dirkpitt289
Master Sergeant
History
The Kyushu J7W1 Shinden (Magnificent Lightening) was the only aircraft of a canard configuration to be ordered into quantity production anywhere in the world during the second World War.
Work on the J7W1 began in earnest in June of 1944 and the first prototype was completed within a mere ten month period. The nose, to which the horizontal stabilizers were attached, was to contain four 30 mm Type 5 cannon and housed the nose wheel. The pilot sat in the middle of the fuselage forward of the aft-mounted swept wings. The main undercarriage legs and wheels retracted laterally into the wings and small auxiliary wheels retracted into the base of the two vertical fins and rudders attached to the wings. The 2,130 hp Mitsubishi MK9D eighteen cylinder radial engine and its supercharger were installed in the fuselage behind the pilots cockpit and drove a six-blade propeller via an extension shaft. Engine cooling air was supplied by long narrow obliquely mounted intakes on either side of the fuselage. The navy, disparately needing a heavily armed high-performance interceptor fighter, decided prior to the aircraft's maiden flight to order it into production at Kyushu's Zasshonokuma factory and at Nakajima;s Handa plant. Considering the difficult conditions under which the Japanese aircraft industry was working at the time, the anticipated monthly output of 30 Shindens from Kyushu and 120 from Nakajima appears to have been overly optimistic and the Japanese surrender put an end to them.
Difficulties with engine cooling on the ground and the unavailability of some items of equipment delayed the first flight until August 3, 1945, when Captain Tsuruno took the aircraft for a short flight at Fukuoka Airport. Two other short flights were made bringing the total test time to some 45 minutes prior to the end of the war and revealed the need to correct a strong torque pull to starboard on takeoff and marked vibrations in the propeller and drive shaft. At wars end a second prototype had been completed but not flown and it was eventually dismantled and shipped to the United States. This aircraft is currently stored and the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. awaiting eventual restoration. Plans were also made for a J7W2 version in which the radial engine was to be replaced with a 900 kg thrust Ne-130 turbojet.
The Kyushu J7W1 Shinden (Magnificent Lightening) was the only aircraft of a canard configuration to be ordered into quantity production anywhere in the world during the second World War.
Work on the J7W1 began in earnest in June of 1944 and the first prototype was completed within a mere ten month period. The nose, to which the horizontal stabilizers were attached, was to contain four 30 mm Type 5 cannon and housed the nose wheel. The pilot sat in the middle of the fuselage forward of the aft-mounted swept wings. The main undercarriage legs and wheels retracted laterally into the wings and small auxiliary wheels retracted into the base of the two vertical fins and rudders attached to the wings. The 2,130 hp Mitsubishi MK9D eighteen cylinder radial engine and its supercharger were installed in the fuselage behind the pilots cockpit and drove a six-blade propeller via an extension shaft. Engine cooling air was supplied by long narrow obliquely mounted intakes on either side of the fuselage. The navy, disparately needing a heavily armed high-performance interceptor fighter, decided prior to the aircraft's maiden flight to order it into production at Kyushu's Zasshonokuma factory and at Nakajima;s Handa plant. Considering the difficult conditions under which the Japanese aircraft industry was working at the time, the anticipated monthly output of 30 Shindens from Kyushu and 120 from Nakajima appears to have been overly optimistic and the Japanese surrender put an end to them.
Difficulties with engine cooling on the ground and the unavailability of some items of equipment delayed the first flight until August 3, 1945, when Captain Tsuruno took the aircraft for a short flight at Fukuoka Airport. Two other short flights were made bringing the total test time to some 45 minutes prior to the end of the war and revealed the need to correct a strong torque pull to starboard on takeoff and marked vibrations in the propeller and drive shaft. At wars end a second prototype had been completed but not flown and it was eventually dismantled and shipped to the United States. This aircraft is currently stored and the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. awaiting eventual restoration. Plans were also made for a J7W2 version in which the radial engine was to be replaced with a 900 kg thrust Ne-130 turbojet.
