:Aichi D1A

{{Infobox aircraft

| name = D1A

| image = Aichi D1A2.jpg

| image_border =

| caption =

| type = Dive bomber

| national_origin = Japan

| manufacturer = Aichi Kokuki KK

| designer =

| first_flight = 1934{{cite web|url=http://www.hikotai.net/datasheets/d1a.htm|title=www.hikotai.net|access-date=2011-07-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007165625/http://www.hikotai.net/datasheets/d1a.htm|archive-date=2011-10-07 |url-status=dead}}

| introduction =

| retired = 1942

| status = Retired

| primary_user = Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service

| more_users =

| produced =

| number_built = 590Chant 1999, p.17

| unit cost =

| developed_from =

| variants =

| developed_into =

}}

The Aichi D1A or Navy Type 94/96 Carrier Bomber (Allied reporting name "Susie"{{cite web|url=http://www.csd.uwo.ca/Elevon/baugher_other/japcode.html|title=Allied Code Names for...|access-date=2007-04-17}}{{dead link|date=June 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}) was a Japanese carrier-based dive bomber of the 1930s. A single-engine, two-seat biplane based on the Heinkel He 50, the D1A was produced by Aichi for the Imperial Japanese Navy, remaining in service as a trainer at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The D1A was produced in two variants, the D1A1 (Navy Type 94 Carrier Bomber), and the D1A2 (Navy Type 96 Carrier Bomber, sometimes referred to as the D2A).

Design and development

The D1A came out of the Imperial Japanese Navy's need for an advanced carrier-based dive bomber, and in late 1934 the IJN ordered the finalisation of the Aichi AB-9 design which was produced as the early model D1A1. However, the D1A1 was not designed by {{Interlanguage link|Aichi Tokei Denki|lt=Aichi Tokei Denki Kabushiki Kaisha|ja|愛知時計電機}} aircraft company (later Aichi Kokuki), but by Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke at the request of the Aichi company. The initial version designed by Heinkel was the He 50, a similar model equipped with floats instead of landing gear. The subsequent model, the He 66 was provided to Aichi who immediately began production of it as the D1A1.

The design of the D1A, based on the Heinkel He 66, an export model of the He 50, was designed as a biplane constructed of metal, with a fabric covering, a fixed landing gear and a conventional type tail landing skid. Original models had {{cvt|365|kW|-1}} engines and it was not until later models that more powerful {{cvt|433|kW|-1}} engines were included in the construction.

Operational history

The D1A was primarily used in the Second Sino-Japanese War and up to the time Japan entered World War II in 1941. At the beginning of the Pacific War, all of the remaining D1A1s were decommissioned and most of the D1A2s were retired from the front lines and served primarily in training units. The exception was 68 of the D1A2 model that operated as a second-line support until being retired in 1942.

Variants

;D1A1 Type 94

:Powered by {{cvt|433|kW|-1}} Nakajima Kotobuki 2 Kai 1 or Kotobuki 3 radial engines; 162 built.

;D1A2 Type 96 (Sometimes referred to as the D2A)

:Improved version fitted with spatted wheels and a higher powered Nakajima Hikari 1 engine; 428 built.

;AB-11

:Proposed development with retractable undercarriage. Not built.Mikesh and Abe 1990, p. 79.

Operators

; {{flagicon|Empire of Japan}} Empire of Japan

Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service

; {{flagicon|Manchukuo}} Manchukuo

Manchukuo Imperial Navy

Specifications (D1A2)

File:Aichi D1A 3-view line drawing.png

{{Aircraft specs

|ref=Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War{{cite book|last=Francillon|first=René|title=Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War|date=March 1987|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis|isbn=978-0870213137|edition=2nd (American)|pages=268–271}} and Aircraft of World War II - 300 of the World's Greatest aircraft 1939-45

|prime units?=met

|crew=2

|length m=9.3

|length note=

|span m=11.4

|span note=

|width m=

|width note=

|height m=3.41

|height note=

|wing area sqm=34.7

|wing area note=

|aspect ratio=

|airfoil=

|empty weight kg=1516

|empty weight note=

|gross weight kg=2500

|gross weight note=

|max takeoff weight kg=2610

|max takeoff weight note=

|fuel capacity=

|more general=

|eng1 number=1

|eng1 name=Nakajima Hikari 1

|eng1 type=9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine

|eng1 hp=730

|eng1 note=for take-off

::::{{cvt|670|hp|order=flip}} at {{cvt|3500|m}}

|prop blade number=2

|prop name=metal propeller

|prop dia m=

|prop dia note=

|max speed kmh=309

|max speed note= at {{cvt|3200|m}}

|cruise speed kmh=222

|cruise speed note= at {{cvt|1000|m}}

|stall speed kmh=

|stall speed note=

|never exceed speed kmh=

|never exceed speed note=

|minimum control speed kmh=

|minimum control speed note=

|range km=926

|range note=

|combat range km=

|combat range note=

|ferry range km=

|ferry range note=

|endurance=

|ceiling m=6980

|ceiling note=

|g limits=

|roll rate=

|climb rate ms=

|climb rate note=

|time to altitude={{cvt|3000|m}} in 7 minutes 51 seconds

|wing loading kg/m2=

|wing loading note=

|disk loading kg/m2=

|disk loading note=

|fuel consumption kg/km=

|power/mass=

|thrust/weight=

|more performance=

|guns=

2 × fixed {{cvt|7.7|mm|3}} Type 92 machine guns
1 × flexible {{cvt|7.7|mm|3}} Type 92 machine gun

|bombs=

1 × {{cvt|250|kg}} bomb under fuselage
2 × {{cvt|30|kg}} bombs under wings

}}

References

{{cite book|last=Chant|first=Christopher|title=Aircraft of World War II - 300 of the World's Greatest aircraft 1939-45|year=1999|publisher=Amber Books Lts|isbn=978-0-7607-1261-0|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/aircraftofworldw0000chan}}
{{cite book|title=Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War|last=Francillon|first=R.J.|year=1970|publisher=Putnam|location=London|isbn=0-370-00033-1}}
{{cite book|last1=Mikesh|first1=Robert|last2=Abe|first2=Shorzoe|title=Japanese Aircraft 1910–41|year=1990|publisher=Putnam|location=London|isbn=0-85177-840-2 }}