Yokosuka K5Y
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| Yokosuka K5Y | |
|---|---|
| Type | Intermediate trainer |
| Manufacturer | Various, see text |
| Maiden flight | 1933 |
| Introduced | 1934 |
| Primary user | Japan |
| Produced | 1934 - 1945 |
| Number built | 5,770 |
The Yokosuka K5Y was a two seater unequal-span biplane trainer aircraft (Allied codename: Willow) that served in the Imperial Japanese Navy during the World War II.
Due to its bright orange paint scheme (applied to all Japanese military trainers for visibility), it earned the nickname "aka-tombo", or "red dragonfly", after a type of insect common throughout Japan. The aircraft was based on the Yokosuka Type 91 Trainer, but stability problems led to a redesign by Kawanishi in 1933. It entered service in 1934 as a land-based K5Y1 with a fixed tail-skid landing gear, and remained in use throughout the war. Floatplane types K5Y2 and K5Y3 were also produced. After the initial 60 examples by Kawanishi, manufacture was continued by Watanabe (556 aircraft built), Mitsubishi (60), Hitachi (1,393), First Naval Air Technical Arsenal (75), Nakajima (24), Nippon (2,733), and Fuji (896), for a total of 5,770. These aircraft were the mainstay of Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service's flight training, and as intermediate trainers they were capable of performing demanding aerobatics.
Contents |
[edit] Variants
- K5Y1 : Two-seat intermediate trainer for the Imperial Japanese Navy.
- K5Y2 : Floatplane version, with Amakaze 11.
- K5Y3 : Floatplane, with 384 kW (515 hp) Amakaze 21 engine.
Projected but not built were two land-based variants, the K5Y4 with 358 kW (480 hp) Amakaze 21A engine and the K5Y5 with 384 kW (515 hp) Amakaze 15.
[edit] Specifications (K5Y1)
General characteristics
- Crew: Two
- Length: 8.05 m (26 ft 5 in)
- Wingspan: 11.0 m (36 ft 1 in)
- Height: 3.20 m (10 ft 6 in)
- Wing area: 27.7 m² (298.2 ft²)
- Empty weight: 1,000 kg (2,205 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 1,500 kg (3,307 lb)
- Powerplant: 1× Hitachi Amakaze 11 9-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 225 kW (300 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 212 km/h (132 mph)
- Cruise speed: 138 km/h (86 mph)
- Range: 1,020 km (635 mi)
- Service ceiling 5,700 m (18,700 ft)
- Rate of climb: 3.7 m/s (730 ft/min)
- Wing loading: kg/m² (lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: kW/kg (hp/lb)
Armament
- 1x 7.7 mm fixed forward-firing Type 89 machine gun
- 1x 7.7 mm Type 92 machine gun on rotating mount
- Up to 100 kg of bombs on external racks
[edit] See also
Comparable aircraft
[edit] References
- Mondey, David. The Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II. ISBN 1 85152 966 7
- Tagaya, Osamu. Imperial Japanese Naval Aviator 1937-45. ISBN 978 1 84176 385 9
- http://www.combinedfleet.com/ijna/k5y.htm
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