Yokosuka R2Y
Template:Infobox Aircraft The Yokosuka R2Y Keiun (景雲 - "Beautiful Cloud") was a prototype reconnaissance aircraft built in Japan late in World War II.
Design and development
Commissioned for the Imperial Japanese Navy after the Yokosuka R1Y design was cancelled due to its disappointing performance estimates, the R2Y borrowed from the German pre-war Heinkel He 119 in its use of coupled engines driving a single propeller. It also featured a tricycle undercarriage arrangement that was possibly influenced by the Messerschmitt Me 509.
Completed in April 1945, the prototype made a short flight on May 8, but was destroyed in a US air raid only a few days later, thus ending development.
A proposal was also made to develop the R2Y into a turbojet-powered light bomber by replacing its piston engines with two Ishikawajima Ne-330s. Designated the R2Y2 Keiun-Kai, little progress on the design was made before the end of the war.
Specifications (R2Y1)
Data from Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
Performance
References
- ^ Francillon 1979, p. 475.
- Francillon, Réne J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1970 (2nd edition 1979). ISBN 0-370-30251-6.
Related content
Related development: Heinkel He 119
Comparable aircraft:
Designation sequence: R1Y - R2Y