Jiro Horikoshi
| Jiro Horikoshi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 June 1903 Fujioka, Gunma Prefecture |
| Died | 11 January 1982 |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Education | University of Tokyo |
| Engineering career | |
| Significant projects | A7M "Reppu" |
| Significant design | A5M A6M "Zero" |
Incorporates material translated from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
Dr. Jiro Horikoshi (堀越 二郎 Horikoshi Jirō, 22 June 1903 - 11 January 1982) was the chief engineer of many Japanese fighter designs of World War II, most notably the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter.
He was born near the city of Fujioka, Gunma Prefecture, Japan.
In 1927, Jiro graduated from the newly established Aviation Laboratory (Kouku Kenkyu Sho) within the Engineering Department of the University of Tokyo[1] , and started his career in Mitsubishi Internal Combustion Engine Company Limited, which later became Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nagoya Aircraft Manufacturing Plant. He first built the successful Mitsubishi A5M (allied codename "Claude") before he and his team at Mitsubishi were asked, in 1937, to design Prototype 12 (corresponding to the 12th year of the reign of the then present Emperor). Prototype 12 was completed in July 1940, and it was accepted by the Japanese Imperial Navy. Since 1940 was the Japanese year 2600, the new fighter was named as "Model 00" or "Zero", in Japan also known as the "Rei-sen" (literally meaning "zero fight," shortened for Model zero fighter airplane).
Subsequently, he was involved in many other fighters manufactured by Mitsubishi, including the Mitsubishi J2M Raiden (Thunderbolt) and the Mitsubishi A7M Reppu (Strong Gale).
His memoir, regarding the development of Zero was published first in Japan in 1970, and it was translated in the 70s, by the University of Washington Press as Eagles of Mitsubishi: the story of the Zero Fighter.
After the war, he participated in the design of the YS-11 with Hidemasa Kimura. After leaving Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, he taught at educational and research institutions. From 1963 through 1965, he served as a lecturer at the University of Tokyo, Institute of Space and Aeronautics, afterwards teaching as a professor at the National Defense Academy from 1965 to 1969. Between 1972 and 1973, he was a professor at the Faculty of Engineering of Nihon University.
In the 1973 autumn honours list, Horikoshi was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Third Class, for his achievements. He died on January 11, 1982, aged 78, and was posthumously promoted to the fourth rank in the order of precedence.
References [edit]
- ^ Odagiri, Hiroyuki (1996). Technology and Industrial Development in Japan. Clarendon Press, Oxford. p. 215. ISBN 0-19-828802-6.
- Bibliography
- Horikoshi, Jiro. Eagles of Mitsubishi: the story of the Zero Fighter. Washington, DC: University of Washington Press, 1992. ISBN 978-0-295-97168-1.
|
