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The Mitsubishi B5M was an Imperial Japanese Navy land-based attack aircraft with an Allied reporting name of Mabel (also known as "Kate 61"). It was designed in response to a 1935 specification for a new bomber for use on the IJN aircraft carriers. The machine was to have a crew of three, folding wings for flight deck storage, a speed of not less than 200 mph, a flight endurance of not less than 7 hours, and the ability to carry at least 1,760 pounds of bombs—a tall order for a single engine aircraft of the mid 1930s. It was intended as a backup for the Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bomber. Although designed as a carrier based aircraft, it was relegated to land-based torpedo bomber duties in World War II. 125 were built.
The Japanese Navy designation was 九七式二号艦上攻撃機, or Type 97 Number 2 Carrier Attack Bomber. The "number 2" was to distinguish it from the Nakajima B5N, which was called Type 97 Number 1.
[edit] Variants
- B5M1 : Three-seat attack aircraft for the Imperial Japanese Navy. In the design and building of the B5M1, the Japanese obtained a great deal of useful information from an American built Northrop A5 bomber that they had purchased, brought to Japan, dismantled, and analyzed. The aircraft that Mitsubishi produced first flew in 1937 and was an all-metal low-wing cantilever monoplane with fixed undercarriage with large wheel spats. The crew of three sat in a long canopy that had a smooth transition to the fuselage. The B5M1s began equipping Japanese Naval units in late 1937, but their performance was never as satisfactory as was that of other Japanese aircraft carrier-based bombers. The B5M1's performance was considered marginal and only 145 were manufactured. While they had originally been intended for aircraft carrier use, the majority were employed during the early months of World War II from land bases in Southeast Asia and in China, where they were confronted by weak or no enemy fighter opposition. These machines ended their careers as trainers, target tugs, and suicide bombers.
[edit] Operators
Japan
[edit] Specifications (Mitsubishi B5M1)
General characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Length: 10.23 m (33 feet 9 inches)
- Wingspan: 15.3m (50 feet 2 inches)
- Height: 4.32 m (14 feet 2 inches)
- Wing area: 37.95 m² ()
- Max takeoff weight: 4000 kg (8,819 pounds)
- Powerplant: 1× 1 x Mitsubishi Kinsei 43, 746 kW (1,000 hp)
Performance
Armament
- Guns: Two fixed forward-firing 7.7 mm Type 97 machine guns(0.303 inch) mounted in wings, one 7.7 mm (0.303 inch) Type 89 machine gun in flexible mount in rear cockpit
- Bombs: up to 1,000kg (2,204lbs) of bombs carried externally
[edit] See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Comparable aircraft Nakajima B5N
Related lists List of military aircraft of Japan
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- Francillon, René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-370-30251-6.
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