The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
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| Table of Contents |
|
U.S. Navy. Via Francillon (1979) |
U.S. Army. Via ibiblio.org |
Mitsubishi F1M2 "Pete"
| Crew |
2 in tandem open cockpit |
|
Dimensions |
36'1"by 31'2" by
13'1" 11.00m by 9.50m by 3.99m |
|
Weight |
4251-5622 lbs 1928-2550 kg |
| Wing area | 318 square feet 29.5 square meters |
|
Maximum speed |
230 mph at 11,290 feet 370 km/h at 3440 meters |
|
Climb rate |
28 feet per second 8.5 meters per second |
|
Ceiling |
30,970 feet 9440 meters |
| One 875 hp (652 kW) Mitsubishi Zuisei 13 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine driving a three-blade metal propeller. | |
|
Armament |
Two forward-firing 7.7mm Type
97
machine guns One flexible rear-firing 7.7mm Type 92 machine gun |
|
External stores |
Two 60kg (132 lb) bombs |
|
Range |
460 miles 740 km |
| Fuel |
54 gallons 204 liters |
| A total of 1118 F1Ms were built.
Mitsubishi Jukogyo
K.K., Nagoya: |
|
|
Variants |
The F1M1 was produced only in protype.
A small number were converted to the
F1M2-K
advanced trainer. |
"Pete" was the only short-range
observation float plane
accepted for full production by the Japanese
Navy, and
it was standard on all carriers
and battleships.
It also operated from shore bases. Because of its outstanding
maneuverability, it
was occasionally operated as a fighter
and dive-bomber in
support of
amphibious
operations, when no enemy fighter opposition was
anticipated.
The design dated to late 1934, when the Navy
issued a specification for a replacement for the E8N1 "Dave" to Aichi, Kawanishi, and
Mitsubishi. The Mitsubishi design team, led by Hattori Joji,
completed
a prototype in June 1936. The design was very clean and
outperformed
the Aichi contender, but had poor stability. This was corrected in
the
F1M2, which was ordered into production by the Navy.
References
Francillon
(1979)
Williams and
Gustin (2003)
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2009, 2014 by Kent G. Budge. Index
