Nakajima Army Type 91 Fighter

Nakajima Army Type 91 Fighter

Role: Fighter
Manufacturer: Nakajima
Introduced: 1931
Retired: 1937
Status: out of service
Primary user: Imperial Japanese Army
Produced: 1931-1934
Number built: 450

The Nakajima Army Type 91 Fighter was a Japanese fighter of the 1930s. It was a single-engine, single-seat parasol monoplane with a fixed, tailwheel undercarriage.

Development

Designed in response to an Army requirement of 1927, the Type 91 was developed from the NC series of fighter prototypes. The prototype was the sixth machine under that designation but was a fundamentally distinct airframe design. Compared to the earlier NC, the Type 91 had a smaller wing, relocated fuel tank and wing-bracing struts, Townend ring-type cowling, new design tail and undercarriage. It first flew in 1931.

Operational history

The Army ordered the new aircraft as the Nakajima Army Type 91 Fighter and the first deliveries took place late in 1931. However, issues arose with both directional stability and centre of gravity, with the result that the type was delayed entering service.

Between 1931 and 1934, 420 aircraft were constructed (including 100 by Ishikawajima; 23 of the total were Type 91-2, powered by a 432 kW (580 hp) Nakajima Kotobuki 2 radial engine. This version first flew in July 1934.

The Type was supplanted in service by the Kawasaki Army Type 95 Fighter in 1936-7.

Variants

Nakajima Army Type 91-1 Fighter Main production version, powered by 336 kW (450 hp) Nakajima built Jupiter radial engine. Nakajima Army Type 91-2 Fighter Improved version, powered by Nakajima Kotobuki. 21 built.

Operators

Republic of China

Kwangsi Air Force purchased two Type 91-1 fighters for evaluation in September 1934, with several more purchased in 1935.

Japan

Imperial Japanese Army Air Service

Specifications (Nakajima Army Type 91-1 Fighter)

Data from The Complete Book of Fighters

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 7.26 m (23 ft 9¾ in)
Wingspan: 11.00 m (36 ft 1 in)
Height: 2.79 m (9 ft 1¾ in)
Wing area: 20.0 m² (215.28 ft²)
Empty weight: 1,075 kg (2,370 lb)
Loaded weight: 1,530 kg (3,373 lb)
Powerplant: 1x— Bristol Jupiter VII 9-cylinder radial, 388 kW (520 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 300 km/h (162 kn, 186 mph)
Service ceiling: 9,000 m (29,500 ft)
Wing loading: kg/m² (lb/ft²)
Power/mass: W/kg (hp/lb)
Time to 3,000 ft (9,845 ft): 4.0 min
Endurance: 2 hrs

Armament

2 x— fixed, forward-firing 7.7 mm (.303 in) machine guns

Andersson, Lennart (2008). A History of Chinese Aviation:Encyclopedia of Aircraft and Aviation in China until 1949. Taipai, Taiwan: AHS of ROC. ISBN 978-957-28533-3-7.

Nakajima Army Type 91 Fighter Pictures

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Source: WikiPedia