Kyūshū J7W Shinden

Design and development

In the IJN designation system, "J" referred to land-based fighters and "W" to Watanabe Tekkōjo, the company that oversaw the initial design.

The idea of a canard-based design originated with Lieutenant Commander Masayoshi Tsuruno of the technical staff of the IJN in early 1943. Tsuruno believed the design could easily be retrofitted with a turbojet, when suitable engines became available. His ideas were worked out by the First Naval Air Technical Arsenal (Dai-Ichi Kaigun Koku Gijitsusho), which designed three gliders, designated Yokosuka MXY6, featuring canards. These were built by Chigasaki Seizo K. K., and one was later fitted with a 22 hp Semi 11 (Ha-90) 4-cylinder air-cooled engine.

The feasibility of the canard design was proven by both the powered and unpowered versions of the MXY6 by the end of 1943, and the Navy were so impressed by the flight testing, they instructed the Kyushu Aircraft Company to design a canard interceptor around Tsuruno's concept. Kyushu was chosen because both its design team and production facilities were relatively unburdened, and Tsuruno was chosen to lead a team from Dai-Ichi Kaigun Koku Gijitsusho to aid Kyushu's design works.

The construction of the first two prototypes started in earnest by June 1944, stress calculations were finished by January 1945, and the first prototype was completed in April 1945. The 2,130 hp Mitsubishi MK9D (Ha-43) radial engine and its supercharger were installed behind the cockpit and drove a six-bladed propeller via an extension shaft. Engine cooling was to be provided by long, narrow, obliquely-mounted intakes on the side of the fuselage. It was this configuration that caused cooling problems while running the engine while it was still on the ground. This, together with the unavailability of some equipment parts, postponed the first flight of the Shinden.

Even before the first prototype took to the air, the Navy ordered the J7W1 into production, with a quota of thirty Shinden a month given to Kyushu's Zasshonokuma factory and 120 from Nakajima's Handa plant. It was estimated some 1,086 Shinden could be produced between April 1946 and March 1947.

On 3 August 1945, the prototype first flew, with Tsuruno at the controls, from Mushiroda Airfield. Two more short flights were made, a total of 45 minutes airborne, one each on the same days as the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki occurred, before the War's end. Flights were successful but showed a marked torque pull to starboard (due to the powerful engine), some flutter of the propeller blades, and vibration in the extended drive shaft.

Surviving aircraft

The two prototypes were the only examples of the Shinden ever completed. After the end of the war, one was scrapped; the other was claimed by a U.S. Navy Technical Air Intelligence Unit in late 1945, dismantled, and shipped to the United States.

The sole surviving J7W1 was reassembled, but has never been flown in the United States; the USN transferred it to the Smithsonian Institution in 1960. Its forward fuselage is currently on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center annex (at Dulles Airport) of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. According to the NASM, 'miscellaneous parts' are stored at Building 7C at the older storage/annex facility, the Garber Facility in Suitland, Maryland.

A 1:1 scale model of the J7W1, built by a then-unknown production company, was unveiled at the Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum in July 2022. The company was later revealed to be Toho Studios, with the scale model being made for the production of Godzilla Minus One (2023).

Another full scale model with the fictional serial number 53-102 is known to exist, having been placed on display at the Yoichi Space Museum in Yoichi, Hokkaido as part of a temporary exhibit in 2016.

In popular culture

The Shinden was featured prominently in Godzilla Minus One, where one was used against the titular monster.

A modified version of the plane, designated the Sanka Mk.B, was featured heavily in the film The Sky Crawlers.

The Shinden was also featured in Ted Nomura's six issue Kamikaze: 1946 comic of 2000/2001.

The J7W's unflown second prototype is featured in the Oh My Goddess! manga, in the episode/story "On a Wing and a Prayer" (chapter 28, 1990 or 1991).

Specifications (J7W1)

|prime units?=met General characteristics

|max takeoff weight kg=5228 Powerplant

:::1730 hp at 0 m :::1850 hp at 2000 m :::1660 hp at 8400 m Performance

|never exceed speed kmh= |minimum control speed kmh= |wing loading kg/m2=240.4 |fuel consumption kg/km= |power/mass=5.1 lb/hp |thrust/weight=

Armament

Notes

References

Bibliography

References

1. (29 November 2018). "Wings of the Rising Sun: Uncovering the Secrets of Japanese Fighters and Bombers of World War II". Bloomsbury.
2. [http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_japanese_navy_aircraft_designations.html "Imperial Navy fighters names"] ''historyofwar.org'' Retrieved: 19 August 2010
3. {{Harvnb. Francillon. 1979
4. {{Harvnb. Francillon. 1979
5. "Kyushu J7W1/2 - Shinden".
6. {{Harvnb. Francillon. 1979
7. {{Harvnb. Francillon. 1979
8. {{Harvnb. Green. 1973
9. {{Harvnb. Francillon. 1979
10. Chambers, Mark. (2018). "Wings of the Rising Sun: Uncovering the Secrets of Japanese Fighters and Bombers of World War II". Osprey Publishing.
11. {{Harvnb. Francillon. 1979
12. link. (2010-04-08 (March 24, 2012).)
13. Smithsonian Institution, 1999
14. "Kyushu J7W1 Shinden (Magnificent Lightning)". National Air and Space Museum.
15. "「ゴジラ-1.0」の戦闘機「震電」、実は福岡で展示されていた　封切りされ「やっと言える」（西日本新聞） - Yahoo!ニュース". Yahoo!ニュース.
16. "Facebook".
17. (2022-07-07). "幻の戦闘機「震電」のレプリカ 福岡・筑前町の大刀洗平和記念館に".
18. "余市宇宙記念館の震電模型".
19. Huntington, Tom. (2023-12-11). "Was the 'Magnificent Lightning' Plane at the End of Godzilla Minus One Real?".
20. (20 March 2016). "Mitsubishi Ha 43 Model 11 (Ha 211 Ru), Radial 18 Engine".