- Yes
- No
Mitsubishi A5M3a (九六式三号艦戦)
Mitsubishi M5A3a is an experimental aircraft created in a similar period to the Ki-12 fighter. Both had in common that they had the same French engine and very similar armament.
History
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in 1938 noticed that more and more new generation aircraft, i.e. with an inline engine, were appearing in Western countries. It was decided that this solution would be tested on the latest Navy aircraft, the Mitsubishi A5M1. The Hispano-Suiza 12Xcrs engine from the recently imported French D.510 fighter was used. A similar thing was done by the Nakajima plant, which created the Ki-12 aircraft using this engine.Unfortunately, no specific dates have survived when the prototype was produced or when it was tested. It is known about the production of 2 prototypes that have been tested. Tests have shown that the aircraft is the fastest version of Mitsubishi A5M aircraft. However, the IJN Command stated that although the aircraft had great performance, it had insufficient maneuverability and they did not want to rely on foreign engines. It is not known what happened to the deluge A5M3a fighters afterwards.
Structure description
Modifications made to the Mitsubishi A5M3a:
- replacement of the engine with a Hispano-Suiza 12Xcrs engine
- Lengthening the nose of the machine, which makes the total length 8.37 m
- In the drive shaft there is mounted 20mm cannon Hispano-Suiza HS-404
Technical sketches
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 8.37 m (27ft 6in)
- Wingspan: 11 m (36 ft 1 in)
- Height: 3.27 m (10 ft 9 in)
- Wing area: 17.8 m2 (192 sq ft)
- Empty weight: ?
- Gross weight: ?
- Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza 12Xcrs water-cooled engine , 450 kW (610 hp)
- Propellers: 3-bladed metal propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: ?
- Range: ?
- Service ceiling: ?
Armament
- Guns: 1 x 20mm Hispano-Suiza HS-404 cannon
Summary
Although there is no information about the performance of the Mitsubishi A5M3a, in my opinion it would be a very interesting aircraft for Japan in War Thunder. It provides high power and powerful low-level weaponry for Japan. I encourage you to discuss in the comments and to share your own knowledge on this subject.
Finally, I apologize for the linguistic and logical errors because unfortunately English is not my main language and I had to use google translator.
Internet sources
九六式艦上戦闘機 - Wikipedia
Mitsubishi A5M - Wikipedia
Micubiši A5M3a : Micubiši (valka.cz)
Mitsubishi A5M ‘Claude’ (historyofwar.org)
Mitsubishi A5M (combinedfleet.com)
Уголок неба ¦ Mitsubishi A5M (airwar.ru)
Mitsubishi A5M CLAUDE - fighter (aviastar.org)
Mitsubishi A6M “Claude” (1937) (naval-encyclopedia.com)
Mitsubishi A5M (Claude) Carrier-borne Fighter Aircraft (militaryfactory.com)
Mitsubishi A5M (Claude): Photos, History, Specification (tvd.im)
Book sources
- Yellow Mushroom Mitsubishi A5M Claude (2003) | PDF (scribd.com)
- Japanese Aircraft of Wolrld War II : 1937-1945 ,Thomas Newdick, Edition 2 2017, page 57-59