Meet Judy - D4Y dive bomber in Tokyo

nuuumannn · Aug 26, 2016

Hi Guys, the latest update to my website is the excellent Yokosuka D4Y at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

Note that the quality of the images isn't great; the photos were taken with a wee hand held 35 mm film camera many years ago now.

warbirds

Thanks for looking.

Wurger · Aug 26, 2016

Capt. Vick · Aug 26, 2016

I have read in Shattered Sword that one was on one of the carriers at midway for fast recon, but went down with the ship.

Gnomey · Aug 26, 2016

Good shots!

GrauGeist · Aug 26, 2016

Always thought the D4Y was one of the best dive-bombers that Japan possesed - also of note, was that it was one of the few aircraft of theirs without a radial engine.

Great shots and thanks for the link! :thumbleft:

Wayne Little · Aug 27, 2016

Excellent saw it up close when in Tokyo last year.

Shinpachi · Aug 27, 2016

Nice shots, nuuumannn :thumbright:

Airframes · Aug 27, 2016

Good stuff Grant.

Vratrix · Aug 29, 2016

Good shot,but what is that kind of thing sticking out of the cockpit?

Wurger · Aug 29, 2016

This is a Japan Navy dive bomber sight ...

Wayne Little · Aug 29, 2016

Yep, that be it....

Wurger · Aug 29, 2016

As memeo serves it's the one Type 95 or 96.

parsifal · Oct 28, 2017

GrauGeist said:
Always thought the D4Y was one of the best dive-bombers that Japan possesed - also of note, was that it was one of the few aircraft of theirs without a radial engine.

Great shots and thanks for the link!

whilst some were produced with non radials, most production versions were powered by the Kinsei and looked like the following

Their biggest weakness remained the inadequate protection. They never attained the same levels of success as the Val which they replaced, due to being so heavily outnumbered and the low level of training given to the Japanese aircrew as the war progressed.

I wonder what model kits are available for this aircraft?

taly01 · Oct 29, 2017

I have been on a D4Y kick lately so this is interesting! The early models with the inline engine are a really aggressive looking shark mouth styled plane, Specifications show it to be as fast or faster than the Ki-61 fighter that used the same engine! The D4Y is a small plane, about the size of a SBD Dauntless but only having a 250kg (551lb) anti-ship bomb available.

The production numbers I found show the production was close to 50:50 between the earlier inline and later radial engine models.