Mitsubishi J4M

The Mitsubishi J4M Senden (閃電"Flashing Lightning") or Navy Experimental 17-Shi Otsu B Type Interceptor Fighter Senden, Allied reporting name Luke, was a Japanese World War II fighter aircraft proposed by Mitsubishi for use by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The J4M project did not proceed beyond the design stage.

J4M Senden
Role Fighter aircraft
Manufacturer Mitsubishi
Primary user Imperial Japanese Navy (intended)
Number built None

Design and development

To provide the Imperial Japanese Navy with a land-based high-performance interceptor aircraft, Mitsubishi designed the J4M. It was to have been a single-seat, twin-boom, low-wing monoplane with a central nacelle housing an unstepped cockpit and a 1,590-kilowatt (2,130-hp) Mitsubishi Ha-43[1] radial engine behind the pilot driving a four-bladed pusher propeller rotating between the booms.[2] The booms were to extend aft from the leading edge of the wing and were mounted below the central nacelle.[2] The aircraft was to have had tricycle landing gear and an armament of one 30-mm and two 20-mm cannon.[2]

Design of the initial J4M1 version ended when the Navy put its support behind the competing Kyūshū J7W fighter, and Mitsubishi did not build a prototype.[2] The Allies nonetheless assigned the J4M the reporting name "Luke" during World War II.[3]

Specifications (J4M estimated)

Data from Japanese Secret Projects:Experimental aircraft of the IJA and IJN 1939-1945[4]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 12.98 m (42 ft 7 in)
  • Wingspan: 12.49 m (41 ft 0 in)
  • Height: 3.47 m (11 ft 5 in)
  • Wing area: 22 m2 (240 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 3,400 kg (7,496 lb)
  • Gross weight: 4,400 kg (9,700 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 5,255 kg (11,585 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Mitsubishi MK9D 18-cyl. two-row fan assisted air-cooled radial piston engine, 1,600 kW (2,100 hp) at take-off
1,416.8 kW (1,900 hp) at 2,000 m (6,562 ft)
1,230.4 kW (1,650 hp) at 8,000 m (26,247 ft)
  • Propellers: 6-bladed metal constant speed propeller, 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in) diameter

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 756 km/h (470 mph, 408 kn) at 8,000 m (26,247 ft)
  • Cruise speed: 462 km/h (287 mph, 249 kn)
  • Landing speed: 147 km/h (91 mph)
  • Endurance: 2 hours 12 minutes
  • Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,000 ft)
  • Rate of climb: 8.89 m/s (1,750 ft/min)
  • Time to altitude: 8,000 m (26,247 ft) in 15 minutes
  • Wing loading: 199.69 kg/m2 (40.90 lb/sq ft)

Armament

  • Guns: 1x 30mm Type 5 cannon with 100 rounds + 2x 20mm Type 99 cannon with 200 rounds per gun in the fuselage nose
  • Bombs: provision for 2x 30 kg (66 lb) or 2x 60 kg (132 lb) bombs

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

Notes
  1. hikotai.net Mitsubishi J4M Archived 2012-03-26 at the Wayback Machine, Francillon, p. 491, names the engine a Mitsubishi MK9D, but this is just another designation for the same engine.
  2. Francillon, p. 491.
  3. Francillion, p. 568.
  4. Dyer, Edwin M. III (2009). Japanese Secret Projects:Experimental aircraft of the IJA and IJN 1939-1945 (1st ed.). Hinkley: Midland publishing. pp. 93–95. ISBN 978-1-85780-317-4.

Bibliography
  • Francillon, René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1979. ISBN 0-87021-313-X.
  • Dyer, Edwin M. III (2009). Japanese Secret Projects:Experimental aircraft of the IJA and IJN 1939-1945 (1st ed.). Hinkley: Midland publishing. pp. 93–95. ISBN 978-1-85780-317-4.
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