Aichi B7A2 Ryusei ("Shooting Star") "Grace"
| Crew | 2 in tandem cockpit |
| Dimensions | 47'3" by 37'9" by 13'5" 14.4m by 11.49m by 4.08m |
| Wing area | 381
square feet 35.4 square meters |
| Weight | 8,400-14,330 lbs 3810-6500 kg |
| Maximum speed | 352 mph at
21,490 feet 566 km/h at 6550 m |
| Climb rate | 32 feet per second 9.8 meters per second |
| Ceiling | 36,910 feet 11,250 meters |
| Power plant | One Nakajima NK9C Homare 12 eighteen-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, rated at 1,825 hp for take-off, 1,670 hp at 2,400 m and 1,560 hp at 6,550 m, driving a constant-speed four-blade metal propeller |
| Armament | Two wing-mounted 20mm Type 99/2 cannon One flexible rear-firing 13mm Type 2 machine gun |
| External stores | 1 1760-lb (800-kg) torpedo or 3 551-lb (250-kg) bombs |
| Range | Normal 1150 miles (1850 km) Maximum 1890 miles (3040 km) |
| Production | Aichi Kokuki K.K. at Funakata: 9 B7A1 prototypes (May 1942-Feb 1944) 80 B7A2 production aircraft (May 1944-July 1945) Dai-Nijuichi Kaigun Kokusho at Omara (Sasebo): |
The Grace combined the carrying capacity of the Kate with the performance of the Zero. It might have been troublesome had it gone into production before the Allies gained control of the air and destroyed the Japanese carrier fleet. Like the U.S. TBF Avenger, it was capable of dive bombing as well as torpedo bombing.
Few were produced and fewer saw combat. Production was interrupted by Allied strategic bombing and by an earthquake in May 1945 that destroyed the Funakuta factory.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia (c) 2007-2008 by Kent G. Budge. Index