Nakajima G8N - Wikipedia

1944 bomber aircraft family by Nakajima

G8N Renzan
General information
Type	Heavy bomber
National origin	Japan
Manufacturer	Nakajima Aircraft Company
Status	retired
Primary user	Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Number built	4
History
Introduction date	1945
First flight	23 October 1944
Retired	August 1945

The Nakajima G8N Renzan (連山, Mountain Range) was a four-engined, long-range bomber designed for use by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Navy full designation was "Type 18 land-based attack aircraft" (十八試陸上攻撃機), the Allied code name was "Rita".

Design and development

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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 320 knots (590 km/h; 370 mph) able to carry a 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) bomb-load 2,000 nmi (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) or a reduced bomb-load 4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi).[1]

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 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.[1] Defensive armament included power-operated nose, dorsal, ventral, and tail turrets, along with two free-swiveling machine guns at the beam positions.[2]

Operational history

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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.[2]

Other than minor problems with the turbosuperchargers, the Renzan performed satisfactorily, and the Navy hoped to have a total of sixteen prototypes and 48 production-version G8N1s assembled by September 1945. However, the worsening War situation and a critical shortage of light aluminium alloys led to the project's cancellation in June.[2]

One proposed variant was the G8N2 Renzan-Kai Model 22, powered by four 2,200 hp Mitsubishi MK9A radial engines and modified to accept attachment of the air-launched Ohka Type 33 Special Attack Bomber.[2]

Just before Japan's surrender in August 1945, consideration was also briefly given to producing an all-steel version of the aircraft to be designated G8N3 Renzan-Kai Model 23, but the cessation of hostilities precluded any further development.[2]

After the War, one prototype was taken to the United States[3][4] and scrapped after testing. None are in existence today.

Variants

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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

[edit]  Japan

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

Specifications (G8N1)

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Data from Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: 10
• Length: 22.935 m (75 ft 3 in)
• Wingspan: 32.54 m (106 ft 9 in)
• Height: 7.2 m (23 ft 7 in)
• Wing area: 112 m2 (1,210 sq ft)
• Airfoil: root: K251; tip: K159[5]
• Empty weight: 17,400 kg (38,360 lb)
• Gross weight: 26,800 kg (59,084 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 32,150 kg (70,879 lb)
• Powerplant: 4 × Nakajima NK9K-L Homare 24 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 1,500 kW (2,000 hp) each for take-off

1,380 kW (1,850 hp) at 8,000 m (26,000 ft)

• Propellers: 4-bladed constant-speed metal propellers

Performance

• Maximum speed: 593 km/h (368 mph, 320 kn) at 8,000 m (26,000 ft)
• Cruise speed: 370 km/h (230 mph, 200 kn) at 4,000 m (13,000 ft)
• Range: 3,945 km (2,451 mi, 2,130 nmi)
• Ferry range: 7,464 km (4,638 mi, 4,030 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 10,200 m (33,500 ft)
• Time to altitude: 8,000 m (26,000 ft) in 17 minutes 34 seconds
• Wing loading: 239.3 kg/m2 (49.0 lb/sq ft)
• Power/mass: 0.2191 kW/kg (0.1333 hp/lb)

Armament

• Guns:
  • 6× 20 mm Type 99 cannon - 2 each in the dorsal, ventral, and tail turrets
  • 2× 13 mm (.51 in) Type 2 machine guns in nose turret
  • 2× 13 mm (.51 in) Type 2 machine gun in fuselage sides
• Bombs:
  • 2x 2,000 kg (4,409 lb) bombs - maximum
  • 4x 250 kg (551 lb) bombs - normal

See also

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Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Avro Lincoln
• Boeing B-29 Superfortress
• Consolidated B-32 Dominator
• Focke-Wulf Fw 191C
• Heinkel He 177B
• Junkers Ju 290
• Martin XB-33A Super Marauder
• Petlyakov Pe-8

References

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1. ^ a b Francillon 1979, p. 440.
2. ^ a b c d e f Francillon 1979, p. 441.
3. ^ Thorpe 1977, p. 27.
4. ^ A G8N "Rita" in the USA via http://www.ww2incolor.com
5. ^ Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.

Bibliography

• Collier, Basil. Japanese Aircraft of World War II. New York: Mayflower Books, 1979. ISBN 0-8317-5137-1.
• Francillon, René J. (1979). Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War (2nd ed.). London: Putnam & Company Ltd. ISBN 0-370-30251-6.
• Thorpe, Donald W. (1977). Japanese Naval Air Force Camouflage and Markings World War II. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-8168-6583-3.
• Unknown authors. Famous Airplanes of the World: Nakajima Shinzan / Renzan (Volume 11, no.146). Japan: Bunrin-Do, Nov. 1984.

External links

[edit] Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nakajima G8N Renzan.

v t e Nakajima aircraft
Imperial Japanese Navy types	Carrier fighters A1N A2N A3N A4N Carrier Torpedo Bombers B3N B4N B5N B6N Reconnaissance aircraft C2N C3N C6N Dive bombers D3N Reconnaissance floatplanes E2N E4N E8N Land-based Attack Bombers G5N G8N Fugaku Interceptors J1N J5N Kikka Transports L1N Floatplane fighter A6M2-N Other LB-2 P-1
Imperial Japanese Army types	Army manufacturer type code system Nieuport 83/Nakajima 甲2 (Ko 2) Nieuport 24/Nakajima 甲3 (Ko 3) Nieuport-Delage NiD 29/Nakajima 甲4 (Ko 4) Army type-year Type 91 fighter Type 94 reconnaissance aircraft Type 95 training aircraft Type 97 fighter Type 97 transport Type 100 heavy bomber Type 1 fighter Type 2 single-seat fighter Type 4 fighter Kitai (airframe #) Ki-4 Ki-6 Ki-8 Ki-11 Ki-12 Ki-13 Ki-16 Ki-19 Ki-27 Ki-31 Ki-34 Ki-37 Ki-41 Ki-43 Ki-44 Ki-49 Ki-52 Ki-53 Ki-58 Ki-62 Ki-63 Ki-68 Ki-75 Ki-80 Ki-82 Ki-84 Ki-87 Ki-101 Ki-106 Ki-113 Ki-115 Ki-201 Ki-230
WW2 Allied reporting names	Abdul Bob Dave Frank Helen Irving Jill Jim Kate Liz Myrt Clint Nate Oscar Rita Rufe Thora Tojo

v t e Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft designations (short system)
Fighters (A)	A1N A2N A3N A4N A5M A6M A7He A7M A8V AXB1 AXD1 AXG1 AXH1 AXHe1 AXV1
Torpedo bombers (B)	B1M B2M B3N B3Y B4M B4N B4Y B5M B5N B6N B7A BXN1 C6N1-B2
Shipboard reconnaissance (C)	C1M C2N C3N C4A C5M C6N CXP1 D4Y1-C2 E4N2-C2
Dive bombers (D)	D1A D2A D2N D2Y D3A D3M D3N D3Y D4Y D5Y DXD1 DXHe1
Reconnaissance seaplanes (E)	E1Y E2N E3A E4N E5K E5Y E6Y E7K E8A E8K E8N E9W E10A E10K E11A E11K E12A E12K E12N E13A E13K E14W E14Y E15K E16A
Observation seaplanes (F)	F1A F1M J1N1-F2
Land-based bombers (G)	G1M (I) G1M (II) G2H G3M G4M G5N G6M G7M G8N G9K3 G10N3
Flying Boats (H)	H1H H2H H3H H3K H4H H5Y H6K H7K H8K H9A H10H H11K HXC1 HXD1 HXP1
Land-based Fighters (J)	J1N J2M J3K J4M J5N J6K J7W J8M J9N3 N1K1-J/N1K2-J2
Trainers (K)	K1Y K2Y K3M K4Y K5Y K6K K6M K6W K7M K8K K8Ni N8P K8W K9W K10W K11W KXA1 KXBu1 KXC1 KXJ1 KXHe1 KXL1 A5M4-K2 A6M2-K2 B5N1-K2 D3Y1-K2 E13A1-K2 F1M2-K2 G6M1-K2 M6A1-K2 Q1W1-K2
Transports (L)	L1N L2D L3Y L4M L7P LXC1 LXD1 LXF1 LXG (KR-2)1 LXG (G-21)1 LXHe1 LXJ (Ju 60)1 LXJ (Ju 86)1 LXK1 LXM1 G5N2-L2 G6M1-L2 H6K2-L/H6K4-L2 H8K1-L/H8K2-L/H8K4-L2 H11K1-L2 K3M3-L2
Special-purpose (M)1	M6A MXJ1 MXY1 MXY2 MXY2 MXY4 MXY5 MXY6 MXY7 MXY8 MXY9 MXY10 MXY11 MXZ1
Floatplane fighters (N)	N1K A6M2-N2
Land-based bombers (P)	P1Y P2M
Patrol (Q)	Q1W Q2M Q3W
Land-based reconnaissance (R)	R1Y R2Y D4Y2-R2 J1N1-R2
Night fighters (S)	S1A C6N1-S2 D4Y2-S2 E13A1a-S/E13A1b-S2 J1N1-S2 P1Y1-S/P1Y2-S2
1 X as second letter is for experimental aircraft or imported technology demonstrators not intended for service, 2 Hyphenated trailing letter (-J, -K, -L, -N or -S) denotes design modified for secondary role, 3 Possibly incorrect designation, but used in many sources

v t e Imperial Japanese Navy official aircraft names
Fighters	Naval fighters1 Jinpū (Squall) Kyōfū (Gale) Reppū (Strong wind) Land-based fighters2 Raiden (Lightning bolt) Senden (Flashing lightning) Shiden (Violet lightning) Shinden (Magnificent lightning) Tenrai (Thunder) Nightfighters3 Denkō (Lightning) Gekkō (Moonlight) Hakkō (Corona) Kyokkō (Aurora) Jet/rocket fighters Kikka (Tachibana orange blossom) Shinryū (Divine dragon) Shūsui (Sharp sword)
Heavy bombers4	Fugaku (Mount Fuji) Nanzan (South mountain) Renzan (Mountain chain) Shinzan (Deep mountain) Taizan (Great mountain) Tenzan (Heavenly mountain) Tozan (Eastern mountain)
Bombers5	Ginga (Galaxy) Myōjō (Venus) Ryūsei (Shooting star) Suisei (Comet) Tenga (Milky Way)
Patrol6	Nankai (Southern sea) Tai'yō (Ocean) Tōkai (Eastern sea)
Reconnaissance7	Keiun (Cirrus cloud) Saiun (Iridescent cloud) Seiran (Clear sky storm) Shiun (Violet cloud) Seiun (Dawn cloud) Zuiun (Auspicious cloud)
Trainers8	Momiji (Maple) Shiragiku (White chrysanthemum)
Transports9	Seikū (Clear sky) Sōkū (Blue sky)
Miscellaneous10	Akigusa (Autumn grass) Shūka (Autumn flower) Wakakusa (Young grass)
Special-purpose aircraft11	Baika (Japanese Apricot Blossom) Ohka (Sakura cherry blossom) Tōka (Wisteria flower)
With some exceptions for rockets, jets and repurposed aircraft, names chosen were for: 1. Winds, 2. Lightning, 3. Nighttime lights, 4. Mountains, 5. Stars/constellations, 6. Seas, 7. Clouds, 8. Plants, 9. Skies, 10. Landscapes, and 11. Flowers. Published translations disagree, and many are simplified, especially for plants, where the Japanese referred to a specific variety and the common translations only to the broader type.

v t e World War II Allied reporting names for Japanese aircraft
Aircraft in Japanese service	Abdul Alf Ann Babs Baka Belle Betty Bob Buzzard Cedar Cherry Clara Claude Cypress Dave Dick Dinah Dot Edna Emily Eva Eve Frances Frank Gander George Glen Goose Grace Gwen Hamp Hank Hap Helen Hickory Ida (Ki-36) Ida (Ki-55) Irving Jack Jake Jane Jean Jerry Jill Jim Judy Kate Kate 61 Laura Lily Liz Lorna Loise Louise Luke Mabel Mary Mavis Myrt Nate Nell Nick Norm Oak Oscar Pat Patsy Paul Peggy Perry Pete Pine Rex Rita Rob Rufe Ruth Sally Sally III Sam Sandy Slim Sonia Spruce Stella Steve Susie Tabby Tess Thalia Thelma Theresa Thora Tina Tillie Toby Tojo Tony Topsy Val Willow Zeke Zeke 32
Foreign aircraftthought to be in Japanese service	Bess (Heinkel He 111) Doc (Messerschmitt Bf 110) Fred (Focke Wulf Fw 190) Irene (Junkers Ju 87) Janice (Junkers Ju 88) Mike (Messerschmitt Bf 109) Millie (Vultee V-11) Trixie (Junkers Ju 52) Trudy (Focke-Wulf Fw 200)