Yokosuka D4Y Suisei

The Yokosuka D4Y Suisei, designed by Aichi and produced for the Imperial Japanese Navy between 1940 and 1945, served as both a high‑speed dive bomber and later as a reconnaissance aircraft. Its first flight in March 1940 revealed a sleek, low‑drag monoplane with a streamlined elliptical wing and a liquid‑cooled Mitsubishi Ha‑112 I engine producing 1,080 hp. Retractable landing gear, flush‑riveted skin, and internal fuel tanks gave it a top speed of 540 km/h, making it one of the fastest Japanese bombers of the war. Armed with a single 500 lb bomb under the fuselage and two 20 mm cannons for defence, it could also carry a 250 kg bomb load in later versions. The D4Y saw extensive action in the Pacific, participating in the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway, and numerous island‑hopping campaigns. Its speed allowed it to evade Allied fighters, but the lack of armor and self‑sealing fuel tanks caused high attrition. After 1943 the type was converted to the D4Y3 reconnaissance variant, where its range of over 2,000 km proved valuable for photo‑reconnaissance. The Suisei’s performance and adaptability left a lasting imprint on Japanese naval aviation, illustrating the shift toward faster, more versatile carrier‑based aircraft in World War II.

Aichi

Classification

Production & History

Design & Classification