README FOR Nakajima B5N2

Thanks for downloading the Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" torpedo/bomber


Civilopedia Text Entry:

#PRTO_B5N
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^The sole shipborne torpedo-bomber of the Japanese Navy at the start of the Pacific War. It was by then quite old, having been designed to meet a specification of 1935, and was already judged to be obsolescent. It was greatly superior to the Douglas TBD Devastator - the shipboard torpedo-plane of the US Fleet - at the crucial battles of Coral Sea and Midway.
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^A city must have both $LINK<oil=GOOD_Oil> and $LINK<rubber=GOOD_rubber> in its
$LINK<Strategic Resource=GCON_ResourcesS> box to build the B5N2 Kate.
#DESC_B5N
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^In 1935 the Japanese Navy issued a specification for a Carrier Attack Bomber with folding wings to enable it to fit on a carrier elevator. The plane was also to have the ability to carry a 800 kg. torpedo or the equivalent weight in bombs, a top speed of 207 mph at 6,560 ft, a crew of three and use of either the Nakajima Hikari or Mitsubishi Kinsei radial engines. Nakajima conceived an advanced design with hydraulically operated folding landing gear and wings, fowler flaps, and a variable-pitch propeller.
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^First flown in December 1939, the B5N2 was powered by the more reliable and powerful 1,000 hp Mitsubishi Sakae 14-cylinder radial engine. The smaller engine diameter allowed engineers to rework the cowl to give the pilot better over-the-nose visibility, but despite the additional power the performance was not appreciably better. However, the more reliable engine was a plus for a carrier-based plane and the Navy accepted it into service as the Type 97 Model 22. By the time of Pearl Harbor the B5N2 had almost completely replaced the B5N1 and obsolete B4Y1 in first-line service. Participating in every major carrier action in the first part of the war, it was code-named Kate by the Allies and was credited with sinking the US carriers Lexington, Yorktown and Hornet.Last used as a torpedo bomber in the Philippine campaign of 1944, the Kates long range and three-man crew allowed it to serve a valuable role as a reconnaissance and submarine-spotting plane in areas where Allied fighters werent likely to be found. Later some B5N2s were fitted with Air-to-Surface Vessel Radar and others were fitted with the Jukitanchiki Magnetic Airborne Submarine Detection devices. Other war-weary B5N2s were used for gunnery training and as well as the target-towing planes.









PediaIcons Text Entries:

#ICON_PRTO_B5N
art\civilopedia\icons\units\B5NLarge.pcx
art\civilopedia\icons\units\B5NSmall.pcx

#ANIMNAME_PRTO_B5N
B5N

Suggested Stats:

Prerequisite:  Flight 
Shield Cost: 16
Moves: 1 Operational Range 12
A/D: 0/0
Air Bombard, Bombard: 18
Requires Support
Required Resources:  Oil, Rubber
Unit Abilities:  Immobile
AI Strategies:  Offence
Air Missions: Bombing, Recon, Rebase



