Kawanishi N1K Shiden "Violet Lightning"

[Rickshaw]

No thread devoted to this so I thought to start one.

One of the few expressly developed floatplanes which was converted to land based use.  This thread over at Secret Projects mentiones that there were several prototype naval versions shipped aboard the IJN Carrier Shinano just before she was sunk.  Only equipped with tail hooks and not with folding wings.  Don't know how well it would have done as a naval fighter with it's notoriously weak undercarriage (a hang over from its conversion from floatplane to land based fighter) but in the air the Shiden was one of the best late war fighters the Japanese had.

[jcf]

One point, the weak landing gear were on the N1K1-J which retained the mid-mounted wing of the original
N1K1 Kyofu. The gear were weak because they were of unusual length and telescoping. The aircraft in the
colour photo is the extensively redesigned N1K2-J, not the low mounted wing, its landing gear were shorter
and more robust.


N1K1

N1KI-J

N1K2-J

[Rickshaw]

AIUI, even the low wing N1K2-J version had weak landing gear, JCF.

[jcf]

Only in the sense that 'all' later period Japanese fighters had problems with the
quality of the metal forgings used in the gear. The main reason for the gear
collapses of the N1K1-J was the need for the gear to reduce in length for
stowage. Moot anyhow as to carrier use, as the redesigned airframe wasn't stressed
for carrier ops being, like the J2M, a land-based fighter. The Raiden wouldn't have
been a good carrier aircraft either. Yes, I'm familiar with the 'developmental' work
mentioned in the SP thread and on the j-aircraft site, along with written sources like
Francillon, etc., regarding carrier conversion of the N1K. No agreement on actual numbers
that 'may' have been converted or tested.

Most likely use of carrier 'launched' N1Ks would be as one-way CAP for carrier launched
Special Attack aircraft. No need to worry about being able to absorb landing stresses.