The Mitsubishi B2M was a Japanese carrier-based torpedo bomber of the 1920s and 1930s.
It was built by Mitsubishi to a design by Blackburn Aircraft of Britain and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy.
In 1927, the Japanese company Mitsubishi commissioned the British aircraft manufacturer Blackburn Aircraft to design an aircraft, which would be built under licence by Mitsubishi if successful, to enter a competition held by the Imperial Japanese Navy for a carrier-based reconnaissance and torpedo bomber to replace its B1M.
Blackburn developed a design, the Blackburn T.7B, which was an enlarged development of their Ripon, which was under development for Britain’s Fleet Air Arm.
The T.7B was a three-seat biplane of steel tube construction and with high aspect ratio wings fitted with Handley Page slats, powered by a 466 kW (625 hp) Hispano-Suiza 12Lbr engine.
The design was declared the winner of the competition, with a prototype (referred to as the 3MT4) being ordered from Blackburn.
This first flew on 28 December 1929 at Blackburn’s factory at Brough, Yorkshire, and was shipped to Japan in February 1930.
Three development prototypes were built by Mitsubishi in Japan before the aircraft was adopted as the Navy Type 89-1 Model 1 Carrier Attack Plane or Mitsubishi B2M1.
Variants
Blackburn T.7B
Prototype aircraft built by Blackburn Aircraft.
Mitsubishi 3MR4
Three Japanese-built prototypes.
Mitsubishi B2M1
Initial production aircraft.
Mitsubishi B2M2
Improved production variant with reduced wingspan and modified tail.
Specifications
Crew
3
Length
10.27 m (33 ft 8 in)
Wingspan
15.22 m (49 ft 11 in)
Height
3.71 m (12 ft 2 in)
Wing area
55 m2 (590 sq ft)
Empty weight
22,670 kg (49,979 lb)
Gross weight
3,600 kg (7,937 lb)
Powerplant
1 × Hispano-Suiza 12 Lbr,
V-12 water-cooled piston engine,
485 kW (650 hp)
Performance
Maximum speed
213 km/h (132 mph, 115 kn)
Range
1,779 km (1,105 mi, 961 nmi)
Service ceiling
4,500 m (14,800 ft)
Armament
Guns
1 × forward firing 7.7 mm (.303 in) machine gun
&
1 × flexible 7.7 mm (.303 in) machine gun in rear cockpit
