Kawanishi N1K

what is it?

The Kawanishi N1K was a fighter aircraft designed and produced by the Japanese aircraft manufacturer Kawanishi Aircraft Company. Operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), there were two distinct variants; the N1K Kyōfū (強風, Strong Wind) (Allied reporting name Rex) floatplane and the land-based N1K-J Shiden (紫電, Violet Lightning) (reporting name George). The N1K was initially developed during the early 1940s as a floatplane designed to support forward offensive operations without reliance on airstrips.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 12 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 571 km/htop speed
• range 1,078 kmwithout refuelling
• size 4,321 kgmax take-off weight
• built 1,435made 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 84 years ago, in 1942.
• 🏎️Top speed is 4.4× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 12 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,078 km: 6× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.4× 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

1942-12-27

introduced

1943

retired

1945

status

retired

number built

1,435

role

fighter

origin

Empire of Japan

makers

Kawanishi Aircraft Company

engines

1× Nakajima NK9H Homare 21 / gasoline engine

crew

1

length

8.9 m

wingspan

12 m

height

4.1 m

max take-off weight

4,321 kg

top speed

571 km/h

range

1,078 km

ceiling

12,009 m

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