The japanese sword jet

[pampa14]

I share with you this full report about the Japanese fighter jet Mitsubishi J8M, an effort to combat the growing advance of Allied bombers over Japan. Through the link below you will find a lot of information, photos, some rare and never seen by me before, details and in addition, diagrams and views. All this you can find by visiting the link below:


Aviação em Floripa: J8M: A espada a jato japonesa


Best Regards!

 

[vikingBerserker]

Excellent!

 

[Capt. Vick]

Nice! I can't imagine there are any more pictures of that bird left!

 

[GrauGeist]

Several of those photos are of the MXY8/Ku-13 trainer (photos #16 & #17, for example) which was a non-powered, ballasted glider.

 

[mikewint]

Looks like the Me 163 made it to Japan

 

[GrauGeist]

Looks like the Me 163 made it to Japan

Technically, no...the Japanese purchased a complete Me163 (airframe and engine) but it was lost at sea when the two subs carrying the aircraft, components and parts were sunk .

So they built the J8M/KI-200 from the Me163 instruction manual that was in the possession of Commander Iwaya, who narrowly missed being lost at sea aboard the I-29, which was also carrying Me163 components and construction blueprints/manuals.

It took alot of trial and error, but they managed to build 7 of these and about 50 MXY8/Ku-13 trainers. So the majority of "Shusui" photos that you see, aren't actually the Shusui at all, but the trainers.

A quick way to tell for the most part, is the trainers are missing the generator prop in the nose, don't have the cannon at the base of each wing and lack the exhaust shroud at the base of the tail.

The first photo in pampa's gallery is a J8M, hard to tell in the second. The third certainly is but the 4th photo is a trainer.

The 5th, 6th and 7th photos is a J8M, as you can see the rocket's exhaust and cannon, and so on.

 

[mikewint]

Dave, now that you bring that up, I recall reading about that somewhere.

 

[Shinpachi]

I always admire your good knowledge, Dave
Here is a what if.

 

[Wayne Little]

Good stuff....will have a 1/48 shusui tomorrow once I visit the post office and get my delivery....

 

[Gnomey]

Good stuff!

 

[Vahe Demirjian]

The golden yellow painted J8M Shusui is on display at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California.

The title of this thread should be renamed "Mitsubishi J8M Shusui rocket fighter" because the J8M, as a Japanese copy of the Me 163, was rocket-powered, and the name Shusui means "sharp sword" in reference to the death stroke administered by a samurai sword.