Nakajima C6N Saiun History
The Saiun (code name Myrl) was the first Japanese aircraft to be specifically designed from the outset for ship-borne reconnaissance, and proved itself in service to be a conspicuously successful machine. Only a comparatively small number (498) had been completed by VJ day, and the type did not make its operational debut until the end of the war was in sight, but the performance of the Saiun was sufficiently good to enable a modified version, the two-seatC6NI-S with two 20 mm. cannon added to its armament, to act as night fighter against the high-flying B-29 Superfortresses attacking targets in Japan.
In an effort to bring the Saiun into service quickly, no fewer than 23 prototypes were built to shorten the period of development testing, and many of these were completed before the end of 1943; production aircraft began to be delivered to the J.N.A.F. in August 1944, although some of the prototype machines had been pressed into operational service some two months previously.
Other variants of the Saiun included the C6NI-B torpedo bomber version and the C6N2 with the Homare 24 engine of which two prototypes only were completed. A further projected development, which did not achieve fruition, was the C6N3, which was to have been powered with the supercharged 2,000 h.p. Homare NK9L-L engine.
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Nakajima C6N Saiun Specifications
| Country: |
| Japan |
| Manufacturer: |
| Nakajima Hikoki K.K. |
| Aircraft Type: |
| Long-range reconnaissance and torpedo bomber |
| Dimensions: |
| Wingspan: 41 ft. 0 in. |
| Length: 36 ft. 7 in. |
| Height: 13 ft. o in. |
| Weights: |
| Empty: 6,411 lb. |
| Gross: 9,920 lb |
| Power plant: |
| One 1,990 h.p. Nakajima Homare 21 radial |
| Performance: |
| Maximum speed: 379 m.p.h. at 20,000 ft. |
| Ceiling: 35,235 ft. |
| Maximum range: 3,306 miles. |
| Armament: |
| One 7.9 mm. mach ine gun |
| Operational Use: |
| 1944/45 |
Plane Technical Drawings & Scale Model Aircraft Plans
Further Reading
- International Warbirds: An Illustrated Guide to World Military Aircraft, 1914-2000
- Aircraft: The Definitive Visual History
- Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft
- Military Aircraft: Visual Encyclopedia
- Scale Aircraft Drawings: World War I, by Peter M. Bowers
- Scale Aircraft Drawings: World War 2, by Peter M. Bowers
- Scale Airplane Drawings, Vol. 1, by Paul Matt
- Scale Airplane Drawings, Vol. 2, by Paul Matt