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Description
N1K2 Shiden

Country of Origin: Japan
Manufacturer: Kawanishi
Crew: 1 pilot
Length: 30 ft 7 in (9.3 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 4 in (12.0 m)
Height: 13 ft 0 in (3.9 m)
Weight: 5,855 lb (2,656 kg) empty, 8,820 lb (4,000 kg) combat loaded
Powerplant: 1x Turbosupercharged Nakajima Homare NK9H 14 cylinder air cooled radial piston engine with 1,990 horsepower
Maximum Speed: 406 mph (653 kph)
Service Ceiling: 35,500 ft (10,800 m)
Range: 1,488 mi (2,395 km)
Armament: 4x 20mm Type 99 Model 2 autocannons
Kit Maker and Scale: Hasegawa, 1:48

Representing a quantum leap forward in the Japanese aerospace industry during World War II, the N1K2 Shiden (Violet Lightning) was everything the Japanese truly needed in an aircraft to fight the kind of war that was being waged over the Pacific Theater. Fast, tough, agile, heavily armed and capable of taking a severe beating, the Shiden was a world class fighter capable out-performing even the legendary F6F Hellcat and the P-51 Mustang. Older fighters such as the P-40 Warhawk and the F4F Wildcat were completely outclassed and were meat and drink to the Shiden; the only true match available to the U.S. was the F4U Corsair.

During its development, the Shiden had a rather unique older sibling, the N1K float plane fighter of 1942. Although a considerable number of land based aircraft had been converted into float planes, very few float planes ever became land planes, though such was the case with the Shiden. Although the N1K version was a solid aircraft and capable of taking abuse, its large, heavy flotation gear crippled its agility and left it vulnerable to the U.S. and British Navy's high performance fighters. Believing their design had more potential, Kawanishi engineers removed the flotation gear and installed conventional landing gear for land based use.

Outfitted with a high performance engine of entirely new design, the Homare NK9A, the N1K1 (as the land based variant came to be known) proved its designers correct as it immediately started to show its potential against enemy aircraft, trading shots with Hellcats and Spitfires. It had a number of flaws though, most crippling being its engine. Although powerful, it was rushed into production without sufficient development time and had a number of teething troubles that were never fully worked out, causing multiple problems both on the ground during maintenance and in the air during flight and combat.

Another problem was its landing gear, which telescoped several inches to allow a long enough length for propeller ground clearance, yet become short enough to fit into the wings. This complex system often broke down, leaving the landing gear wheels stuck in place, unable to fully extend or collapse. A further problem was insufficiently heat treated metal, which often failed on landing and caused the gear struts to snap.

In an attempt to correct this, Kawanishi produced the N1K2 version in late 1943 which did away with the telescoping landing gear by moving the wing from the mid position to the low position on the fuselage. The Homare engine was modified and tuned up a bit, however the problems never fully went away and it remained a maintenance heavy engine. Other smaller refinements included a redesign of the tail and an overall lightening of the airframe, which made the K2 version faster and more nimble than the K1.

In combat, the N1K2 was a phenomenally agile machine, able to out-maneuver its older sibling, the A6M Zero. A roll rate of 82 degrees per second gave it maneuverability par excellence while its quad 20mm cannons allowed it to blast apart anything it ran up against. Although it was a bit of a handful for rookie pilots, veteran aviators could wreak havoc on enemy aircraft. In March 1945, Shidens of the 343rd Kokutai intercepted a raid of 300 U.S. aircraft. Picking a fight with the Hellcats of VBF-17, both sides initially lost three aircraft, though minutes later as the aircraft traded shots, several more went down; 6 more Shidens and 8 more Hellcats.

A few days later, the 343rd Kokutai took on the Corsairs of VBF-10 and in the spiraling dogfights, the Corsairs took out four Shidens while 3 Corsairs were shot down and 5 heavily damaged, some of which were shoved off their carriers and into the sea after their pilots managed to get them back on deck. Shortly after, Hellcats of VF-9 took down two more Shidens, though the Shidens struck back. By the end of March, the Shidens claimed 52 victories, while the Corsairs and Hellcats claimed 63. Although that was a loss counting against the Shidens, the gap was rather small, and considering that the end of the war was effectively inevitable (Germany would fall in a month), the tally is rather impressive. Had the Shidens appeared in strength perhaps as early as only 6 months earlier, their impact on the air war over the Pacific could have been quite profound indeed.

A rock solid fighter through and through, as the war drew to a close, the situation in Japan turned desperate and many Shidens became "lame ducks" due to manufacturing troubles. Quality control at Japanese factories went from sheer crap to non existent in 1945 due to relentless hammering by the U.S. Army's heavy bombers, resulting in numerous manufacturing problems ranging from improperly heat treated steel to poorly forged engine cylinder heads and oil pump failures to improperly tuned carburettors. When the summer of 1945 began, squadron pilots had to draw straws to determine who would be able to get a properly built (or field tuned and corrected) Shiden and who would get a sub-par machine.

Post war, an interesting discovery was made about the Shiden. During World War II, the Japanese military used in their aircraft a fuel which was not too dissimilar to regular automotive gasoline instead of the high performance aviation gasoline used by the U.S., Germany and other nations. When a number of Shidens were taken to the U.S. for testing and evaluations in late 1945 and early 1946, they were fueled with the U.S.'s high performance gasoline. When taken on speed trials, the Shiden's normal speed of 406 mph was boosted to 456 mph; the Shiden proved to have even more potential than even its pilots and designers had imagined.

More Pics:

Head on:
[link]

Planform:
[link]

9 o'clock:
[link]

7 o'clock:
[link]

Aft:
[link]

Landing gear and starboard 20mm cannons:
[link]

Description
N1K2 Shiden

Country of Origin: Japan
Manufacturer: Kawanishi
Crew: 1 pilot
Length: 30 ft 7 in (9.3 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 4 in (12.0 m)
Height: 13 ft 0 in (3.9 m)
Weight: 5,855 lb (2,656 kg) empty, 8,820 lb (4,000 kg) combat loaded
Powerplant: 1x Turbosupercharged Nakajima Homare NK9H 14 cylinder air cooled radial piston engine with 1,990 horsepower
Maximum Speed: 406 mph (653 kph)
Service Ceiling: 35,500 ft (10,800 m)
Range: 1,488 mi (2,395 km)
Armament: 4x 20mm Type 99 Model 2 autocannons
Kit Maker and Scale: Hasegawa, 1:48

Representing a quantum leap forward in the Japanese aerospace industry during World War II, the N1K2 Shiden (Violet Lightning) was everything the Japanese truly needed in an aircraft to fight the kind of war that was being waged over the Pacific Theater. Fast, tough, agile, heavily armed and capable of taking a severe beating, the Shiden was a world class fighter capable out-performing even the legendary F6F Hellcat and the P-51 Mustang. Older fighters such as the P-40 Warhawk and the F4F Wildcat were completely outclassed and were meat and drink to the Shiden; the only true match available to the U.S. was the F4U Corsair.

During its development, the Shiden had a rather unique older sibling, the N1K float plane fighter of 1942. Although a considerable number of land based aircraft had been converted into float planes, very few float planes ever became land planes, though such was the case with the Shiden. Although the N1K version was a solid aircraft and capable of taking abuse, its large, heavy flotation gear crippled its agility and left it vulnerable to the U.S. and British Navy's high performance fighters. Believing their design had more potential, Kawanishi engineers removed the flotation gear and installed conventional landing gear for land based use.

Outfitted with a high performance engine of entirely new design, the Homare NK9A, the N1K1 (as the land based variant came to be known) proved its designers correct as it immediately started to show its potential against enemy aircraft, trading shots with Hellcats and Spitfires. It had a number of flaws though, most crippling being its engine. Although powerful, it was rushed into production without sufficient development time and had a number of teething troubles that were never fully worked out, causing multiple problems both on the ground during maintenance and in the air during flight and combat.

Another problem was its landing gear, which telescoped several inches to allow a long enough length for propeller ground clearance, yet become short enough to fit into the wings. This complex system often broke down, leaving the landing gear wheels stuck in place, unable to fully extend or collapse. A further problem was insufficiently heat treated metal, which often failed on landing and caused the gear struts to snap.

In an attempt to correct this, Kawanishi produced the N1K2 version in late 1943 which did away with the telescoping landing gear by moving the wing from the mid position to the low position on the fuselage. The Homare engine was modified and tuned up a bit, however the problems never fully went away and it remained a maintenance heavy engine. Other smaller refinements included a redesign of the tail and an overall lightening of the airframe, which made the K2 version faster and more nimble than the K1.

In combat, the N1K2 was a phenomenally agile machine, able to out-maneuver its older sibling, the A6M Zero. A roll rate of 82 degrees per second gave it maneuverability par excellence while its quad 20mm cannons allowed it to blast apart anything it ran up against. Although it was a bit of a handful for rookie pilots, veteran aviators could wreak havoc on enemy aircraft. In March 1945, Shidens of the 343rd Kokutai intercepted a raid of 300 U.S. aircraft. Picking a fight with the Hellcats of VBF-17, both sides initially lost three aircraft, though minutes later as the aircraft traded shots, several more went down; 6 more Shidens and 8 more Hellcats.

A few days later, the 343rd Kokutai took on the Corsairs of VBF-10 and in the spiraling dogfights, the Corsairs took out four Shidens while 3 Corsairs were shot down and 5 heavily damaged, some of which were shoved off their carriers and into the sea after their pilots managed to get them back on deck. Shortly after, Hellcats of VF-9 took down two more Shidens, though the Shidens struck back. By the end of March, the Shidens claimed 52 victories, while the Corsairs and Hellcats claimed 63. Although that was a loss counting against the Shidens, the gap was rather small, and considering that the end of the war was effectively inevitable (Germany would fall in a month), the tally is rather impressive. Had the Shidens appeared in strength perhaps as early as only 6 months earlier, their impact on the air war over the Pacific could have been quite profound indeed.

A rock solid fighter through and through, as the war drew to a close, the situation in Japan turned desperate and many Shidens became "lame ducks" due to manufacturing troubles. Quality control at Japanese factories went from sheer crap to non existent in 1945 due to relentless hammering by the U.S. Army's heavy bombers, resulting in numerous manufacturing problems ranging from improperly heat treated steel to poorly forged engine cylinder heads and oil pump failures to improperly tuned carburettors. When the summer of 1945 began, squadron pilots had to draw straws to determine who would be able to get a properly built (or field tuned and corrected) Shiden and who would get a sub-par machine.

Post war, an interesting discovery was made about the Shiden. During World War II, the Japanese military used in their aircraft a fuel which was not too dissimilar to regular automotive gasoline instead of the high performance aviation gasoline used by the U.S., Germany and other nations. When a number of Shidens were taken to the U.S. for testing and evaluations in late 1945 and early 1946, they were fueled with the U.S.'s high performance gasoline. When taken on speed trials, the Shiden's normal speed of 406 mph was boosted to 456 mph; the Shiden proved to have even more potential than even its pilots and designers had imagined.

More Pics:

Head on:
[link]

Planform:
[link]

9 o'clock:
[link]

7 o'clock:
[link]

Aft:
[link]

Landing gear and starboard 20mm cannons:
[link]