Aichi D3A1 Val
As the Imperial Japanese Navy made the switch from biplanes to monoplanes, the IJN issued a requirement for a monoplane dive bomber to replace the Aichi D1A. Aichi responded with a design using an elliptical wing equipped with dive brakes for good stability in dives, with fixed landing gear to save costs. When first flown, the prototype was dangerous--to its own pilots. It was underpowered, unstable and prone to vibrations. Aichi redesigned most of the aircraft, and the resulting D3A won the competition in 1939.
The D3A proved to be a superb aircraft. Its initial instability was solved, which resulted in a stable bomb platform; it was maneuverable enough to hold its own with fighters. A few were combat tested over China, but was first used on a large scale in the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Though Nakajima B5Ns made most of the killing hits with torpedoes and level bombing, the D3A contributed by high-level dive bombing. It was estimated that D3As hit their targets nearly eighty percent of the time, and more Allied vessels were sunk by D3As than any other Axis aircraft type. The Allies gave it the reporting name of "Val."
The D3A began to be replaced in IJN service by late 1943 by the more advanced Yokosuka D4Y Suisei, and the Aichis were relegated to either training duties or escort carriers. They would be pressed back into active service as kamikazes in late 1944 as Japan became increasingly desperate. D3A kamikazes sunk two destroyers, and made up the majority of the 22 aircraft that attacked USS Laffey on 15 April 1945; the Laffey sustained six kamikaze hits and four bombs, but was not sunk.
Only two D3As are known to have survived World War II; both are in museums in the US. This model depicts a D3A1 assigned to the HIJNS Kaga during the Pearl Harbor attack. The mint green color is accurate, as it tends to photograph as light gray.
Aichi D3A1 Val
As the Imperial Japanese Navy made the switch from biplanes to monoplanes, the IJN issued a requirement for a monoplane dive bomber to replace the Aichi D1A. Aichi responded with a design using an elliptical wing equipped with dive brakes for good stability in dives, with fixed landing gear to save costs. When first flown, the prototype was dangerous--to its own pilots. It was underpowered, unstable and prone to vibrations. Aichi redesigned most of the aircraft, and the resulting D3A won the competition in 1939.
The D3A proved to be a superb aircraft. Its initial instability was solved, which resulted in a stable bomb platform; it was maneuverable enough to hold its own with fighters. A few were combat tested over China, but was first used on a large scale in the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Though Nakajima B5Ns made most of the killing hits with torpedoes and level bombing, the D3A contributed by high-level dive bombing. It was estimated that D3As hit their targets nearly eighty percent of the time, and more Allied vessels were sunk by D3As than any other Axis aircraft type. The Allies gave it the reporting name of "Val."
The D3A began to be replaced in IJN service by late 1943 by the more advanced Yokosuka D4Y Suisei, and the Aichis were relegated to either training duties or escort carriers. They would be pressed back into active service as kamikazes in late 1944 as Japan became increasingly desperate. D3A kamikazes sunk two destroyers, and made up the majority of the 22 aircraft that attacked USS Laffey on 15 April 1945; the Laffey sustained six kamikaze hits and four bombs, but was not sunk.
Only two D3As are known to have survived World War II; both are in museums in the US. This model depicts a D3A1 assigned to the HIJNS Kaga during the Pearl Harbor attack. The mint green color is accurate, as it tends to photograph as light gray.