World War 2 In Review: Yokosuka D4Y Suisei Dive Bomber (Judy)

Yokosuka D4Y3 Model 33 "Suisei".

The Yokosuka D4Y Suisei (Suisei; "Comet"; Allied reporting name "Judy") is a two-seat carrier-based dive bomber developed by the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1942 to 1945 during World War II. Development of the aircraft began in 1938. The first D4Y1 was complete in November 1940 and made its maiden flight at Yokosuka the following month.

While the aircraft was originally conceived as a dive bomber, the D4Y was used in other roles including reconnaissance, night fighter and special attack (kamikaze). It made its combat debut as a reconnaissance aircraft when two pre-production D4Y1-Cs embarked aboard the Sōryū to take part in the Battle of Midway in 1942. It was not until March 1943 that it was accepted for use as a dive bomber. The early D4Y1 and D4Y2 featured the liquid-cooled Aichi Atsuta engine, a licensed version of the German Daimler-Benz DB 601, while the later D4Y3 and D4Y4 featured the Mitsubishi MK8P Kinsei radial engine.

Like many other Japanese aircraft of the time, the D4Y lacked armor and self-sealing fuel tanks and it was not until the final variant, the D4Y4, that the aircraft was given bulletproof glass and armor protection for the crew and fuel tanks. Nevertheless, the D4Y was one of the fastest dive bombers of the war, particularly the D4Y4 which Max Gadney said was the "fastest dive-bomber of World War II" and that it was "faster than the Zero". Only the delays in its development hindered its service while its predecessor, the slower fixed-gear Aichi D3A, remained in service much longer than intended. In October 1944, an attack by a lone D4Y resulted in the sinking of light carrier USS Princeton in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Similarly in March 1945, a single D4Y managed to hit the carrier USS Franklin with two bombs, nearly sinking Franklin and resulting in the loss of almost 800 of her crew. Famously, a D4Y was used in one of the final kamikaze attacks in 1945, hours after the surrender of Japan, with Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki in the rear cockpit.

Design and Development

Development of the aircraft began in 1938 at the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal when the Imperial Japanese Navy Aviation Bureau (Kaigun Kōkū Hombu) issued requirements of a Navy Experimental 13-Shi [In the Japanese Navy designation system, specifications were given a Shi number based on the year of the Emperor's reign it was issued. In this case 13-Shi stood for 1938, the 13th year of the Shōwa era.] Carrier Borne specification for an aircraft carrier-based dive bomber to replace the Aichi D3A. Its design was inspired by the Heinkel He 118 which the Japanese Navy had acquired from Germany in early 1938. The aircraft was a single-engine, all-metal low-wing monoplane, with a wide-track retractable undercarriage and wing-mounted dive brakes. It had a crew of two: a pilot and a navigator/radio-operator/gunner, seated under a long, glazed canopy which provided good all-round visibility. The pilot of bomber versions was provided with a telescopic bomb sight. The aircraft was powered by an Aichi Atsuta liquid-cooled inverted V12 engine, a licensed copy of the German Daimler-Benz DB 601, rated at 895 kW (1,200 hp). The radiator was behind and below the three-blade propeller, as in the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk.

The aircraft had a slim fuselage that enabled it to reach high speeds in horizontal flight and in dives, while it had excellent maneuverability despite high wing loading, with the Suisei having superior performance to contemporary dive bombers such as the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver. In order to conform with the Japanese Navy's requirement for long range, weight was minimized by not fitting the D4Y with self-sealing fuel tanks or armor. Subsequently, the D4Y was extremely vulnerable and tended to catch fire when hit.

Bombs were fitted under the wings and in an internal fuselage bomb bay. It usually carried one 500 kg (1,100 lb) bomb but there were reports that the D4Y sometimes carried two 250 kg (550 lb) bombs.} The aircraft was armed with two 7.7 mm (.303 in) Type 97 aircraft machine guns in the nose and a 7.92 mm (.312 in) Type 1 machine gun – selected for its high rate of fire – in the rear of the cockpit. The rear gun was replaced by a 13 mm (.51 in) Type 2 machine gun. This armament was typical for Japanese carrier-based dive-bombers, unlike "carrier attack bombers" (torpedo bombers) like the Nakajima B5N and B6N, which were not given forward-firing armament until the late-war Aichi B7A, which was expected to serve as both a dive-bomber and torpedo-bomber and was given a pair of 20mm Type 99-2 cannon. The forward machine guns were retained in the kamikaze version.

The first (of five) prototypes was complete in November 1940 and made its maiden flight in December 1940. After the prototype trials, problems with flutter were encountered, a fatal flaw for an airframe subject to the stresses of dive bombing. Until this could be resolved, early production aircraft were used as reconnaissance aircraft, as the D4Y1-C, which took advantage of its high speed and long range while not over-stressing the airframe. Production of the D4Y1-C continued in small numbers until March 1943, when the increasing losses incurred by the D3A resulted in production switching to the D4Y1 dive-bomber, the aircraft's structural problems finally being solved. Although the D4Y could operate from the large fleet carriers that formed the core of the Combined Fleet at the start of the war, it had problems operating from the smaller and slower carriers such as the Hiyō class, which formed a large proportion of Japan's carrier fleet after the losses of the Battle of Midway. Catapult equipment was fitted, giving rise to the D4Y1 Kai (or improved) model.

Early versions of the D4Y were difficult to keep operational because the Atsuta engines were unreliable in front-line service. From the beginning, some had argued that the D4Y should be powered by an air-cooled radial engine, which Japanese engineers and maintenance crew had experience with and trusted. The aircraft was re-engined with the reliable Mitsubishi MK8P Kinsei 62, a 14-cylinder, two-row radial engine as the Yokosuka D4Y3 Model 33.

Although the new engine improved ceiling and rate of climb to over 10,000 m (33,000 ft) and climb to 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 4.5 minutes instead of 9,400 m (30,800 ft) and 5 minutes, the higher fuel consumption resulted in reduced range and cruising speed, and the engine obstructed the forward and downward view of the pilot, hampering carrier operations. These problems were tolerated because of the increased availability of the new variant.

The last version was the D4Y4 Special Strike Bomber, a single-seat kamikaze aircraft, capable of carrying one 800 kg (1,800 lb) bomb, which was put into production in February 1945. It was equipped with three rocket boosters for terminal dive acceleration. This aircraft was an almost ideal kamikaze model: it had a combination of speed (560 km/h/350 mph), range (2,500 km/1,550 mi) and payload (800 kg/1,760 lb) probably not matched by any other Japanese aircraft.

The D4Y5 Model 54 was a planned version designed in 1945. It was to be powered by the Nakajima NK9C Homare 12 radial engine rated at 1,361 kW (1,825 hp), a new four-blade metal propeller of the constant-speed type and more armor for the crew and fuel tanks.

Ultimately, 2,038 of all variants were produced, mostly by Aichi Kokuki.

Type: Dive bomber, reconnaissance, night fighter
National origin: Japan
Manufacturer: Yokosuka
Status: Retired
Primary user: Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Number built: 2,038
Manufactured: 1942–1945
Introduction date: 1942
First flight: December 1940
Retired: 1945

Operational History

Lacking armor and self-sealing fuel tanks, the Suiseis did not fare well against Allied fighters. They did, however, cause considerable damage to ships, including the carrier USS Franklin which was nearly sunk by an assumed single D4Y and the light carrier USS Princeton which was sunk by a single D4Y.

The D4Y was operated from the following Japanese aircraft carriers: Chitose, Chiyoda, Hiyō, Junyō, Shinyo, Shōkaku, Sōryū, Taihō, Unryū, Unyō and Zuikaku.

The D4Y1-C reconnaissance aircraft entered service in mid-1942, when two of these aircraft were deployed aboard Sōryū at the Battle of Midway, one of which was lost when Sōryū was bombed. The other had been launched on a scouting mission and returned to Hiryū; it was then lost when Hiryū was bombed.

Marianas

During the Battle of the Marianas, the D4Ys were engaged by U.S. Navy fighters and shot down in large numbers. It was faster than the Grumman F4F Wildcat, but not the new Grumman F6F Hellcat, which entered combat in September 1943. The Japanese aircraft were adequate for 1943, but the rapid advances in American materiel in 1944 (among them, the introduction in large numbers of the Essex-class aircraft carrier) left the Japanese behind. Another disadvantage suffered by the Japanese was their inexperienced pilots.

The U.S. Task Force 58 struck the Philippine airfields and destroyed the land air forces first before engaging Japanese naval aircraft. The result was what the Americans called "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot", with 400 Japanese aircraft shot down in a single day. A single Hellcat pilot, Lieutenant Alexander Vraciu, shot down six D4Ys within a few minutes.

One D4Y was said to have damaged the battleship USS South Dakota.

Leyte and Philippines

The D4Y was relegated to land operations where both the liquid-cooled engine D4Y2, and the radial engine D4Y3 fought against the U.S. fleet, scoring some successes. An unseen D4Y bombed and sank the Princeton on 24 October 1944. D4Ys hit other carriers as well, by both conventional attacks and kamikaze actions. In the Philippines air battles, the Japanese used kamikazes for the first time, and they scored heavily. D4Ys from 761 Kōkūtai may have hit the escort carrier USS Kalinin Bay on 25 October 1944, and the next day, USS Suwannee. Both were badly damaged, especially Suwannee, with heavy casualties and many aircraft destroyed. A month later on 25 November, USS Essex, Hancock, Intrepid and Cabot were hit by kamikazes, almost exclusively A6M Zero fighters and D4Ys, with much more damage. D4Ys also made conventional attacks. All these D4Ys were from 601 and 653 Kōkūtai.

In Defense of the Homeland

Task Force 58 approached southern Japan in March 1945 to strike military objectives in support of the invasion of Okinawa. The Japanese responded with massive kamikaze attacks, codenamed Kikusui, in which many D4Ys were used. A dedicated kamikaze version of the D4Y3, the D4Y4, with a non-detachable 800 kg bomb attached in a semi-recessed manner, was developed. The Japanese had begun installing rocket boosters on some Kamikazes, including the D4Y4, in order to increase speed near the target. As the D4Y4 was virtually identical in the air to the D4Y3, it was difficult to determine the sorties of each type.

The carriers USS Enterprise and Yorktown were damaged by D4Ys of 701 Wing on 18 March. On 19 March, the carrier USS Franklin was hit with two bombs from a single D4Y. Franklin was so heavily damaged that she was retired until the end of the war. Another D4Y hit the carrier USS Wasp.

On 12 April 1945, another D4Y, part of Kikusui mission N.2, struck Enterprise, causing some damage.

During Kikusui N.6, on 11 May 1945, USS Bunker Hill was hit and put out of action by two kamikazes that some sources identify as D4Ys. This was the third Essex-class carrier forced to retire to the United States to repair.

Night Fighter

The D4Y was faster than the A6M Zero, and some were employed as D4Y2-S night fighters against Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers late in the War. The night fighter conversions were made at the 11th Naval Aviation Arsenal at Hiro. Each D4Y2-S had its bombing systems and equipment removed and replaced by a 20 mm Type 99 cannon installed in the rear cockpit, with the barrel slanted up and forwards in a similar manner to the German Schräge Musik armament fitting (pioneered by the IJNAS in May 1943 on the Nakajima J1N). Some examples also carried two or four 10 cm air-to-air rockets under the wings; lack of radar for night interceptions, inadequate climb rate and the B-29's high ceiling limited the D4Y2-S effectiveness as a night fighter. Little is known of their operations.

Last Action

At the end of the War, D4Ys were still being used operationally against the U.S. Navy. Among the last of these were eleven aircraft led by Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki on a suicide mission on 15 August 1945, of which all but three were lost.

Operators

Japan

Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Aircraft carrier
Sōryū, equipped prototype #2 and #3.
Shōkaku, supplied from 601st Kōkūtai.
Zuikaku, supplied from 601st Kōkūtai.
Taihō, supplied from 601st Kōkūtai.
Jun'yō, supplied from 652nd Kōkūtai.
Battleship
Ise, supplied from 634th Kōkūtai.
Hyūga, supplied from 634th Kōkūtai.
Naval Air Group
Himeji Kōkūtai
Hyakurihara Kōkūtai
Kaikō Kōkūtai
Kanoya Kōkūtai
Kantō Kōkūtai
Kinki Kōkūtai
Kyūshū Kōkūtai
Nagoya Kōkūtai
Nansei-Shotō Kōkūtai
Ōryū Kōkūtai
Tainan Kōkūtai
Taiwan Kōkūtai
Tōkai Kōkūtai
Tsuiki Kōkūtai
Yokosuka Kōkūtai
12th Kōkūtai
121st Kōkūtai
131st Kōkūtai
132nd Kōkūtai
141st Kōkūtai
151st Kōkūtai
153rd Kōkūtai
201st Kōkūtai
210th Kōkūtai
252nd Kōkūtai
302nd Kōkūtai
352nd Kōkūtai
501st Kōkūtai
502nd Kōkūtai
503rd Kōkūtai
521st Kōkūtai
523rd Kōkūtai
531st Kōkūtai
541st Kōkūtai
552nd Kōkūtai
553rd Kōkūtai
601st Kōkūtai
634th Kōkūtai
652nd Kōkūtai
653rd Kōkūtai
701st Kōkūtai
721st Kōkūtai
722nd Kōkūtai
752nd Kōkūtai
761st Kōkūtai
762nd Kōkūtai
763rd Kōkūtai
765th Kōkūtai
901st Kōkūtai
951st Kōkūtai
1001st Kōkūtai
1081st Kōkūtai
Aerial Squadron
Reconnaissance 3rd Hikōtai
Reconnaissance 4th Hikōtai
Reconnaissance 61st Hikōtai
Reconnaissance 101st Hikōtai
Reconnaissance 102nd Hikōtai
Attack 1st Hikōtai
Attack 3rd Hikōtai
Attack 5th Hikōtai
Attack 102nd Hikōtai
Attack 103rd Hikōtai
Attack 105th Hikōtai
Attack 107th Hikōtai
Attack 161st Hikōtai
Attack 251st Hikōtai
Attack 263rd Hikōtai
Kamikaze
Chūyū group (picked from Attack 5th Hikōtai)
Giretsu group (picked from Attack 5th Hikōtai)
Kasuga group (picked from Attack 5th Hikōtai)
Chihaya group (picked from 201st Kōkūtai)
Katori group (picked from Attack 3rd Hikōtai)
Kongō group No. 6 (picked from 201st Kōkūtai)
Kongō group No. 9 (picked from 201st Kōkūtai)
Kongō group No. 11 (picked from 201st Kōkūtai)
Kongō group No. 23 (picked from 201st Kōkūtai)
Kyokujitsu group (picked from Attack 102nd Hikōtai)
Suisei group (picked from Attack 105th Hikōtai)
Yamato group (picked from Attack 105th Hikōtai)
Kikusui-Suisei group (picked from Attack 103rd Hikōtai and Attack 105th Hikōtai)
Kikusui-Suisei group No. 2 (picked from Attack 103rd Hikōtai and Attack 105th Hikōtai)
Koroku-Suisei group (picked from Attack 103rd Hikōtai)
Chūsei group (picked from 252nd Kōkūtai and Attack 102nd Hikōtai)
Mitate group No. 3 (picked from Attack 1st Hikōtai and Attack 3rd Hikōtai)
Mitate group No. 4 (picked from Attack 1st Hikōtai)
210th group (picked from 210th Kōkūtai)
Niitaka group (picked from Attack 102nd Hikōtai)
Yūbu group (picked from Attack 102nd Hikōtai)

United States

United States Navy operated captured aircraft for evaluation purposes.

Variants

D4Y1 Experimental Type 13 carrier dive-bomber (13-Shi Kanjō Bakugekiki)

5 prototypes were produced. #2 and #3 were rebuilt to reconnaissance plane and carried on aircraft carrier Sōryū, and used the Battle of Midway. #4 was rebuilt to reconnaissance plane also, and carried on aircraft carrier Shōkaku, and used the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.

D4Y1-C Type 2 reconnaissance aircraft Model 11 (Nishiki Kanjō Teisatsuki 11-Gata)

Reconnaissance version produced at Aichi's Nagoya factory. Developed on 7 July 1942.

D4Y1 Suisei Model 11 (Suisei 11-Gata)

First batch of serial produced dive bomber aircraft. Powered by 895 kW (1,200 hp) Aichi AE1A Atsuta 12 engine. Developed in December 1943.

D4Y1 KAI Suisei Model 21 (Suisei 21-Gata)

D4Y1 with catapult equipment for battleship Ise and Hyūga. Developed on 17 March 1944.

D4Y2 Suisei Model 12 (Suisei 12-Gata)

1,044 kW (1,400 hp) Aichi AE1P Atsuta 32 engine adopted. Developed in October 1944.

D4Y2a Suisei Model 12A (Suisei 12 Kō-Gata)

D4Y2 with the rear cockpit 13 mm (.51 in) machine gun. Developed in November 1944.

D4Y2-S Suisei Model 12E (Suisei 12 Bo-Gata)

Night fighter version of the D4Y2 with bomb equipment removed and a 20 mm upward-firing cannon installed.

D4Y2 KAI Suisei Model 22 (Suisei 22-Gata)

D4Y2 with catapult equipment for battleship Ise and Hyūga.

D4Y2a KAI Suisei Model 22A (Suisei 22 Kō-Gata)

D4Y2 KAI with the rear cockpit 13 mm (.51 in) machine gun.

D4Y2-R Type 2 reconnaissance aircraft Model 12 (Nishiki Kanjō Teisatsuki 12-Gata)

Reconnaissance version of the D4Y2. Developed in October 1944.

D4Y2a-R Type 2 reconnaissance aircraft Model 12A (Nishiki Kanjō Teisatsuki 12 Kō-Gata)

D4Y2-R with the rear cockpit 13 mm (.51 in) machine gun.

D4Y3 Suisei Model 33 (Suisei 33-Gata)

Land-based bomber variant. 1,163 kW (1,560 hp) Mitsubishi Kinsei 62 radial engine adopted. Removed tailhook also.

D4Y3a Suisei Model 33A (Suisei 33 Kō-Gata)

D4Y3 with the rear cockpit 13 mm (.51 in) machine gun.

D4Y3 Suisei Model 33 night-fighter variant (Suisei 33-Gata Kaizō yasen)

Temporary rebuilt night-fighter version. Two planes were converted from D4Y3. Equipment a 20 mm upward-firing cannon installed. This was not naval regulation equipment. Development code D4Y3-S (or Suisei Model 33E) was not discovered in the IJN official documents.

D4Y4 Suisei Model 43 (Suisei 43-Gata)

Final production variant. Bomb load increased to 800 kg (1,760 lb) with the main bomb semi-recessed in the bomb bay. It had 75 mm bullet-proof glass in front of the canopy, plus 5mm and 9mm thick armor plates fore and aft of the cockpit. The fuel tanks were also given added protection, and the movable rear machine gun was removed. The addition of five RATO boosters was considered: three in the lower-bottom part of the fuselage and two on both sides below the engine. Generally, the D4Y4 is often recognized as being purpose-built for special attack operations.

D4Y5 Suisei Model 54 (Suisei 54-Gata)

Planned version with Nakajima Homare radial engine, four-blade propeller, and more armor protection.

Surviving Aircraft

In 1988, a restored D4Y1 (serial 4316) was donated to the Yasukuni Shrine Yūshūkan Museum in Tokyo, where it remains on display. The wreck was recovered from Colonia Airfield on Yap Island and restored at Kisarazu Air Field from 1979 to 1980.

An engineless D4Y3 was recovered from Babo Airfield, Indonesia in 1991. It was acquired and restored to non-flying status by the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California. It was restored to represent a radial engined D4Y3, using an American Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engine. The engine is in running condition and can be started to demonstrate ground running and taxiing of the aircraft.

Specifications (D4Y2)

Crew: 2
Length: 10.22 m (33 ft 6 in)
Wingspan: 11.5 m (37 ft 9 in)
Height: 3.74 m (12 ft 3 in)
Wing area: 23.6 m2 (254 sq ft)
Empty weight: 2,440 kg (5,379 lb)
Gross weight: 4,250 kg (9,370 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Aichi Atsuta AE1P 32 V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,000 kW (1,400 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 550 km/h (340 mph, 300 kn)
Range: 1,465 km (910 mi, 791 nmi)
Service ceiling: 10,700 m (35,100 ft)
Rate of climb: 14 m/s (2,800 ft/min)
Wing loading: 180 kg/m2 (37 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass: 0.25 kW/kg (0.15 hp/lb)

Armament

Guns:

2× forward-firing 7.7 mm Type 97 aircraft machine guns
1× rearward-firing 7.92 mm Type 1 machine gun

Bombs:

500 kg (1,100 lb) of bombs (design)
800 kg (1,800 lb) of bombs (suicide attacker)

Bibliography

Angelucci, Enzo, ed. (1981). World Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft. London: Jane's.
Donald, David, ed. (1997). The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. London: Aerospace.

Francillon, René J. Japanese Bombers of World War Two, Volume One. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Hylton Lacy Publishers Ltd., 1969.

Friedman, Norman (1983). U.S. Aircraft Carriers: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press.

Francillon, René J. (1970). Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War (First ed.). London: Putnam & Company Ltd.

Francillon, René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1979

Gunston, Bill. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Combat Aircraft of World War II. London: Salamander Books Ltd., 1978.

Huggins, Mark (January–February 2002). "Falling Comet: Yokosuka's Suisei Dive-Bomber". Air Enthusiast. No. 97. pp. 66–71.

Huggins, Mark (January–February 2004). "Hunters over Tokyo: The JNAF's Air Defence of Japan 1944–1945". Air Enthusiast. No. 109. pp. 66–71.

"Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR)." National Archives of Japan

"Aircraft, weapons, and bombs list Himeji Naval Air Base" Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR) Ref.C08011073400, Flying Corps delivery list 5/14 (National Institute for Defense Studies)
Reference code: C08011083500, Kyushu Flying Corps (1st Kokubu)
Reference code: C08011088800, Delivery articles list Osaka Naval Guard Station Office Oi Base, Tokai Naval Flying Corps (1)
Reference code: C08011214400, Yamato air base (2)

Mikesh, Robert; Abe, Shorzoe (1990). Japanese Aircraft 1910–1941. London: Putnam.

Famous Airplanes Of The World No. 69: Navy Carrier Dive-Bomber "Suisei", Bunrindō (Japan), March 1988.

Ishiguro, Ryusuke. Japanese Special Attack Aircraft and Flying Bombs. Tokyo: MMP 2009.

The Maru Mechanic, Ushio Shobō (Japan)

No. 15 Nakajima C6N1 Carrier Based Rec. Saiun, March 1979
No. 27 Naval Aero-Technical Arsenal, Carrier Dive Bomber "Suisei D4Y", March 1981

Model Art, Model Art Co. Ltd. (Japan)

No. 406, Special issue Camouflage & Markings of Imperial Japanese Navy Bombers in W.W.II, April 1993.
No. 595, Special issue Night fighters of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy, October 2001.

Richards, M.C. and Donald S. Smith. "Aichi D3A ('Val') & Yokosuka D4Y ('Judy') Carrier Bombers of the IJNAF". Aircraft in Profile, Volume 13. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1974, pp. 145–169.

Vaccari, Pierfrancesco (2002), "La campagna di Iwo Jima e Okinawa", RID (in Italian), no. 1

Yokosuka D4Y2 "Suisei".

Yokosuka D4Y2 "Suisei" before taking off.

A Yokosuka D4Y3 Type 33 "Suisei" in flight.

Yokosuka D4Y3 (Type 33) "Judy" in a suicide dive against the USS Essex (CV-9), 1256 hours, November 25, 1944. Flaps are extended, the burning non-self-sealing port wing tank of the Yokosuka "Suisei" is trailing smoke. (US Navy photo)

US Navy personnel of the TAIC (Technical Air Intelligence Center) at NAS Anacostia is testing a captured D4Y after the war to obtain information about design, performance, capability. (US Navy photo)

Yokosuka D4Y1 "Suisei" Imperial Japanese Navy dive bomber and recce at takeoff in 1942.

This restored example of a Yokosuka D4Y1 dive bomber (serial number 4316) likely served in the Pacific Theater of WWII before being abandoned in the Yap Islands in the Western Pacific. The wreck was rediscovered by Endo Nobuhiko in 1972 in the jungle alongside a former airfield in the Yap Islands. The Nippon Television Network Corporation helped to return the aircraft to Japan in 1980. It was restored at the Kisarazu Ground Self Defense Forces Base under the leadership of aircraft researcher Tanaka Shoichi. The completed aircraft was dedicated to the Yūshūkan War Museum at the Yasukuni Shrine on April 5, 1981. The aircraft currently resides in the large first floor exhibit room at the Yūshūkan. (Michael Voss, 5 July 2018)

Yokosuka D4Y-4.

Instrument panel of a Yokosuka D4Y4 "Suisei".

A flight of three Yokosuka D4Y2 Suisei over the snow-capped sacred Mount Fujiyama.

Admiral Matome Ugaki with his Yokosuka D4Y3 posing before final Kamikaze attack off Okinawa, 15 August 1945.

Remains of en:Yokosuka D4Y "Suisei" aircraft tail section (starboard elevator unit) aboard USS Kitkun Bay (CVE 71) after Kamikaze attack. The Judy made a run on the ship approaching from dead astern, it was met by effective fire and the plane passed over the island and exploded. Parts of the plane and the pilot were scattered over the flight deck and the forecastle. (US Navy photo)

A Japanese Yokosuka D4Y1 Suisei (Allied reporting name "Judy") attacking the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-16) off Truk, 29 April 1944. The carrier was not hit. (U.S. Navy photo [1] from the USS Lexington (CV-16) World War II 1943-46 cruise book)

view of wrecked Japanese plane near Angeles, Pampanga, on Luzon, Philippine Islands In the background is Mount Arayat, some 10 to 15 miles away. 29 May 1945. (US National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 531307)

Each D4Y2-S had its bombing systems and equipment removed, and replaced by a 20 mm Type 99 cannon installed in the rear cockpit. 1 November 1944.

Judy belonging to the Fuyo Squadron taking off from Fujieda base towards Kanoya base. 30 March 1945.

Yokosuka (Kugisho), D4Y-3 Model 33, Suisei (Comet) Judy, USSR. (SDASM Archives)

An Imperial Japanese Navy Yokosuka D4Y3 Suisei bomber (Allied code name "Judy") passes near the light aircraft carrier USS Bataan (CVL-29) during an unsuccessful dive bombing run on Task Force 58, while the U.S. ships were operating off Japan on 20 March 1945. The Japanese plane was soon shot down by anti-aircraft fire. The photo was taken from the aircraft carrier USS Hancock (CV-19), visible in the foreground. Bataan is the ship in the center of the view. (U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command photo 80-G-319232)

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Essex (CV-9) about to be hit by a Japanese Yokosuka D4Y "Judy" aircraft during Kamikaze attacks off Luzon, 25 November 1944. The plane, afire from anti-aircraft gun hits, struck near the carrier's forward elevator. Note the Cleveland-class light cruiser in the left distance. Photographed from USS Ticonderoga (CV-14). (Official U.S. Navy photo 80-G-270738 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command)

Yokosuka (Kugisho), D4Y-3 Model 33, Suisei (Comet) Judy. (SDASM Archives)

American sailor sits in the cockpit of a Yokosuka (Kugisho) D4Y-3 Model 33 "Suisei" "Judy" at the Mitsubishi aircraft factory in Nagoya, circa 1945. (George Anton Groeschl)