This is a list of aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
Aircraft | Allied Code name | First flown | Number built | Service |
---|---|---|---|---|
Aichi D3A Navy Type 99 Carrier Bomber | Val | 1940 | 1486 | IJN |
Aichi B7A Ryusei Navy carrier torpedo bomber | Grace | 1942 | 114 | IJN |
Aichi M6A1 Seiran Navy Special Strike Submarine Bomber | n/a | 1943 | 28 | IJN |
Mitsubishi Ki-15 Army Type 97 Command Reconnaissance Plane | Babs | 1936 | 500~ | IJA |
Mitsubishi Ki-51 Army Type 99 Assault Plane | Sonia | 1939 | 2385 | IJA |
Mitsubishi B5M Navy Type 97 No.2 Carrier Attack Bomber | Mabel | 1937 | 125 | IJN |
Nakajima B5N Navy Type 97 Carrier Attack Bomber | Kate | 1937 | 1150~ | IJN |
Nakajima B6N Tenzan Navy Carrier Torpedo Bomber | Jill | 1941 | 1268 | IJN |
Tachikawa Ki-36 Army Type 98 Direct Co-operation Aircraft | Ida | 1938 | 1334 | IJA |
Yokosuka B4Y Navy Type 96 Carrier Attacker | Jean | 1935 | 205 | IJN |
Yokosuka D4Y Suisei Navy Carrier Dive bomber | Judy | 1942 | 2038 | IJN |
Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka | Baka ('Fool' in Japanese) [1] | 1944 | 852 | IJN |
Aircraft | Allied Code Name | First Flown | Number Built | Service |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kawasaki Ki-48 Army Type 99 Twin-engined Light Bomber | Lily | 1940 | 1997 | IJA |
Kawasaki Ki-32 Army Type 98 Light Bomber | Mary | 1937 | 854 | IJA |
Mitsubishi G3M Navy Type 96 Land-based Attack Aircraft | Nell | 1935 | 1048 | IJN |
Mitsubishi G4M Navy Type 1 Land-based Attack Aircraft | Betty | 1941 | 2435 | IJN |
Mitsubishi Ki-21 Army Type 97 Heavy Bomber | Sally | 1938 | 2064 | IJA |
Mitsubishi Ki-30 Army Type 97 Light bomber | Ann | 1938 | 704 | IJA |
Mitsubishi Ki-67 Hiryu Navy Type 4 Heavy Bomber | Peggy | 1942 | 767 | IJA |
Nakajima Ki-49 Donryu Army Type 100 Heavy Bomber | Helen | 1941 | 819 | IJA |
Yokosuka P1Y1 Ginga Navy Land-Based Bomber | Frances | 1943 | 1098 | IJN |
Trainer aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II were frequently modified from operational aircraft and differentiated by the suffix letter "K". Japanese training aircraft were red-orange where combat aircraft would have been camouflaged.
Aircraft | Allied Code name | First flown | Number built | Service |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kawasaki Ki-56 Army Type 1 Freight Transport & Tachikawa Navy Type LO | Thalia/Thelma | 1940 | 121 | IJA & IJN |
Mitsubishi Ki-57 Army Type 100 Transport | Topsy | 1940 | 406 | IJA |
Nakajima Ki-34 Army Type 97 Transport & Nakajima L1N Navy Type AT-2 Transport | Thora | 1936 | 351 | IJA & IJN |
Showa/Nakajima L2D Navy Type 0 Transport | Tabby | 1939 | 487 | IJN |
Mitsubishi Hinazuru-type Passenger Transport | n/a | 1936 | 11 | IJN |
A total of 85611 aircraft were produced by Japan in WW2.
Aircraft | Allied Code name | First flown | Number built |
---|---|---|---|
Kyushu J7W Shinden | n/a | 3 August 1945 | 2 |
Mitsubishi Ki-83 | n/a | 1944 | 4 |
Mitsubishi J8M | n/a | 1944 | 7 |
Nakajima G8N | Rita | 1944 | 4 |
Nakajima Ki-87 | n/a | 1945 | 1 |
Tachikawa Ki-94-I | n/a | 1944 | 2 |
Tachikawa Ki-94-II | n/a | n/a | 2 |
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender in World War II. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) was formed between 1952 and 1954 after the dissolution of the IJN.
The Aichi B7A Ryusei was a large and powerful carrier-borne torpedo-dive bomber produced by Aichi Kokuki for the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during the Second World War. Built in only small numbers and deprived of the aircraft carriers it was intended to operate from, the type had little chance to distinguish itself in combat before the war ended in August 1945.
The Mitsubishi F1M was a Japanese reconnaissance floatplane of World War II. It was the last biplane type of the Imperial Japanese Navy, with 944 built between 1936 and 1944. The Navy designation was "Type Zero Observation Seaplane" (零式水上観測機).
The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War.
During World War II, Japanese Special Attack Units, also called shimbu-tai, were specialized units of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army normally used for suicide missions. They included kamikaze aircraft, fukuryu frogmen, and several types of suicide boats and submarines.
The Mitsubishi Ki-57 was a Japanese passenger transport aircraft, developed from the Ki-21 bomber, during the early 1940s.
The Yokosuka K5Y was a two-seat unequal-span biplane trainer that served in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Due to its bright orange paint scheme, it earned the nickname "aka-tombo", or "red dragonfly", after a type of insect common throughout Japan.
Wakaba was the third of six Hatsuharu-class destroyers, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy under the Circle One Program. Three were laid down in JFY 1931 and the next three in JFY 1933. The remaining six ships in the plan were built as the Shiratsuyu class.
The Aichi E11A was an Imperial Japanese Navy flying boat used during the first year of World War II for maritime patrol duties. The Allied reporting name for the type was "Laura"; the Japanese Navy designation was "Type 98 Reconnaissance Seaplane". The Type 98 was quite similar to the earlier E10A Type 96, whose allied name was "Hank". "Lauras" were rare - only 17 were built. It was designed to be launched from cruisers or battleships in order to spot their shellfire at night. The Type 98s were soon diverted to communications and transport duties.
The Mitsubishi B5M was an Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) land-based attack aircraft, originally intended for carrier use. The B5M was also given the long formal designation Navy Type 97 No.2 Carrier Attack Bomber and Allied reporting name of Mabel.
Sazanami was the nineteenth of twenty-four Fubuki-class destroyers, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy following World War I. When introduced into service, these ships were the most powerful destroyers in the world. They served as first-line destroyers through the 1930s, and remained formidable weapons systems well into the Pacific War.
The Mitsubishi Ki-15Army Type 97 Command Reconnaissance aircraft was a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft and a light attack bomber of the Second Sino-Japanese War and Pacific War. It began as a fast civilian mail-plane. It was a single-engine, low-wing, cantilever monoplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage; it carried a crew of two. It served with both the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. During World War II it was code-named "Babs" by the Allies.
The Kawanishi E7K was a Japanese three-seat reconnaissance seaplane mainly in use during the 1930s. It was allocated the reporting name Alf by the Allies of World War II.
The six Nagara-class light cruisers were a class of six light cruisers built for and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Nagara-class cruisers proved useful in combat operations ranging from the Aleutian Islands to the Indian Ocean throughout World War II. Most served as flagships for destroyer or submarine squadrons, and were deployed for transport or local defense missions. Towards the end of the war, the surviving vessels were increasingly obsolete and were retained as second-line units.
The Mutsuki-class destroyers were a class of twelve destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. All were given traditional poetic names of the months of the year by the Lunar calendar or phases of the moon. Some authors consider the Kamikaze and Mutsuki-class destroyers to be extensions of the earlier Minekaze class.
Nisshin (日進) was a seaplane tender (AV) of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
The Chitose-class aircraft carriers were a class of two seaplane tenders, later converted to light aircraft carriers, of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, the total tonnage of Japan's naval vessels was limited by class. The Chitose-class ships were built as seaplane tenders, designed to make the conversion to aircraft carriers relatively easy. They served as seaplane tenders during the early part of the Pacific War. After the Battle of Midway, they were converted into light aircraft carriers. Both ships participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and both were sunk in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
The Maritime Heritage Trail – Battle of Saipan is located within the protected waters of Saipan lagoon in the Northern Marianas archipelago. The majority of the dive sites including two Japanese shipwrecks, two Japanese aircraft, two US aircraft, a US landing vehicle and two Japanese landing craft can be found in the clear waters between Garapan, Tanapag Harbor, and Mañagaha Island while further south in Chalan Kanoa Lagoon there are three US tanks.
The Yamashio Maru class consisted of a pair of auxiliary escort carriers operated by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. They were converted from tankers. Only the name ship was completed during the war and she was sunk by American aircraft before she could be used.