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Japanese aircraft manufacturer and aviation engine manufacturer throughout World War II
Founder, Chikuhei Nakajima
The Nakajima Aircraft Company (中島飛行機株式会社 , Nakajima Hikōki Kabushiki Kaisha ) was a prominent
Japanese
aircraft manufacturer and
aviation engine manufacturer throughout
World War II . It continues as the car and aircraft manufacturer
Subaru .
History
Assembly work at Nakajima-Handa
The Nakajima Aircraft company was Japan's first aircraft manufacturer, and was founded in 1918 by
Chikuhei Nakajima , a naval engineer, and
Seibei Kawanishi , a textile manufacturer, as Nihon Hikoki (Nippon Aircraft) . In 1919, the two founders split and Nakajima bought out Nihon Aircraft's factory with tacit help from the
Imperial Japanese Army . The company was renamed Nakajima Aircraft Company in 1919.
[1]
The company's manufacturing facilities were:
After World War II
After
Japan's defeat in World War II , the company was forced to close, as the production and research of aircraft was prohibited by the
Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers . This had a severe impact on Nakajima as one of the two largest aircraft manufacturers in Japan; the second was
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). Unlike MHI, Nakajima did not diversify into shipbuilding and general machinery, and so was forced to dissolve into a number of spin-off companies set up by its former managers, engineers, and workers. As a result, leading aeronautical engineers from the company, such as
Ryoichi Nakagawa , helped transform Japan's automobile industry.
[1]
The company was reborn in 1953 as
Fuji Heavy Industries , maker of
Fuji Rabbit scooters and
Subaru automobiles, and as Fuji Precision Industries (later renamed
Prince Motor Company , which merged with
Nissan in August 1966), manufacturer of
Prince Skyline and
Prince Gloria automobiles. Fuji began aircraft production in the mid-1950s and produced military training aircraft and helicopters for the
Japan Self-Defense Forces . In 2017, it rebranded as
Subaru Corporation .
[2]
[3]
[4]
Products
Naval aircraft
Nakajima B5N Carrier attack bomber
Fighter
A1N - Type 3 Carrier Fighter (三式艦上戦闘機 ) - 1927 carrier-borne fighter; licensed copy of the Gloster Gambet
A2N - Type 90 Carrier Fighter (九〇式艦上戦闘機 ) - 1930 carrier biplane fighter
A4N - Type 95 Carrier Fighter (九五式艦上戦闘機 ) - 1935 carrier-borne fighter
A6M2-N - Ni-shiki suisen (二式水戦 , Type 2 Float Fighter) - 'Rufe' 1941 floatplane version of the
Mitsubishi A6M Zero
J1N - Gekkō (月光 , Moonlight) - 'Irving' 1941 Navy land-based night fighter
J5N - Tenrai (天雷 , Heavenly/Divine Thunder) - 1944 Navy land-based single-seat twin-engine interceptor prototype
Kikka - Kikka (中島 橘花 , Orange Blossom) - 1945 jet-engined interceptor prototype; Japan's first jet aircraft
Trainer
A3N - Type 90 Two-seat Training Fighter (九〇式複座練習戦闘機 ) - 1936 two-seat trainer developed from the A2N
Torpedo bomber
B3N - 1933 Navy torpedo bomber prototype, lost contract to the
Yokosuka B3Y
B4N - 1936 Navy torpedo bomber prototype, lost contract to the
Yokosuka B4Y
B5N - Type 97 Carrier Attacker (九七式艦攻 , Kyuushichi-shiki Kanko ) - 'Kate' 1937 Navy torpedo bomber
B6N - Tenzan (天山 , Heavenly Mountain) - 'Jill' 1941 Navy torpedo bomber
Scout and reconnaissance aircraft
C2N - land-based reconnaissance aircraft based on the
Nakajima Ki-6
C3N - Type 97 Carrier Reconnaissance Aircraft (九七式艦上偵察機 ) - 1936 carrier-borne reconnaissance aircraft
C6N - Saiun (彩雲 , Rainbow Cloud) - 'Myrt' 1943 carrier-borne reconnaissance aircraft
E2N - Type 15 Reconnaissance Floatplane (一五式水上偵察機 ) - 1927 reconnaissance aircraft
E4N - Type 90-2 Reconnaissance Seaplane (九〇式二号水上偵察機 ) 1930 reconnaissance aircraft
E8N - Type 95 Reconnaissance Seaplane (九五式水上偵察機 ) - 'Dave' 1935 reconnaissance seaplane
E12N - 1938 reconnaissance seaplane prototype, lost to the
Kawanishi E12K
Dive bomber
D2N
D3N - 1936 carrier-based dive bomber prototype based on the C3N and B5N, lost to the
Aichi D3A
Heavy bomber
G5N - Shinzan (深山 , Mountain Recess) - 'Liz' 1941 heavy four-engine long-range heavy bomber
G8N - Renzan (連山 , Mountain Range) - 'Rita' 1945 heavy four-engine long-range heavy bomber
G10N - Fugaku (富嶽 ,
Mount Fuji ) - 1945 projected six-engine long-range bomber
Transport
L1N - naval version of
Ki-34
L2D - Type 0 Transport (零式輸送機 ) -1939 Navy transport aircraft; licensed copy of
Douglas DC-3
Army aircraft
Ki-43 Hayabusa and Ki-84 Hayate, Post-war
Fighter
Ko 3 (甲3 ) - fighter-trainer, license-built
Nieuport 24
Ko 4 (甲4 ) - biplane fighter, license-built
Nieuport-Delage NiD 29
Type 91 Fighter (九一式戦闘機 ) - 1931 parasol monoplane fighter
Ki-8 - 1934 fighter prototype
Ki-11 - 1934 fighter prototype, lost to the
Kawasaki Ki-10
Ki-12 - 1936 fighter prototype, lost to the
Mitsubishi Ki-18
Ki-27 - Type 97 Fighter (九七式戦闘機 ) - late 1936 Army monoplane fighter
Ki-37 - 1937 fighter (project only)
Ki-43 - Type 1 Fighter (一式単座戦闘機 ) or Hayabusa (隼 , Peregrine Falcon) - 'Oscar' 1939 Army fighter
Ki-44 - Type 2 Single-seat fighter (二式単座戦闘機 ) or Shōki (鍾馗 , Devil-Queller) - 'Tojo' 1940 Army fighter
Ki-53 - multi-seat heavy fighter (project only)
Ki-58 - escort fighter prototype
Ki-62 - 1941 prototype fighter, competed with
Kawasaki Ki-61 design
Ki-63 - version of
Ki-62 powered by a radial engine
Ki-69 - escort fighter version of
Mitsubishi Ki-67 (project only)
Ki-75 - heavy fighter (project only)
Ki-84 - Type 4 Fighter (四式戦闘機 ) or Hayate (疾風 , Gale) - 'Frank' 1943 Army fighter
Ki-87 - 1945 high-altitude fighter-interceptor prototype
Ki-101 - twin-engine night fighter (project only)
Ki-113 -
Ki-84 with some steel parts (project only)
Ki-116 - 1945 single-seat fighter prototype
Ki-117 - production designation of the
Ki-84N
Ki-118 - short-range fighter modified from the
Mitsubishi A7M (project only)
Ki-337 - two-seat fighter (project only)
Ki-201 - Karyū (火龍 , Fire Dragon) - prototype 1945 Army jet fighter/attack aircraft with strong resemblance to the German
Messerschmitt Me 262 , project only
Bomber
B-6 - license-built
Bréguet 14B.2
Ki-13 - attack aircraft (project only)
Ki-19 - 1937 Army twin-engine heavy bomber (prototypes only), lost to the
Mitsubishi Ki-21
Ki-31 - two-seat light bomber (project only)
Ki-49 - Type 100 Heavy Bomber (一〇〇式重爆撃機 ) or Donryū (呑龍 , Storm Dragon) - 'Helen' 1941 Army medium bomber
Ki-52 - dive bomber (project only)
Ki-68 - proposed bomber version of
G5N
Reconnaissance
Ki-4 - Type 94 Reconnaissance aircraft (九四式偵察機 ) - 1933 reconnaissance biplane
Transport
Ki-6 - Type 95 Trainer (九五式二型練習機 ) - 1930 transport, training aircraft; licensed copy of the
Fokker Super Universal
Ki-16 - cargo transport/ground refueling aircraft (project only)
Ki-34 - Type 97 Transport (九七式輸送機 ) - 'Thora' 1937 Army transport aircraft version of
AT-2
Ki-41 - cargo transport (project only)
Trainer
Ko 2 (甲2 ) - trainer, license-built version of the
Nieuport 83 trainer
Kamikaze aircraft
Ki-115 - Tsurugi (剣 , Sword) - 1945
kamikaze aircraft; in IJN service, it was called Tōka (藤花 , Wisteria Blossom)
Ki-230 - projected kamikaze aircraft
Jet prototypes
Kikka (橘花 , Orange Blossom) - 1945 Navy experimental land-based ground attack/ASW jet, two prototypes built; first Japanese jet aircraft
Civil aircraft
Nakajima Sakae on an A6M Zero
Aircraft engines
See also
References
Citations
^
a
b Odagiri, Hiroyuki (1996). Technology and Industrial Development in Japan . Clarendon Press, Oxford. p. 216.
ISBN
0-19-828802-6 .
^ Walsworth, Jack (March 31, 2017).
"Fuji Heavy officially changing name to Subaru Corp" .
Automotive News . Retrieved August 8, 2018 .
^
"Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. Changes Company Name to Subaru Corporation" . subaru.com.au . March 31, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2018 .
^
"Marking 100 years, Fuji Heavy changes name to Subaru" .
Japan Times . April 1, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2018 .
Bibliography
Francillon, René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War . London, Putnam & Company, 1970,1979.
ISBN
0-370-30251-6 .
External links
Imperial Japanese Navy types
Carrier fighters Carrier Torpedo Bombers Reconnaissance aircraft Dive bombers Reconnaissance floatplanes Land-based Attack Bombers Interceptors Transports Floatplane fighter Other
Imperial Japanese Army types
Army manufacturer type code system Army type-year Kitai (airframe #)
WW2 Allied reporting names
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International National Academics