| J7W Shinden | |
|---|---|
| Prototype of the completed J7W in 1945. | |
| Role | Interceptor |
| Manufacturer | Kyūshū Hikōki K.K. |
| First flight | 3 August 1945 [1] |
| Status | Abandoned as prototype. |
| Primary user | Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Number built | 2 |
The Kyūshū J7W1 Shinden (震電, "Magnificent Lightning") fighter was a World War II Japanese propeller-driven aircraft prototype that was built in a canard design. The wings were attached to the tail section and stabilizers were on the front. The propeller was also in the rear, in a pusher configuration. It was expected to be a highly maneuverable interceptor, but only two were finished before the end of war. Plans were also drawn up for a jet-powered version (J7W2 Shinden-Kai),[2] but this never left the drawing board. The J designation was used by land based fighters of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the W is for Watanabe, the company awarded the contract (though the factory changed its name in 1943 to Kyūshū).[3][4]
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The J7W was developed for the Imperial Japanese Navy as a short-range interceptor in a specific response to the B-29 Superfortress raids on the Japanese homeland. For this type of mission, the J7W was armed with 4 forward-firing 30mm cannons in the nose. It was to be operated from land bases.
The canard configuration was chosen by Technical Lieutenant Commander Masayoshi Tsuruno from the technical staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy in early 1943. Tsuruno's idea was the aircraft could easily be fitted with a turbojet engine in a later stage of its production life.[5][6]
Tsuruno's ideas were worked out by the First Naval Air Technical Arsenal (Dai-Ichi Kaigun Koku Gijitsusho) in April 1943, by designing three gliders with the canard layout, designated Yokosuka MXY6,[5][7] and built by Chigasaki Seizo KK, one of the gliders later being fitted with a 22 hp Semi 11 (Ha-90) 4 cylinder air cooled engine.[8]
The feasibility of the canard design was proven by both the powered and unpowered versions of the MYX6 by the end of 1943,[8] and the Navy were so impressed by the flight testing, they instructed the Kyushu Aircraft Company to design a canard interceptor around Tsuruno's concept. Kyushu was chosen because both its design team and production facilities were relatively unburdened,[8] and Tsuruno was chosen to lead a team from Dai-Ichi Kaigun Koku Gijitsusho to aid Kyushu's design works.[5]
The construction of the first two prototypes started in earnest by June 1944, stress calculations were finished by January 1945,[9] and the first prototype was completed in April 1945. The 2,130 hp Mitsubishi MK9D (Ha-43) radial engine and its supercharger were installed behind the cockpit and drove a six-bladed propeller via an extension shaft. Engine cooling was to be provided by long, narrow, obliquely mounted intakes on the side of the fuselage.[10] It was this configuration that caused cooling problems while running the engine while it was still on the ground. This, together with the unavailability of some equipment parts postponed the first flight of the Shinden until 3 August 1945, when Commander Tsuruno himself took to the air at Itazuke Air Base.[5][11] Two more short flights were made, a total of 45 minutes airborne, by war's end. Flights were successful, but showed a marked torque pull to starboard (due to the powerful engine), some flutter of the propeller blades, and vibration in the extended drive shaft.[11]
Even before the first prototype took to the air the Navy had already ordered the J7W1 into production,[10] with quotas of 30 Shinden a month given to Kyushu's Zasshonokuma factory and 120 from Nakajima's Handa plant.[10] It was estimated some 1,086 Shinden could be produced between April 1946 and March 1947.[9] In fact only the two prototype aircraft were ever completed. After the end of the war the second prototype was shipped to the USA, while the first is reported as being scrapped.
The second prototype, that was completed but never flown, is currently in storage at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.[5][11] In 1998 it was reported to be located at building 7 of the U.S. National Air And Space Museum Garber Facility in Suitland, Maryland.[12]
Data from Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War[11]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
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