Aichi D3A

what is it?

The Aichi D3A (Navy full designation "Type 99 Carrier Bomber"; Allied reporting name "Val") is a carrier-borne dive bomber designed and produced by Aichi Kokuki KK. It was the primary dive bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II and thus was involved in almost all IJN actions during the conflict, including the attack on Pearl Harbor. The type sank more Allied warships than any other Axis aircraft. The D3A was developed on behalf of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) as a replacement for its D1A biplane.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · low wing · 14.4 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 430 km/htop speed
• range 1,352 kmwithout refuelling
• size 3,800 kgmax take-off weight
• built 1,495made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 88 years ago, in 1938.
• 🏎️Top speed is 3.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 14.4 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,352 km: 8× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.2× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1938-01

introduced

1940

retired

1945

status

retired

number built

1,495

role

carrier-based dive bomber

origin

Empire of Japan

makers

Aichi

engines

1× Mitsubishi Kinsei 54 / Kinsei

crew

2

length

10.2 m

wingspan

14.4 m

height

3.9 m

max take-off weight

3,800 kg

top speed

430 km/h

cruise speed

296 km/h

range

1,352 km

ceiling

10,500 m

wings

low wing

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.