Kugisho B3Y
{{Short description|Japanese torpedo bomber}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
|name=Yokosuka B3Y |image=Yokosuka B3Y.jpg |caption= }}{{Infobox aircraft type |type=Torpedo Bomber |manufacturer=Kaigun Koku-Gijutsu-Sho - Kugisho) -(Naval Air Technical Arsenal) |designer= |first flight= |introduced=1933 |introduction= |retired= |status= |primary user=Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service |more users= |produced= |number built=129 |unit cost= |developed from= |variants with their own articles= }} |
The Kugisho B3Y, or Navy Type 92 Carrier Attack Bomber, also popularly titled Yokosuka B3Y, was a Japanese carrier-based torpedo bomber of the 1930s. It was designed by the Naval Air Technical Arsenal at Yokosuka, and while unimpressive during testing, it was ordered into service by the Imperial Japanese Navy and used until replaced by more capable aircraft.
Development and design
In 1932, the Imperial Japanese Navy had a requirement, 7-Shi,{{Harvnb|Mikesh|Abe|1990|p=280}} for a new torpedo bomber to replace the Mitsubishi B2M. The air arsenal at Yokosuka prepared its own design to meet this requirement, competing against designs by Mitsubishi and Nakajima.
The resulting aircraft was a three-seat single-engine biplane, with a fuselage of steel tube construction and two-bay wooden wings that could fold rearwards for storage aboard aircraft carriers. It was powered by a single Hiro Type 91 W engine rated at {{cvt|450|kW}}.
Testing proved that the aircraft had poor stability and control, and that the engine was unreliable. The competing Mitsubishi and Nakajima aircraft were even less successful however, and after modifications made by Tokuichiro Gomei of Aichi Kokuki, the aircraft was accepted by the Navy in August 1933 as the Kugisho Navy Type 92 Carrier Attack Bomber, with a short designation of B3Y1, with production by Aichi, Watanabe and the Hiro Naval Arsenal, 129 being produced by the time that production finished in 1936.
Operational history
The B3Y1 continued to be prone to engine problems, which frequently caused the type to be grounded. It served operationally in the early part of the Second Sino-Japanese War,{{cite web|url=http://www.warbirdforum.com/cafhist2.htm|title=Chinese Air Force vs. the Empire of Japan, Fly Boys of the Generalissimo (part 2)|access-date=2008-01-20|work=The Warbird's Forum|archive-date=2010-11-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130061841/http://warbirdforum.com/cafhist2.htm|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/sino-japanese-1937.htm|title=Sino-Japanese Air War 1937|access-date=2008-01-20|work=Håkans Aviation page}} gaining a good reputation for accurate level bombing against small targets. The Yokosuka B3Y was gradually phased out of operational service, being replaced by Aichi's D1A dive bomber and Yokosuka's B4Y torpedo bomber.
Operators
;{{JPN}}
Specifications (B3Y1)
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Japanese Aircraft, 1910–1941{{Harvnb|Mikesh|Abe|1990|p=281.}}
|prime units?=met
|crew=3
|length m=9.5
|length note=
|span m=13.51
|span note=
|height m=3.73
|height note=
|wing area sqm=50
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=1850
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=3200
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg=
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Hiro Type 91
|eng1 type=W-12 water-cooled piston engine
|eng1 kw=450
|eng1 note=
|prop blade number=2
|prop name=fixed-pitch propeller
|prop dia m=
|prop dia note=
|max speed kmh=219
|max speed note=
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed kmh=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed note=
|range km=
|range note=
|combat range km=
|combat range note=
|ferry range km=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=4 hours 30 minutes
|ceiling m=
|ceiling note=
|g limits=
|roll rate=
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|wing loading kg/m2=64
|wing loading note=
|fuel consumption kg/km=
|power/mass={{cvt|0.14|kW/kg}}
|more performance=
|guns= 1 × fixed, forward-firing {{cvt|7.7|mm|3}} machine gun and 1 × flexible, rearward-firing machine gun in observer's cockpit
|bombs=1 × {{cvt|800|kg}} torpedo or {{cvt|500|kg}} bombs
}}
See also
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|related=
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
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References
{{Reflist|2}}
- {{cite book|last=Mikesh|first=Robert C.|last2= Abe |first2=Shorzoe |title=Japanese Aircraft, 1910–1941|year=1990|publisher=Putnam Aeronautical Books|location=London|isbn=0-85177-840-2}}
External links
{{commons category|Yokosuka B3Y}}
- {{cite web|url= http://www.warbirdforum.com/cafhist2.htm|title= Chinese Air Force vs. the Empire of Japan, Fly Boys of the Generalissimo (part 2)|access-date= 2008-01-20|work= The Warbird's Forum|archive-date= 2010-11-30|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101130061841/http://warbirdforum.com/cafhist2.htm|url-status= dead}}
- {{cite web |url= http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/sino-japanese-1937.htm |title= Sino-Japanese Air War 1937|access-date=2008-01-20 |work= Håkans Aviation page}}
{{Yokosuka aircraft}}
{{Hiro Naval Arsenal}}
{{Japanese Navy short aircraft designations}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yokosuka B3y}}
Category:Carrier-based aircraft