Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>Kate>HA2006
B5N2 "Kate" Soryu first attack wave, Pearl Harbor, Dec 8, 1941
General Background
When Japan entered WWII the B5N Kate was the standard torpedo bomber and sank more Allied ships than any other type of Japanese aircraft. B5N2's played the main role in sinking the carrier Lexington at Coral Sea,Yorktown at Midway and Hornet at the Battle of Santa Cruz in October 1942. There were 1,150 B5N1 and B5N2 Torpedo Bombers produced but by 1944 the Kate had been replaced by the B6N "Jill". The Kate ended its service being used for Kamikaze attacks leaving no surviving examples.
The Aircraft
The Soryu had a complement of 60 aircraft comprised of 24Zekes, 18 Vals, 18 Kates. As part of the first wave to attack Pearl Harbor their mission was to strike the battleships USS Nevada, Tennessee and West Virginia with armor piercing bombs. The battleships USS Utah, California and the light-cruisers Helena andRaleigh were to be destroyed with torpedoes. Another target were the grounded aircraft at Barbers Point.
Specifications :
| Crew: | 3 (pilot, observer, radio operator) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length: | 33ft 10in (10.30 m) |
| Wingspan: | 50ft 11in (15.52m) |
| Height: | 12ft 2in (3.70m) |
| Wing area: | 406ft2 (37.7m2) |
| Weight | |
| Empty weight: | 5,024lb (2,279kg) |
| Loaded weight: | 8,380lb (3,800kg) |
| Maximum take off weight: | 9,040lb (4,100kg) |
| Power-plant: | 1 X Nakajima Sakae 11 radial engine - 1,000hp (750kw) |
| Performance | |
| Maximum speed: | 229mph (367 km/h) |
| Range: | 1,202mi (1,935km) |
| Service ceiling: | 27,100ft (8,260m) |
| Rate of climb: | 1,283ft/min (6.5m/s) |
| Wing loading: | 21lb/ft2 (101kg/m²) |
| Power/mass: | 0.12hp/lb (0.20kw/kg) |
| Armament | |
| Guns: | 1 X dual flexible 7.7mm in the rear cockpit. |
| External stores: | 1 X 1764 lb (800-kg) torpedo or 3 X 551-lb (250-kg) bombs |