january 2016 AH 13OPPOSITE: NATIONAL ARCHIVES; ILLUSTRATION: STEVE KARP
sat between the engine and
the pointed nose, where he
had a good view in all direc-
tions except perhaps the
rear. Four 30mm cannons,
concentrated in the nose,
would have proved more
than adequate to bring down
a B-29. Due to its pusher
KWVÅO]ZI\QWV\PMIQZKZIN\
was mounted on a re tractable
tricycle undercarriage.
,M^MTWXUMV\WN\PMQV\MZ-
ceptor was initiated early in
1943 by Lt. Cmdr. Masa-
yoshi Tsuruno at the Kyushu
Hikoki K.K. Company—
until that year known as
Watanabe Tekkojo. Wata-
nabe, which had a track
ZMKWZLNWZ\PQVSQVOW]\[QLM
the box, had developed the
-!?\PMÅZ[\2IXIVM[MIQZ-
plane that was designed
[XMKQÅKITTaNWZWXMZI\QWV
NZWUI[]JUIZQVM,]ZQVO
??11\PMÅZUPILXZW-
duced the Q1W1 Tokai
(Eastern Sea), known to the
)TTQM[I[¹4WZVIº\PMÅZ[\
airplane to specialize in
IV\Q[]JUIZQVM_IZNIZM
Tsuruno began by build-
ing a reduced-scale proto-
\aXMOTQLMZÅ\\ML_Q\PI
22-hp auxiliary engine, as
an aerodynamic test vehi-
KTM\WMV[]ZM\PMNMI[QJQTQ\a
WN\PMJI[QKKWVÅO]ZI\QWV
Called the MXY6, it was to
be towed into the air behind
another airplane, then
ZMTMI[ML\WÆaWVQ\[W_V
_Q\P\PMIQLWN\PMTQUQ\ML
power provided by the small
auxiliary engine. Because its
towline was attached at the
wrong place, however, the
IQZKZIN\QVQ\QITTaXZW^ML\W
JMVW[MPMI^aIVLZMN][ML
\W\ISMWٺ)N\MZ\PM\W_TQVM
attachment was relocated,
the MXY6—piloted by
[]Z]VWPQU[MTN ̧\WWSWٺ
IVLÆM_^MZa_MTT
Once the basic aerody-
VIUQK[PILJMMV[I\Q[NIK\W-
rily tested, Tsuruno went to
_WZSWV\PMN]TT[QbMLÅOP\MZ
)T\PW]OPVI^aWٻKMZ[_MZMinitially uninterested in the
radical new airplane, the
B-29 bombing campaign
during mid- to late 1944
made them think again.
7ٻKQITTaLM[QOVI\ML2 ?
by the navy and named
Shinden, the interceptor was
ordered into production
[\ZIQOP\Wٺ\PMLZI_QVO
JWIZLJMNWZM\PMÅZ[\XZW\W-
\aXM_I[M^MVÅVQ[PML
Completed in April 1945,
that prototype had to return
\W\PMNIK\WZaNWZZMXIQZ[
JMNWZMQ\ÆM_NWZ[M^MZITZMI-
sons. Its air-cooled engine
overheated while on the
ground, requiring a redesign
WN\PMKWWTQVOL]K\[.]Z\PMZ
\PM\QX[WN\PMXZWXMTTMZ
blades were bent during the
ÅZ[\\ISMWٺI\\MUX\_PMV\PM
nose rose and the tail canted
back, grinding the prop into
the tarmac. A new airscrew
PIL\WJMNI[PQWVMLIVL
[UITT_PMMT[_MZMÅ\\ML\W
\PMJW\\WUWN\PM\IQTÅV[
XZW^QLQVO[]ٻKQMV\KTMIZ-
IVKMNWZ\PMXZWXJTILM[
PMXZW\W\aXM\WWSWٺNWZ
retesting on August 3, 1945,
without mishap.
<PZMMLIa[TI\MZ\PMÅZ[\I\WUQKJWUJNMTTWV0QZW
shima. By the time the
2IXIVM[M[]ZZMVLMZMLWV
;MX\MUJMZ\PM2 ?PIL
TWOOMLR][\ UQV]\M[¼ÆQOP\
time. Although the Shinden
reportedly handled well, the
ÆQOP\[ZM^MITML\PI\Q\X]TTML
PIZLZQOP\]VLMZN]TTXW_MZ
WV\ISMWٺIVL\PMXZWXMTTMZ
IVLLZQ^M[PIN\M`PQJQ\ML
strong vibrations.
7N\PM\_WShindens built,
WVTa\PMÅZ[\XZW\W\aXMM^MZ
ÆM_*]\3a][P]_I[IT
ready committed to building
30 Shindens a month, while
the larger Nakajima concern
_I[KWV\ZIK\ML\WUIV]NIK-ture 120 per month. So tech-
nically the Shinden holds the
LQ[\QVK\QWVWNJMQVO\PMWVTa
KIVIZLX][PMZÅOP\MZM^MZ\W
enter production.
Tsuruno had planned to
develop a jet-powered ver-
[QWVWN\PMQV\MZKMX\WZ\PM
2 ?Shinden-Kai. It was to
JMXW_MZMLJaI2IXIVM[M
J]QT\^MZ[QWVWN/MZUIVa¼[
2]VSMZ[2]UW I`QIT
ÆW_\]ZJWRM\_PQKP2IXIV
IT[WQV\MVLML\WUIV]NIK-
\]ZMNWZ][MQVQ\[^MZ[QWVWN
the Me-262.
American servicemen
discovered the two Shindens
[PWZ\TaIN\MZ2IXIV¼[[]ZZMV-
LMZIVL\PMÅZ[\XZW\W\aXM
was shipped back to the
;\I\M[NWZM`IUQVI\QWV1\
still exists, dismantled, at the
National Air and Space
5][M]U¼[8I]T/IZJMZ
NIKQTQ\a6WLW]J\\PM
Smithsonian will one day
restore this truly original
2IXIVM[M_IZXTIVMIVL
place it on display. LENGTH
30 feet 4 inches
WINGSPAN
36 feet 5 inches
WEIGHT
7,639 pounds (empty)
10,913 pounds (loaded)
ENGINE
2,130-hp Mitsubishi Ha-43 (Mk9D)
18-cylinder air-cooled radial
MAXIMUM SPEED
466 mph
RANGE
531 miles
RATE OF CLIMB
26,250 feet in 10 minutes
SERVICE CEILING
39,000 feetJ7W1 SHINDEN SPECIFICATIONSthe j7w
shinden wa s
ordered into
production
straight
off the
drawing
board.