World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseForeseeing the obsolescence of the success B5N torpedo bombers of Pearl Harbor fame, the Japanese Navy issued a requirement in 1939 for a new design with better performance without sacrificing weapon capacity. The B6N Tenzan ("Heavenly Mountain") torpedo bombers were the result. The development of the B6N aircraft was rather eventful; engine problems and restrictions posed by the dimensions of carrier flight decks and elevators contributed to much delay. It was not until 1943 that they entered production. Unfortunately for the Japanese Navy, by this time several of its fleet carriers with flight decks large enough for B6N aircraft to operate were already lost, so these torpedo bombers never had a chance to reach their fullest potentials. The vast majority of them operated out of land bases, and did not contribute to the war significantly. At Okinawa, they were used in special attacks. A total of 1,268 B6N torpedo bombers were made during the war.

ww2dbaseAllied code name for the B6N design was "Jill".

SPECIFICATIONS

B6N2

Machinery	One Mitsubishi Kasei 25 radial engine rated at 1,850hp
Armament	2x7.7mm Type 92 machine guns, 1x800kg torpedo or 3x250kg bombs
Crew	3
Span	14.89 m
Length	10.87 m
Height	3.80 m
Wing Area	37.20 m²
Weight, Empty	3,010 kg
Weight, Loaded	5,200 kg
Weight, Maximum	5,650 kg
Speed, Maximum	468 km/h
Rate of Climb	8.00 m/s
Service Ceiling	9,040 m
Range, Normal	2,960 km

Photographs