The Mitsubishi B2M was a Japanese carrier-based torpedo bomber of the 1920s and 1930s. It was built by Mitsubishi to a design by Blackburn Aircraft of Britain and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy.
B2M | |
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Role | Torpedo bomber Type of aircraft |
Manufacturer | Mitsubishi |
First flight | 28 December 1929 |
Introduction | 1932 |
Primary user | Imperial Japanese Navy |
Number built | 206 |
Developed from | Blackburn Ripon |
In 1927, the Japanese company Mitsubishi commissioned the British aircraft manufacturer Blackburn Aircraft to design an aircraft, which would be built under licence by Mitsubishi if successful, to enter a competition held by the Imperial Japanese Navy for a carrier-based reconnaissance and torpedo bomber to replace its B1M. Blackburn developed a design, the Blackburn T.7B, which was an enlarged development of their Ripon, which was under development for Britain's Fleet Air Arm.[1] The T.7B was a three-seat biplane of steel tube construction and with high aspect ratio wings fitted with Handley Page slats, powered by a 466 kW (625 hp) Hispano-Suiza 12Lbr engine.
The design was declared the winner of the competition, with a prototype (referred to as the 3MT4) being ordered from Blackburn. This first flew on 28 December 1929 at Blackburn's factory at Brough, Yorkshire,[1] and was shipped to Japan in February 1930.[2]
Three development prototypes were built by Mitsubishi in Japan before the aircraft was adopted as the Navy Type 89-1 Model 1 Carrier Attack Plane or Mitsubishi B2M1.[3]
The B2M1 entered service with the Imperial Japanese Navy in March 1932,[3] serving aboard the carriers Akagi, Kaga and Hōshō. Modifications to improve maintainability resulted in the B2M2 or Navy Type 89-2 Carrier Attack Plane, which otherwise showed little improvement in performance over the B2M1. Production of both versions totalled 204 aircraft.[3]
B2Ms were extensively used for high- and low-level bombing attacks against China at the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937.[3][4]
Data from World Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft[2]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
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Fighters (A) | |
Torpedo bombers (B) | |
Shipboard reconnaissance (C) | |
Dive bombers (D) | |
Reconnaissance seaplanes (E) | |
Observation seaplanes (F) | |
Land-based bombers (G) | |
Flying Boats (H) | |
Land-based Fighters (J) | |
Trainers (K) | |
Transports (L) |
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Special-purpose (M)1 | |
Floatplane fighters (N) | |
Land-based bombers (P) | |
Patrol (Q) | |
Land-based reconnaissance (R) | |
Night fighters (S) |
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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 |