Did you know…
Why did a large carrier bomber like the B7A operate from land?
Short answer
Because by the time it entered production, the Japanese Navy had already lost its aircraft carriers, so its service was limited and land-based. The B7A was relegated to operating from various land bases, flown mainly by the Yokosuka and 752 air groups.
No decks to fly from
By the time the B7A entered production, the Japanese Navy had already lost its aircraft carriers, so its service was limited and took place on land. The type was relegated to operating from various land bases. It was flown mainly by the Yokosuka and 752nd air groups (kokutai).
An interrupted series
Aichi completed nine B7A1 prototypes and eighty aircraft of the B7A2 production version. Production at Aichi stopped when its factory was destroyed by an earthquake in May 1945; the plant where the aircraft were assembled was the one at Funakata.
The aircraft
The aircraft was to be powered by the eighteen-cylinder Nakajima Homare engine. In naval nomenclature, its production version was listed as Navy Carrier Attack Bomber Ryusei (Shooting Star) B7A2. Ryūsei, written 流星, means "shooting star".
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