5/15/2023 0 Comments Denjin makai 2 shiden kai![]() ![]() ![]() The Rex was a good aircraft in its class, designed to operate from islands where no suitable air bases could be found to support forward troop movements. The George was a unique development of the Kawanishi N1K1 Kyōfū (“ Strong wind“, Allied Code Name: Rex) floatplane fighter of the Imperial Japanese Navy which also entered service in 1943 (normally land based fighters were turned into floatplane fighters, not the other way round! 97 were produced between 1942-1944 – 8 prototypes and 89 production aircraft). Imperial Japanese Navy Kawanishi N1K1 Shiden / N1K2-J Shiden Kai (George) Pproduction delays occurred with development issues and of course Allied bombing of industrial areas limited the availability of airframes, engines and parts. In the right hands it was a match for US Navy Vought F4U Corsair and Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters but as was often the case for the Japanese, it was introduced too late (1943) and with only 1,413 produced between 1943-1945 (only 406 of these were the N1K2-J model), it was not built in enough numbers to change the course of the war and the ever approaching Allied bombers. The George was reasonably fast (top speed 595 Km/h / 369 mph – a bit less than the planned 656 km/h / 408mph), maneuverable, heavily armed (later models had 4 x 20mm Type 99 wing mounted cannons – they could also carry 2 x 250kg bombs), well armoured and had a good operational range. ![]() The Kawanishi N1K1-J Shiden (“ Violet Lightning“, Allied Code Name: George) and N1K2-J Shiden Kai (Modified) are regarded as the best land based fighter operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War Two. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |