 JAS
Jottings
the Quarterly magazine of the Japanese Aviation special Interest Group
of IPMS-UK
Vol. 9, No. 4, November 2003
"Sam" the Mitsubishi A7M, Navy Experimental 17-Shi Ko (A) Type Carrier
Fighter - Reppu - is the feature subject of this 32 page issue. The design
was initiated by the IJNAF'S release of a requirement in April of 1942
for a follow on to "Jack" to match the speed and firepower of the Allied
fighters obviously on their way to combat service. It was May 6, 1944
that Sam made his first flight. Command equivocation, natural disasters,
B-29 bombing raids and just plain old bureaucratic bumbling delayed both
development and production so that by war's end only seven Sams had been
completed and flown for engineering testing. Four of the seven survived
the war and were found reasonably intact by US forces. Two were designated
for return to the US for testing but disappeared, unaccounted for, from
the records before arriving in the states. This was a big bird, especially
for a Japanese fighter design. Although exceeding the Grumman F6F Hellcat
in length and wingspan it was almost a ton and a half lighter giving it
a much lower wing loading of only 37.5 (lb/sq. ft.). versus the Hellcat's
46.15 (lb/sq. ft.). With its more powerful engine, giving it a significantly
lower power loading, it should have been able, all other things being
equal, to best a Hellcat in combat. We will never know.
This well illustrated, ten page, article is typical of the material
presented in JAS Jottings in that it is well written, in good English,
and is as thorough as one would expect a good graduate student's research
paper to be.
The balance of the issue is given over to special articles on:
€ Japanese Aero-Engines 1930-1945, Part 9,
€ JNAF Reconnaissance Aircraft Evolution - Part 2,
€ Ki.-44-111, More! and the regular features:
€ Kit comment,
€ Transfer Talk,
€ Book and Magazine Reviews and Obscure Items Sources and
€ An index of Principal Contents - Volume 9.
A two page supplement presents six color photos, by Peter Fearis, of
the NASM's Nakajima B6N Tenzan, "Jill" in storage at Silver Hill, Maryland.
Membership in the JASIG is US$14.00 per year. The SIGMaster, Peter
Starkings, has a son living in California so he is able to accept
US dollar checks or cash. Contact Peter for information on joining. If
you are an aviation oriented Nipponophile, you ought to belong. IPMS membership
is recommended but not required.
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