The Aichi D3A1 (or Navy Type 99 Carrier Bomber Model 11) from the carrier Zuikaku. This aircraft was a two-seat carrier or land-based dive-bomber. Referred to as "Val" by the Allied forces, it served a critical role in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The Val was to be powered by the 529 kW (710 hp) Nakajima Hikari 1 nine-cylinder radial engine and could reach a maximum speed of 239 mph. In June 1942, an improved version of the D3A powered by a 969 kW (1,300 hp) Kinsei 54 was tested as the Model 12. Weight 5,309 pounds empty, its maximum take-off weight was 8,047 pounds. Armament consisted of three 7.7 mm machine-guns; two Type 97 .303 forward firing and one Type 92 .303 rear firing, three bombs; two 132-pound bombs and one 551-pound bomb.
Over 1,500 D3As were built but by the end of World War II, many of the remaining aircraft were relegated to kamikaze and training roles
The Val was to be powered by the 529 kW (710 hp) Nakajima Hikari 1 nine-cylinder radial engine and could reach a maximum speed of 239 mph. In June 1942, an improved version of the D3A powered by a 969 kW (1,300 hp) Kinsei 54 was tested as the Model 12. Weight 5,309 pounds empty, its maximum take-off weight was 8,047 pounds. Armament consisted of three 7.7 mm machine-guns; two Type 97 .303 forward firing and one Type 92 .303 rear firing, three bombs; two 132-pound bombs and one 551-pound bomb.
Over 1,500 D3As were built but by the end of World War II, many of the remaining aircraft were relegated to kamikaze and training roles
