FACTOIDS & TRIVIA

The Imperial Japanese Army had the Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki as their defensive interceptor to attack Allied bombers and the Navy wanted one, too. Unfortunately, the aircraft they got, the Mitsubishi J2M Raiden (allied code name "Jack") had a lot of problems right from the start. The engine was buried deep in the fuselage and was prone to overheating (a fan was added to assist with cooling) and it had neither the top speed nor the climb rate of the Nakajima. The early version (J2M2) had two .303 inch machine guns in fuselage with a pair of 20 mm cannon in the wings, but the guns were swapped for another pair of cannon with the J2M3 shown here. It was also fitted with hard points that could carry a pair of small bombs or drop tanks. The engine problems delayed its introduction until early 1944 meaning it was yet another example of "too little, too late". But it wasn't a terrible design as the Americans discovered when they flew a captured Raiden using good quality aviation fuel (something the Japanese lacked) and discovered it had a top speed of 417 mph! Mitsubishi only made a total of 543 J2M aircraft with production being affecting by Allied bombing raids on Mitsubishi's factories in 1944. You can see some wartime footage of the J2M in a 4 minute YouTube video (fast forward as needed). 

MITSUBISHI J2M3 Raiden "Jack"

 

 

 Class: Fighter/Interceptor

 Crew: 1

 Engine: Mitsubishi MK4R-A Kasei 23a 14-cylinder radial (1.800 hp)

 Max Speed: 365 mph at 17,388 ft

 Climb Rate:  3,150 ft/min

 Service Ceiling: 38,400 ft

 Range: 1,179 miles

 Armament:  4 x 20 mm cannon (wing mount)

                        2 x 132 lb bombs

                   

 

  Model Scale:  1:87



















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