hp (373 kW)
Empty weight: 42,000 kg
Loaded weight: 122,000 kg

[edit] Performance

Maximum speed: 780 km/h at 10,000 m
Maximum altitiude: 15,000 m
Range: 19,400 km

[edit] Armament

Armament: 4 × 20 mm cannon, 20,000 kg of bombs

[edit] References

Ogawa, Toshihiko (1993). Nihon Kōkūki Daizukan, 1910-1945, Tokyo: Kokushokankōkai
Idei, Tadaaki (1985). 'Hikōki Mechanism Zukan', Tokyo: Guranpuri Shuppan