MITSUBISHI B2M2 TYPE 89-2 CARRIER ATTACK AIRCRAFT

The Mitsubishi B2M was a Japanese torpedo-bomber in the interwar period in a mixed structure with a fixed undercarriage. The drive - in the basic version - was provided by a single, licensed motor Hispano-Suiza 12Lbr V-12 with a power of 650 hp. The prototype flight took place in 1929, and in 1932 the machine entered the line. About 200 examples of this aircraft were produced in the course of serial production. The deck armament consisted of two 7.7 mm machine guns. The plane could carry a torpedo or a load of bombs weighing up to 800 kilograms. The B2M aircraft was commissioned by the Japanese Navy as the successor to the very successful B1M aircraft. Mitsubishi, in order to shorten the time of research and development, approached the implementation of the navy order in an unconventional way and decided to adapt the British Blackburn Ripon plane to the requirements of the client. This process, however, took a relatively long time, as well as introducing corrections to subsequent prototypes, and it was not until 1932 that the plane was put into production. Despite the long unplanned development work, the B2M did not fare much better than its predecessor - the B1M, and the pilots did not like it very much due to the difficult piloting, especially during the landing phase on the carrier. Despite these shortcomings, the Mitsubishi B2M was introduced by the Akagi, Kaga and Hosho aircraft carriers. It was also very heavily used at the beginning of the war in China (1937-1945).