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The Nakajima G8N was a four-engined, long-range bomber designed for use by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Navy full designation was , the Allied code name was "Rita".

Design and development

In February 1943, the Imperial Navy staff asked Nakajima Aircraft Company to design a four-engined bomber, capable of meeting an earlier specification set for a long-range, land-based attack plane. The final specification, issued on 14 September 1943, called for a plane with a maximum speed of able to carry a bomb-load or a reduced bomb-load .

Nakajima's design featured a mid-mounted wing of small area and high aspect ratio, a tricycle landing gear, and a large single-fin rudder. Power came from four 2,000&nbsp;hp Nakajima NK9K-L "Homare" 24 radial engines with Hitachi 92 turbosuperchargers driving four-bladed propellers. The engines were cooled by counter-rotating fans positioned just inside the engine cowlings.

Operational history

thumb|right|A captured G8N painted in United States Army Air Forces markings with a [[Beechcraft Model 18|C-45 and T-6]]

The initial prototype was completed in October 1944 and delivered to the Navy for testing in January 1945, a year after the Navy ordered development to start. Three further examples were completed by June 1945, with the third prototype being destroyed on the ground by US carrier aircraft. and scrapped after testing. None are in existence today.

Variants

thumb|A Nakajima G8N1 (left) and a [[Nakajima G5N|G5N1 (right) photographed by an American reconnaissance flight.]]

;G8N1 Renzan

:Four-engine heavy bomber. Production version. Four built.

;G8N2 Renzan Kai Model 22

:Modified to carry Ohka Type 33 Special Attack Bomber. Four Mitsubishi MK9A radial engines.

;G8N3 Renzan Kai Model 23

:All-steel airframe - never produced.

Operators

;

  • Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
  • Naval Air Technical Arsenal (and after february 1945, reorganised to 1st Naval Technical Arsenal)

Specifications (G8N1)

thumb

See also

References

;Bibliography

  • Collier, Basil. Japanese Aircraft of World War II. New York: Mayflower Books, 1979. .
  • Unknown authors. Famous Airplanes of the World: Nakajima Shinzan / Renzan (Volume 11, no.146). Japan: Bunrin-Do, Nov. 1984.