Nakajima C6N

The Nakajima C6N Saiun (彩雲, "Coloured Cloud") was a carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. Advanced for its time, it was the fastest carrier-based aircraft put into service by Japan during the war. The Allied codename was Myrt. The C6N originated in a 1942 Imperial Japanese Navy specification for a carrier-based reconnaissance plane with a top speed of 350 knots (650 km/h) at 6,000 m and range of... more

The Nakajima C6N Saiun (彩雲, "Coloured Cloud") was a carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. Advanced for its time, it was the fastest carrier-based aircraft put into service by Japan during the war. The Allied codename was Myrt. The C6N originated in a 1942 Imperial Japanese Navy specification for a carrier-based reconnaissance plane with a top speed of 350 knots (650 km/h) at 6,000 m and range of 2,500 Nautical miles (4,960 km). Nakajima's initial proposal, designated N-50, was for a craft with two 1,000 hp engines housed in tandem in the fuselage, driving two propellers mounted on the wings. With the development of the 2,000 hp class Nakajima Homare engine, though, this configuration was abandoned and Nakajima decided on a more conventional single-engine layout. However, the Homare's output turned out to be less than initially expected, so the design had to be optimized in other areas. The resulting aircraft was designed around a... less