| K5Y | |
|---|---|
| |
| K5Y1 | |
| Role | Intermediate trainer
Type of aircraft
|
| Manufacturer | Various, see text |
| First flight | 1933 |
| Introduction | 1934 |
| Primary user | Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service |
| Produced | 1934-1945 |
| Number built | 5,770 |
The Yokosuka K5Y (九三式中間練習機, Kyūsanshikichūkanrenshūki, Type 93 Intermediate Training Aircraft, Allied reporting name: "Willow") was a two-seat unequal-span biplane trainer that served in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Due to its bright orange paint scheme (applied to all Japanese military trainers for visibility), it earned the nickname "aka-tombo", or "red dragonfly", after a type of insect common throughout Japan.
A K5Y of the Kamikaze Special Attack Corps 3rd Ryuko Squadron was credited with sinking the destroyer USS Callaghan on July 28, 1945, the last US warship lost to kamikaze attack during the war.[1]
The aircraft was based on the Yokosuka Navy Type 91 Intermediate Trainer, but stability problems led to a redesign by Kawanishi in 1933. It entered service in 1934 as Navy Type 93 Intermediate Trainer K5Y1 with fixed tail-skid landing gear, and remained in use throughout the war. Floatplane types K5Y2 and K5Y3 were also produced. After the initial 60 examples by Kawanishi, production was continued by Watanabe (556 aircraft built), Mitsubishi (60), Hitachi (1,393), First Naval Air Technical Arsenal (75), Nakajima (24), Nippon (2,733), and Fuji (896), for a total of 5,770. These aircraft were the mainstay of Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service's flight training, and as intermediate trainers, they were capable of performing demanding aerobatic maneuvers. Two further land-based versions, the K5Y4 with a 358 kW (480 hp) Amakaze 21A engine and the K5Y5 with a 384 kW (515 hp) Amakaze 15, were projected but never built.[2]
Japan
IndonesiaData from Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War [3]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
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Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal aircraft
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|---|---|
| Torpedo bombers |
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| Dive bombers |
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| Reconnaissance seaplanes |
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| Flying boats |
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| Training aircraft |
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| Transport aircraft |
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| Special-purpose aircraft |
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| Bombers |
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| Land-based Reconnaissance |
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| World War II Allied reporting names |
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|---|---|
| Fighters (A) |
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| Torpedo bombers (B) |
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| Shipboard reconnaissance (C) |
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| Dive bombers (D) |
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| Reconnaissance seaplanes (E) |
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| Observation seaplanes (F) |
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| Land-based bombers (G) |
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| Flying Boats (H) |
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| Land-based Fighters (J) |
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| Trainers (K) |
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| Transports (L) |
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| Special-purpose (M)1 |
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| Floatplane fighters (N) |
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| Land-based bombers (P) |
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| Patrol (Q) |
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| Land-based reconnaissance (R) |
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| Night fighters (S) |
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1 X as second letter is for experimental aircraft or imported technology demonstrators not intended for service, 2 Hyphenated trailing letter (-J, -K, -L, -N or -S) denotes design modified for secondary role, 3 Possibly incorrect designation, but used in many sources | |
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| Aircraft in Japanese service |
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| Foreign aircraft thought to be in Japanese service |
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