Mitsubishi A7M Reppu

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The Mitsubishi A7M Reppu was built in response to an Imperial Japanese Navy plan in 1940 for a carrier-based fighter to supersede the famous A6M Zero-Sen. However, it wasn’t until 1942 that Mitsubishi began the design of the M-50 Reppu, and due to the continuing pressure on Mitsubishi for developments of the A6M, the prototype of the fighter was first flown only by May 6, 1944. A cantilever low-wing monoplane with retractable tailwheel landing gear, the A7M revealed excellent flight characteristics in the test run. However, the type’s maximum speed on the power of the installed Nakajima NK92 Homare 22 was way below specification, as Mitsubishi had predicted. To resolve the problem, Mitsubishi replaced the Nakajima NK92 Homare 22 engine with a new Mitsubishi MK9A radial engine, making it possible to build seven A7M prototypes and service trials aircraft, the first prototype being flown on October 13, 1944. Clearly, the A7M was the kind of potent fighter that could meet Allied opposition on equal terms, with a new maximum speed of 391 mph (630 km/h) at optimum altitude. Therefore, the type was immediately ordered into production as the Navy Carrier Fighter Reppu Model 22. Unfortunately, by the time production of the A7M began, it was much too late for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Allied air attacks and an earthquake limited production to a single aircraft, which was not nearly enough for the war. The production of similar land-based fighters was planned, but unfortunately, none of them were used in war. The war had ended around the same time as the types were finished. Although the A7M was never used in war, it was still one of the fastest and most powerful Japanese fighters.