Mitsubishi A5M3a

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avi72002_0
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.

Mitsubishi A5M3a

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Structure description
Modifications made to the Mitsubishi A5M3a:

  1. replacement of the engine with a Hispano-Suiza 12Xcrs engine
  2. Lengthening the nose of the machine, which makes the total length 8.37 m
  3. In the drive shaft there is mounted 20mm cannon Hispano-Suiza HS-404
Technical sketches

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OIP

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
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would make a good rank 1 premium

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+1 love your posts!

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Yes an absolute +1 from me!

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Found some specifications with weight and with some parts different, but nothing about max speed yet.

九六式三号艦上戦闘機

全 長 8.377m
全 幅 11.000m
全 高 3.095m
主翼面積 16.000㎡
重 量 1,075kg
航続距離 ???
発動機
馬力 水冷V型12気筒「L式12Xcrs」(イスパノ・スイザ)
610馬力
最大速度 ???
武 装 モーターカノン20mm機関砲 1門(胴体)
符 号 A5M3
full length 8.377m
Overall width 11.000m
Overall Height 3.095m
Wing area 16.000㎡
Weight 1,075kg
Cruising distance ???
Engine
horsepower Water-cooled V12 “L-type 12Xcrs” (Hispano-Suiza)
610 horsepower
Maximum Speed ???
Weapons Motor Cannon 20mm cannon x 1 (fuselage)
Code A5M3

Some sources even say 690 horsepower for the Water-cooled V12 “L-type 12Xcrs” (Hispano-Suiza) insted of 610. But that is still less than A5M4s 710 hp. The main reason for rejection of A5M3 begin that it was difficult to domestically produce the forein engine and that it wasnt very reliable. Hard to tell if it was less manuverable or slower given it was lighter but worse engine than the final A5M4 as I havent find any test results on that or anything talking if it was worse or better.

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