1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Showa L2D: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
what is it?
The Shōwa L2D and Nakajima L2D, given the designations Shōwa Navy Type 0 Transport and Nakajima Navy Type 0 Transport(零式輸送機), were license-built versions of the Douglas DC-3. The L2D series, numerically, was the most important Japanese transport in World War II. The L2D was given the Allied code name Tabby.
How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · low wing · 19 m wingspan
base stats
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 87 years ago, in 1939.
- Top speed is 3.0× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 19 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
- Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 2 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Range of 3,000 km: 17× 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
- 1939-10
- introduced
- 1939
- number built
- 487
- role
- airliner and transport aircraft
- makers
- Nakajima, Showa Aircraft Industry
- engines
- 2× Mitsubishi MK8 Kinsei 43
- crew
- 3
- passengers
- 21
- length
- 19.5 m
- wingspan
- 19 m
- height
- 7.5 m
- max take-off weight
- 12.5 t
- top speed
- 393 km/h
- cruise speed
- 241 km/h
- range
- 3,000 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.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q710688, Wikipedia: Showa/Nakajima L2D (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.