Book Review of
Nakajima B5N Kate
Author: Dariusz Paduch
Kagero Monographs no. 4079
English Version
ISBN: 978-83-66673-54-0
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $33.95
English Version
ISBN: 978-83-66673-54-0
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $33.95
HISTORY:
The Nakajima B5N (Japanese: 中島 B5N, Allied reporting name "Kate") was the standard carrier-based torpedo bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) for much of World War II.
Although the B5N was substantially faster and more capable than its Allied counterparts, the American Douglas TBD Devastator monoplane (the U.S. Navy's first all-metal, carrier-borne monoplane of any type with retracting gear), and the British Fairey Swordfish and Fairey Albacore torpedo biplanes, it was nearing obsolescence by 1941. Nevertheless, the B5N operated throughout the whole war, due to the delayed development of its successor, the B6N.
In the early part of the Pacific War, flown by well-trained IJN aircrews and as part of well-coordinated attacks, the B5N achieved particular successes at the battles of Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea, Midway, and Santa Cruz Islands.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Crew: 3
Length: 10.3 m (33 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 15.518 m (50 ft 11 in)
Height: 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 37.7 m2 (406 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: NN-5 mod (16%); tip: NN-5 mod (8%)[15]
Empty weight: 2,279 kg (5,024 lb)
Gross weight: 3,800 kg (8,378 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4,100 kg (9,039 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Nakajima Sakae 11 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 750 kW (1,000 hp) for take-off
720 kW (970 hp) at 3,000 m (9,843 ft)
Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed metal propeller
Maximum speed: 378 km/h (235 mph, 204 kn) at 3,600 m (11,811 ft)
Cruise speed: 259 km/h (161 mph, 140 kn) at 3,000 m (9,843 ft)
Range: 978 km (608 mi, 528 nmi)
Ferry range: 1,991 km (1,237 mi, 1,075 nmi)
Service ceiling: 8,260 m (27,100 ft)
Rate of climb: 6.5 m/s (1,280 ft/min)
Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,843 ft) in 7 minutes 40 seconds
Wing loading: 100.8 kg/m2 (20.6 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass: 0.196 kW/kg (0.119 hp/lb)
Armament: Guns: 1 × 7.7 mm Type 92 machine gun 'Ru' (Lewis) in rear dorsal position, fed by hand loaded drum magazines of 97 rounds. A number of B5N1s were equipped with 2 × 7.7 Type 97 machine guns in the wings.
Bombs: 1 × 800 kg (1,760 lb) Type 91 torpedo or 1 × 800 kg (1,760 lb) bomb or 2 × 250 kg (550 lb) bombs or 6 × 60 kg (132 lb) bombs.
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland
This book is soft-cover of 98 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows a Kate flying in heavy cloud cover. It is dropping its torpedo. It is in a light gray base with a very worn green paint covering, that reveals the gray below and a light-blue undercarriage. It has a black cowling and anti-glare panel in front of the wind-screen. On the rudder sides it has 3 horizontal yellow stripes. Below the first stripe and above the second stripe there is a yellow no. AI-301. The Kate was from the “Akagi” aircraft carrier. It was piloted by Captain Matuzaki (navigator Lt. Fuchida), (machine gunner Mizuki), Indian Ocean, April 1942.
This aircraft appears again as a color 2-view profile on the back cover and on a loose sheet that is inserted into the book.
This dos not show any text, only the illustration.
The book begins with a page that has 90 tiny black and white cover arts of other Kagero books. However, they are too small and dark to make out their titles….sorry.
The book contains 136 black and white wartime photos.
These include photos of the B5N2, the 3-winged Mitsubishi 1MT1, the Yokosuka B3Y1 biplane torpedo bomber and B4Y1, the Gama 5A, prototype of the Nakajima B5N1 with close-ups of its cockpit and landing gear, Nakajima B5M1, pilots, B5N1 trainer, walk-around photos of the B5N2 fuselage and cockpit interiors, its landing gear and engine, ground crewmen, aerial photo of Pearl Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto, Minoru Genda created of the attack plan for Pearl Harbor, carriers Kaga, Soryu, Hiryo and Akagi, Mitsuo Fuchida commander of the Akagi, torpedos aboard the Akagi, aircraft carriers Zuikaku and Shokaku, ships assigned to attack Pearl Harbor in Hitokappu Bay, Capt. Shigekazu Shimazaki aboard the Zuikaku, Kate over Hickam Field during the Pearl Harbor attack, aerial photos of the Pearl Harbor attack damage.
There are 2 line-drawing battle maps. 5 data lists, a 5-view of the Nate in 1/48th scale line-drawing, a 2-view of the Nate in 1/72nd scale line-drawing, 5 1/48th scale 2-view line drawings of it.
Color profiles show three 2-views, two 4-views and a 5-view of the Kate.
The end pages of the book shows 8 color cover arts of other Kagero books:
F-14 Tomcat, A6M Reisen Zeke volumes I & II, Soviet Heavy Fighters 192 6-1949, A6M Claude, La-5, Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa and F/A -18 A/B/C/D Hornets.
This is a neat book about the Kate. It will be of great interest to modelers planning on building a model of the Kate and to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review copy. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero books and all Kagero titles can be viewed on their website at:
The Nakajima B5N (Japanese: 中島 B5N, Allied reporting name "Kate") was the standard carrier-based torpedo bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) for much of World War II.
Although the B5N was substantially faster and more capable than its Allied counterparts, the American Douglas TBD Devastator monoplane (the U.S. Navy's first all-metal, carrier-borne monoplane of any type with retracting gear), and the British Fairey Swordfish and Fairey Albacore torpedo biplanes, it was nearing obsolescence by 1941. Nevertheless, the B5N operated throughout the whole war, due to the delayed development of its successor, the B6N.
In the early part of the Pacific War, flown by well-trained IJN aircrews and as part of well-coordinated attacks, the B5N achieved particular successes at the battles of Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea, Midway, and Santa Cruz Islands.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Crew: 3
Length: 10.3 m (33 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 15.518 m (50 ft 11 in)
Height: 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 37.7 m2 (406 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: NN-5 mod (16%); tip: NN-5 mod (8%)[15]
Empty weight: 2,279 kg (5,024 lb)
Gross weight: 3,800 kg (8,378 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4,100 kg (9,039 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Nakajima Sakae 11 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 750 kW (1,000 hp) for take-off
720 kW (970 hp) at 3,000 m (9,843 ft)
Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed metal propeller
Maximum speed: 378 km/h (235 mph, 204 kn) at 3,600 m (11,811 ft)
Cruise speed: 259 km/h (161 mph, 140 kn) at 3,000 m (9,843 ft)
Range: 978 km (608 mi, 528 nmi)
Ferry range: 1,991 km (1,237 mi, 1,075 nmi)
Service ceiling: 8,260 m (27,100 ft)
Rate of climb: 6.5 m/s (1,280 ft/min)
Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,843 ft) in 7 minutes 40 seconds
Wing loading: 100.8 kg/m2 (20.6 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass: 0.196 kW/kg (0.119 hp/lb)
Armament: Guns: 1 × 7.7 mm Type 92 machine gun 'Ru' (Lewis) in rear dorsal position, fed by hand loaded drum magazines of 97 rounds. A number of B5N1s were equipped with 2 × 7.7 Type 97 machine guns in the wings.
Bombs: 1 × 800 kg (1,760 lb) Type 91 torpedo or 1 × 800 kg (1,760 lb) bomb or 2 × 250 kg (550 lb) bombs or 6 × 60 kg (132 lb) bombs.
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland
This book is soft-cover of 98 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows a Kate flying in heavy cloud cover. It is dropping its torpedo. It is in a light gray base with a very worn green paint covering, that reveals the gray below and a light-blue undercarriage. It has a black cowling and anti-glare panel in front of the wind-screen. On the rudder sides it has 3 horizontal yellow stripes. Below the first stripe and above the second stripe there is a yellow no. AI-301. The Kate was from the “Akagi” aircraft carrier. It was piloted by Captain Matuzaki (navigator Lt. Fuchida), (machine gunner Mizuki), Indian Ocean, April 1942.
This aircraft appears again as a color 2-view profile on the back cover and on a loose sheet that is inserted into the book.
This dos not show any text, only the illustration.
The book begins with a page that has 90 tiny black and white cover arts of other Kagero books. However, they are too small and dark to make out their titles….sorry.
The book contains 136 black and white wartime photos.
These include photos of the B5N2, the 3-winged Mitsubishi 1MT1, the Yokosuka B3Y1 biplane torpedo bomber and B4Y1, the Gama 5A, prototype of the Nakajima B5N1 with close-ups of its cockpit and landing gear, Nakajima B5M1, pilots, B5N1 trainer, walk-around photos of the B5N2 fuselage and cockpit interiors, its landing gear and engine, ground crewmen, aerial photo of Pearl Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto, Minoru Genda created of the attack plan for Pearl Harbor, carriers Kaga, Soryu, Hiryo and Akagi, Mitsuo Fuchida commander of the Akagi, torpedos aboard the Akagi, aircraft carriers Zuikaku and Shokaku, ships assigned to attack Pearl Harbor in Hitokappu Bay, Capt. Shigekazu Shimazaki aboard the Zuikaku, Kate over Hickam Field during the Pearl Harbor attack, aerial photos of the Pearl Harbor attack damage.
There are 2 line-drawing battle maps. 5 data lists, a 5-view of the Nate in 1/48th scale line-drawing, a 2-view of the Nate in 1/72nd scale line-drawing, 5 1/48th scale 2-view line drawings of it.
Color profiles show three 2-views, two 4-views and a 5-view of the Kate.
The end pages of the book shows 8 color cover arts of other Kagero books:
F-14 Tomcat, A6M Reisen Zeke volumes I & II, Soviet Heavy Fighters 192 6-1949, A6M Claude, La-5, Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa and F/A -18 A/B/C/D Hornets.
This is a neat book about the Kate. It will be of great interest to modelers planning on building a model of the Kate and to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review copy. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero books and all Kagero titles can be viewed on their website at:
Highly recommended.