Documents

Some of the historical documents related to Japanese aircraft technical development.

All text is written as-is in the original document, including erroneous text and spelling errors, except for translated materials. Any inclusions by the site owner are [bracketed] or separated with light text. Image/table orientation is changed when necessary.

This section is always in progress.


不明(昭和16年8月以前)
試製飛行機一覧表
Unknown (before August, 1941)
List of Prototype Airplanes (translated)
This document is a massive table that lists more than 50 prototype or planned aircraft of the Japanese Navy with specifications and a construction schedule.

昭和16年8月7日
試製並ニ実験飛行機一覧表
August 7th, 1941
List of Prototype and Experimental Airplanes (translated)
This Navy document features the data of 15 Japanese experimental aircraft, in addition to data on the German planes He 100, He 119, and Ju 88 that the Navy had imported and was testing at the time.

昭和16年11月7日
実用機試製計画(実計ト略称)ニ関スル飛行機略符号表
November 7th, 1941
Airplane Codename Table for the Operational Plane Prototype Plan (translated)
A table which shows the designations of various experimental Navy aircraft projects, both the formal prototype name and newly introduced code name, as well as the fiscal year in which they are expected to be realized.

昭和17年1月13日
軸流送風機二依ル反力推進
January 13th, 1942
Reaction Propulsion by Axial Flow Air Blower (unfinished)
Tokiyasu Tanegashima’s theoretical paper on the axial compressor jet. Contemporary translation.

昭和17年4月9日
自由ピストン二段燃焼内燃タービン並ニタービンロケット
April 9th, 1942
Free Piston Two-Stage-Combustion Internal Combustion Turbine and Turbine Rocket

Tokiyasu Tanegashima’s theoretical report on free-piston compound jet engine and turbojet. Contemporary translation.

昭和17年4月15日
昭和17年度試作発動機一覧表
FY1942 Prototype Engine List
(translated)
A basic specification list of 46 prototype or project engines being developed for the Army by Mitsubishi, Nakajima, Kawasaki, Hitachi, and the Army Aviation Arsenal.

昭和17年7月27日
敵空母ヲ先制急襲スルヲ単一目的トスル高速度遠距離艦爆試製ニ関スル提案
July 27, 1942
Proposal for Prototype of High-Speed Long-Range Ship-Based Bomber with the Sole Purpose of Preemptive Strikes on Enemy Aircraft Carriers (translated)
This document is a proposal that was submitted by Vice Admiral Misao Wada, chief of the Kūgishō, to the Navy Aviation HQ just after the Battle of Midway. It proposes a carrier bomber that can outrun fighters, and preemptively strike US carriers from extreme range with a rocket bomb.

昭和17年7月
敵空母ヲ先制急襲スルヲ単一目的トスル高速度遠距離艦爆ノ研究
July, 1942
Research on High-Speed Long-Range Ship-Based Bomber with the Sole Purpose of Preemptive Strikes on Enemy Aircraft Carriers (translated)
Supplemental document to the above with all performance calculations and aircraft diagram.

昭和18年7月27日
航空機名称付与様式
July 27, 1943
Aircraft Nomenclature Standard (translated)
This document established the initial version of the new Navy aircraft nomenclature using weather, mountains, skies, and so on for designating newly adopted aircraft.

昭和19年7月
昭和十九年度飛行機試製(改造)計画
FY1944 Airplane Prototype (Remodeling) Plan (translated)
This table shows the decisions made regarding the status of various aircraft projects at the pivotal time of the fall of Saipan.

昭和19年9月25日
海軍新鋭兵器研究ニ従事中ノ部外科学者
September 25th, 1944
Outside Scientists Engaged in Navy Cutting-Edge Weapons Research (translated)
A list of scientists outside of the Japanese Navy involved in their new secret weapons projects of late 1944.

昭和19年9月25日
海軍新鋭兵器関係ノ隘路ト認ムル事項
September 25th, 1944
Matters Assessed as Bottlenecks Concerning Navy Cutting-Edge Weapons (translated)
A report that describes hangups in the development of the Ōka (Maru-Dai), Kaiten, Kairyū (SS), MAD equipment, and magnetic depth charge.

昭和19年12月9日
橘花ニ関スル空技廠会議覚エ
December 9th, 1944
Memo of Kūgishō Meeting Regarding Kikka (translated)
A late 1944 meeting that made decisions regarding the development of Kikka and its two engine choices at the time: TR12 and TR20 (Ne-20).

昭和19年12月25日
発動機諸元性能表
December 25th, 1944
Table of Engine Specifications and Performance (translated)
A very large table containing numerous details on 36 engines. Mainly Army aircraft engines, as well as a few foreign engines.

昭和20年2月27日
試製櫻花並橘花生産打合セ覚
February 27th, 1945
Memo of Experimental Ōka and Kikka Production Meeting (translated)
A report on a production draft revision for the Ōka and Kikka, which lists the new production schedule for the Ōka 11, 22, 33, and Kikka from March 1945 and beyond.

昭和20年4月11日
発動機名称一覧表
April 11, 1945
Engine Designation List (translated)
Valuable Navy document that lists the new unified designations of each aircraft engine, as well as their former Army and Navy designations, Navy code, and notes.

不明(昭和20年7月頃)
海軍現用滑空機要目表
Unknown (Likely around July, 1945)
Current Navy Gliders Specification Table (translated)
A table with specifications for the gliders Type Hikari Model 6.2, Model Chikara, MXY5, and the rocket catapult trainer Wakazakura.

昭和20年7月20日
特殊機要目概要
July 20th, 1945
Specification Summary of Special Planes (translated)
A summary of the specifications of the Navy special attack planes “Baika” and “Winged Rocket” (B-29 rammer) that had just begun planning at the time.

昭和20年8月28日
試作発動機一覧表
List of Prototype Engines (translated)
Post-war basic specification and performance summary of piston engines that were currently under the Navy’s development supervision.

昭和20年8月28日
試作噴進原動機一覧表
August 28th, 1945
List of Prototype Rocket Engines (translated)
Post-war basic specification and performance summary of jet and rocket engines that were currently under the Navy’s development supervision.

昭和20年10月10日
キ201機体説明書
October 10th, 1945
Ki-201 Airframe Manual (translated)
Overall report on Ki-201 (Japanese jet fighter-attacker based on Me 262 A) reproduced by Nakajima after the war for the US. Includes a reproduced 3-view drawing of the Ki-201, which is its only known detailed appearance.

November 3rd, 1945
Japanese Rocket Devices for Assisted Take-Off for Aircraft (JATO)
Overall US report on Japanese Navy powder rocket developments.

November 6th, 1945
GTPR, Turbo Supercharger, and Jet Engine Design and Development
Tokiyasu Tanegashima is questioned by the US about his turboprop, and general turbine developments.

November 9th, 1945
Turbojets and Rocket Engines (JAF)
US report about Japanese jet engines questioning Japanese Army personnel. The contemporary translations are rather poor.

November, 1945
Japanese Power Plants for Jet Propulsion
General US report about Japanese jet engines.