Warplanes of Japan: Mitsubishi B5M

Mitsubishi B5M

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(IJNAF Photo)

Mitsubishi B5M Navy Taype 97 No. 2 Carrier Attack Bomber, code named Mabel folding its wings, IJNAF.

The Mitsubishi B5M was an Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) land-basedattack aircraft, originally intended for carrier use. The B5M was also giventhe long formal designation Navy Type 97 No.2 Carrier Attack Bomber (Japanese: 九七式二号艦上攻撃機) and Alliedreporting name of Mabel. This aircraft was mistakenly known as the Nakajima Army 97 by the British.

The B5M was designed in response to a 1935 specification for a new bomber foruse on the IJNAS aircraft carriers (Mitsubishi Navy Experimental 10-Shi CarrierTorpedo Attacker). The machine was to have a crew of three, folding wings forflight deck storage, a speed of not less than 322 km/h (200 mph), a flightendurance of not less than seven hours, and the ability to carry at least 800kg (1,760 lb) of bombs - a tall order for a single-engine aircraft of themid-1930s. It was intended as a backup for the Nakajima B5N "Kate"torpedo bomber. Although designed as a carrier-based aircraft, it was relegated to land-based torpedo bomber duties in World War II. 125 were built.

The aircraft that Mitsubishi produced first flew in 1937 and was an all-metal,low-wing cantilever monoplane with fixed undercarriage with large wheel spats.The crew of three sat in a long canopy that had a smooth transition to thefuselage. The B5M1s began equipping Japanese Naval units in late 1937, buttheir performance was never as satisfactory as was that of other Japanese aircraft carrier-based bombers. The B5M1's performance was considered marginaland only 125 were manufactured. While they had originally been intended for aircraft carrier use, the majority were employed during the early months of the Second World War from land bases in Southeast Asia and in China, where they were confronted by weak or no enemy fighter opposition. These machines ended their careers as trainers, target tugs, and kamikazes. (Wikipedia)