Nakajima A2N (1930)
The Nakajima A2N (Type 90 carrier fighter) was an IJN interwar single-engine, single-seat sesquiplane developed for carrier use. It was small, compact, and the first truly Japanese designed carrier fighter in history. It was needed to replace indeed the A1N based on plans from Gloster. Performances were still modest at 292 km/h (181 mph) for 1935 standards, when production stopped, but it was very rugged, to the point of being used in 1937 as dive bomber. That year’s saw its last combat deployment but some units still retained A3Ns for training as far as 1940. It was replaced by the roughly similar A4N now capable of 350 km/h (217 mph) from 1935, and the Mitsubishi A5M “claude” and never saw action in WW2. #ww2 #imperialjapanesenavy #japanesenavy #nakajima #nakajimaa2n
