World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe D3A Navy Type 99 dive bombers were introduced to the Japanese Navy admirals in Dec 1937 after a request for such an attack aircraft in the summer of 1936. The initial tests done in Jan 1938 were rather disappointing; naval experts deemed the aircraft underpowered and unstable. It took a modification in the design for the D3A to barely win the contract over competitor Nakajima's D3N. The first major combat the D3As saw was no other than the Pearl Harbor attack that started the Pacific War. Through the successful Japanese conquest of the Pacific Ocean in the following six months, D3A dive bombers, by now code named Val by Allied airmen, became among the most dreaded sights for opposing sailors. During the Indian Ocean Raid of Apr 1942 for example, 80% of the bombload dropped by D3As against British cruisers Cornwall and Dorsetshire and carrier Hermes found their targets, causing devastation. In Jun 1942, D3As were produced with a more powerful engine, adding more power but reducing range, so many of them began carrying additional fuel tanks to make up for the difference. Later on in the war, Yokosuka D4Y Suisei dive bombers replaced them as the standard dive bombers of the Navy, and many D3As were transferred onto smaller carriers, to land-based units, or back to Japan as trainers. Some of these aircraft saw one last mission as kamikaze in the final year of the war.

D3A Timeline

SPECIFICATIONS

D3A1

Machinery	One Mitsubishi Kinsei 3 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine rated at 840hp2x
Armament	3x7.7mm Type 97 machine guns, 1x250kg bomb, 2x60kg bombs
Crew	2
Span	14.37 m
Length	10.20 m
Height	3.85 m
Wing Area	34.90 m²
Weight, Empty	2,408 kg
Weight, Loaded	3,650 kg
Speed, Maximum	387 km/h
Speed, Cruising	296 km/h
Service Ceiling	9,300 m
Range, Normal	1,472 km

D3A2

Machinery	One Mitsubishi Kinsei 54 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine rated at 1,300hp
Armament	3x7.7mm Type 97 machine guns, 1x250kg bomb, 2x60kg bombs
Crew	2
Span	14.37 m
Length	10.20 m
Height	3.85 m
Wing Area	34.90 m²
Weight, Empty	2,570 kg
Weight, Loaded	3,800 kg
Speed, Maximum	430 km/h
Speed, Cruising	296 km/h
Rate of Climb	8.62 m/s
Service Ceiling	10,500 m
Range, Normal	1,352 km

Photographs