Kyushu K11W Shiragiku (no codename)
The Kyushu K11W Shiragiku ("White Chrysanthemum") was designed late in 1940 as a replacement for the Mitsubishi K3M in naval crew training. The aircraft went into service in the summer of 1943 and remained in production until August 1945. A total of 798 planes were built. To solve the problems created by the use of a single engine, the designers developed a particularly deep fuselage split lengthwise by the wing system. The trainee pilot and radio operator-gunner were housed in the upper cockpit, while the student navigator and bombardier sat in the lower cockpit with the instructor. Late in the war an all-wood version of the K11W1 was developed. This was the K11W2, which was used for transport and in antisubmarine warfare. Kyushu K11Ws were also used in suicide missions at the end of the war.
Kyushu K11W Shiragiku
Type: Naval Crew Trainer
Service: Japanese Naval Air Force (JNAF)
Crew: five
Armament: one flexible rear-firing 7.7mm Type 92 machine gun
two 66 lb (30 kg) bombs for training missions
Reference: Francillon: 330
Specifications:
Length: 33' 7.15" (10.24 m)
Height: 12' 10.6" (3.93 m)
Wingspan: 49' 1.75" (14.98 m)
Wing area: 328.298 sq. ft (30.5 sq. m)
Empty Weight: 3697 lbs (1677 kg)
Loaded Weight: 5820 lbs (2640 kg)
Max Weight: 6173 lbs (2800 kg)
Propulsion:
No. of Engines: 1
Powerplant: Hitachi GK2B Amakaze 9-cylinder radial
Horsepower: 480 hp
Performance:
Range: 950 naut miles (1093 st miles)
Cruise Speed: 109 mph (95 kt) at 3280 ft (1000 m)
Max Speed: 143 mph (124 kt) at 5580 ft (1700 m)
Climb to/in: 9845 ft (3000 m) in 19 min 35 sec
Ceiling: 18440 ft (5620 m)
Production: 798 K11Ws built
Additional information on this aircraft can be
found at Wikipedia
HERE.
For a very nice scale color drawing of this aircraft, see
here.
Additional color schemes for this aircraft can be found here.
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