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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 1806.PDF
7o FLIGHT Fifty-seventh of the Latest Recognition Series Aircraft Types and MITSUBISHI 96-2a (NAVY) AFORERUNNER of the now more familiar "Zero"fighter, the Mitsubishi g6-2a is a single-engined,single seater fighter equipped for deck landings, but although primarily a Navy type it has been (and perhapsstill is to some extent) used by the Japanese army both as a fighter and for dive-bombing. Earlier models werefitted with a 550 h.p. Kotobuki engine, which was in effect a nine cylinder air-cooled Bristol Jupiter radial enginemanufactured under licence by the Nakajima concern, but this was replaced more recently by a 730 h.p. Mitsu-bishi Kinsei engine, also a nine-cylinder air-cooled radial and virtually the Pratt and* Whitney Wasp design. TheJaps originate extremely little but do plenty of cribbing; they are, in fact, the world's most prolific copyists! Incidentally it was one of these fighters which, whenoperating in China, had a large portion of one wing shot away and yet got home safely, so there could have beenlittle wrong with their workmanship then, at any rate. Of all-metal construction, the Mitsubishi 96 fighter has a wing plan very similar to that of the Spitfire; the tail- plane, however, is also elliptical. But it bears no other resemblance to the British fighter, for with a fixed under- carriage, its top speed is only 250 m.p.h., while its arma- ment is limited to a pair of 7.7 mm. machine guns mounted in the fuselage and firing through the airscrew disc, though later models are believed to have had an additional pair of guns in the wings. Other available performance figures are: service ceiling 31,000ft., cruising speed 217 m.p.h., and range 440 miles. Wing flaps are fitted, and the cockpit fairing extends right back to merge into the fin. Another, and unusual, feature of its design is that the rudder is hinged to the fin at a forwardly inclined angle, the apex of the vertical surfaces thus being part of the movable area. Dihedral is from a flat centre section. DIHEDRAL FROM CENTRE SECTION FIXED UNDERCARRIACE DIMENSIONS Span Length Height W ng arec .. 36f'.. .. 24ft. ..10ft. In 141 sq ft.
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