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Prior to 1941 the Allied Intelligence on most Japanese aircraft was virtually nonexistence due to believe that the most Japanese combat aircraft were still the fabric covered biplanes mobile WW I vintage.
But the fact is that in 1936 the Japanese were experimenting with new designs for carrier base dive-bombers. One of these designs was the Aichi D-1. The prototype flew on January 1938 it was not in favor with the Japanese Imperial Navy it needed numerous improvements before it was excepted in 1939.
In mid 1940 the Aichi was outfitted with a Hamilton type three blade variable-pitch propeller and hydraulic powered flaps and dive brakes. To help limit Speed in a dive only the tips of the wings folded to reduce a storage space when embarked.
From the beginning of 1940 the Aichi was used combat over indo-China as a land-based bomber. By the mid in 1941its record as a LAN-based bomber had the Japanese Imperial Navy ready to scrap the aircraft it was neither especially large or Powerful and some Admiral thought to be obsolete therefore it was planned to be part of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
On December 7, 1941 the Aichi was the first type of Japanese aircraft go into action against the American targets causing devastation at Pearl Arbor. The Japanese sent 126 Aichi D3A to target Battleship row one of them sunk USS Arizona with most hands still on deck. This brought the United States into WWII. For over a year the Aichi along with The Zero wipe out most of the allied surface vessels in the southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean areas. But all this was to Change for the Japanese at the Battle of Midway. When over a 100 Aichi hade bend shot down by the US Navy. And with the lost of 4 Japanese Aircraft Carriers. From mid-1942 losses were heavy that the Aichi D3A was just about non-existence. and by mid-1944 none were left in first-line service except for the growing number of Kamikaze.
Facts about the Aichi D3A
County of Origin- Japan
Total Produced-1,495
Weights Empty- 5,309lb.
Maximum Speed-242 MPH Late Models 430mph
Range- 840 Miles Late Model- 915 Miles
Military Load-two fixed forward-firing 7.7mm Type-97 Machine Gun and one 7.7 mm type-97 aimed by Observer Bomb on hinged crutches under fuselage and 60kg Bomb on rack under each wing.
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