Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>Kate>HA2007
B5N2 Type 97 Attack Bomber "Kate" Aircraft Carrier Zuiho, Oct 1942
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 There were 1,150 B5N1 and B5N2 Torpedo Bombers produced but by 1944 the Kate had been replaced by the B6N "Jill".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 Japanese aircraft carrier Zuiho (瑞鳳, "fortunate phoenix") originally was a high-
speed oiler. The ship was converted to a carrier, renamed and given a complement of
16 Mitsubishi A5M Claude and 15 Nakajima B5N1 Kate. The Battle of Leyte Gulf took
place from October 23 – 26 1944. As part of a small Japanese force that was sacrificed
to lure some of the U.S. fleet away from the main Japanese battleship fleet the Zuiho
was sunk on October 25, 1942.
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 |