Yokosuka D3Y Myojo
The D3Y Myojo (Venus) was conceived as a wooden version of the Aichi D3A Val dive bomber. This concept was deemed necessary due to the shortage of light alloys that was already facing the Japanese in 1943. The original elliptical wing and rounded tail surfaces of the D3A were replaced with straight tapered surfaces to make construction by semi-skilled workers easier, while the fuselage length was increased to improve stability. Only three production examples were completed before the end of the war. Another planned variant was the D3Y2-K Special Attacker Myojo Kai (Venus Modified), which was to have been a suicide attacker with jettisonable undercarriage, but production had not yet started when the war ended.
Yokosuka D3Y1-K Myojo
Type: Bomber trainer
Service: Japanese Navy Air Force (JNAF)
Crew: 2 (Pilot, gunner)
Armament: two 20mm Type 99 Model 1 cannon in nose (D3Y2-K)
1764 lb (800 kg) of bombs
Reference: Francillon: 469
Specifications:
Length: 36' 9.5" (11.215 m)
Height: 13' 8.75" (4.185 m)
Wingspan: 45' 11.25" (14 m)
Wing area: 353.055 sq. ft (32.8 sq. m)
Empty Weight: 7055 lbs (3200 kg)
Loaded Weight: 9259 lbs (4200 kg)
Propulsion:
No. of Engines: 1
Powerplant: Mitsubishi Kinsei 54 14-cylinder radial
Horsepower: 1300 hp
Performance:
Range: 915 st miles (795 naut miles)
Cruise Speed: 184 mph at 9845 ft (160 kt at 3000 m)
Max Speed: 280 mph at 20340 ft (243 kt at 6200 m)
Climb to/in: 19685 ft (6000 m) in 13 min 23 sec
Ceiling: n/a
Production: 2 prototypes, 3 production D3Ys completed
Additional information on this aircraft can be
found at Wikipedia
HERE.
For a very nice scale color drawing of this aircraft, see
here.
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