The requirement to carry a bulky, heavy float essentially crippled the N1K against contemporary American fighters. It was powered by the Mitsubishi MK4C Kasei 13 14-cylinder radial engine. Kawanishi's N1K was originally built as a single pontoon floatplane fighter to support forward offensive operations where no airstrips were available, but by 1943 when the aircraft entered service, Japan was firmly on the defensive, and there was no longer a need for a fighter to fulfill this role. Kawanishi N1K1 "Rex" floatplane fighter photographed by the Japanese Navy prior to 1945 Unlike the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, the Shiden Kai could compete against the best late-war Allied fighters, such as the F6F Hellcat, F4U Corsair, and P-51 Mustang. These "combat" flaps created more lift, thereby allowing tighter turns. The Shiden Kai possessed heavy armament, as well as surprisingly good maneuverability, due to a mercury switch that automatically extended the flaps during turns. Īn improved variant, the N1K2-J " Shiden-Kai" (紫電改) first flew on 1 January 1944. The N1K-J was considered by both its pilots and opponents to be one of the finest land-based fighters flown by the Japanese during World War II. The Kawanishi N1K was an Imperial Japanese Navy fighter aircraft, developed in two forms: the N1K Kyōfū ( 強風, "Strong Wind", Allied reporting name " Rex"), a floatplane designed to support forward offensive operations where no airstrips were available, and the N1K-J Shiden ( 紫電, "Violet Lightning", reporting name " George"), a land-based version of the N1K.
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