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Kyushu K11W Shiragiku (White Chrysanthemum)

1942 WORLD WAR 2

The history of Kyushu K11W white chrysanthemum (white chrysanthemum)

Kyushu K11W Shiragiku ("White Chrysanthemum"), often forgotten but equally important to Japan's war effort in WWII, was an advanced bomber crew trainer. The aircraft was part of the Imperial Japanese Navy, with approximately 798 produced from 1942 to 1945.

Although primarily a trainer, a second model existed in limited production as a submarine hunter and transport aircraft, and many K11s ended up taking on the dreaded role of kamikaze suicide planes by the end of the war. The K11W directly replaced the aging Mitsubishi K3M model and proved to be a viable and economical aircraft.

The Imperial Japanese Navy needed an advanced, modern aircrew instructor to train their bomber crews. Watanabe Iron Works (Watanabe Tekkosho KK design team) designed their K11W1 prototype and made its first flight in November 1942. Further evaluation of the airframe was completed in a very short time, with few setbacks recorded in the plan, and the model became production ordered under the official designation "Naval Combat Instructor Baiju".

However, by the end of 1942, the Japanese crimson Watanabe was reorganized into the Kyushu Aircraft Company, so the name of the new trainer became "Kyushu K11W". The first production samples were delivered in the summer of 1943.

The design is very traditional and functional in nature. The K11's mid-mounted monoplane wings have curved tips. The assembly is set before the midship. The radial piston engine was mounted at the very front of the fuselage, driving a two-bladed propeller system. The cockpit area is covered in thick glass, and the pilot and gunner's cadets sit side by side.

Apprentice gunners also serve as radio operators. The powerful shape of the K11 allows the construction of a lower deck deep within the hull, providing space for bombardiers, navigators and trainers in this area. The lower deck is located below the wing assembly, with rectangular windows visible along the sides of the fuselage. The fins have a board-side appearance and are covered by a conventional fin system with a single vertical fin and applicable horizontal planes with curved edges.

The undercarriage is in a traditional "tail" arrangement, consisting of two single-wheel main landing gear legs and a single-wheel rear leg - all of which are fully retractable.

Power is provided by a Hitachi GK2B Amakaze 21 series 9-cylinder radial piston engine rated at 515 hp. Top speed is listed at 143 mph at 5,600 feet. Cruising speed is 109 miles per hour. Range is an impressive 1,093 miles, while service is capped at 18,440 feet.

Armament is strictly hands-on, including a rear-firing 7.7mm Type 92 machine gun mounted on a flexible mount for shooting training and practice loading 2 x 66lb bombs. When used in kamikazes, the K11W1 is equipped with a 550-pound bomb for maximum impact.

While K11W1 is the codename for the basic bomber crew trainer, K11W2 is a limited-production anti-submarine warfare (ASW) variant that can also be used as a transport platform. The main difference between the two is that the K11W2 uses an all-wood construction, as opposed to the more expensive K11W1's all-metal (though the latter has a cloth-covered control surface).

A third proposed variant exists under the name Q3W1 "Nankai" ("South China Sea"). This unfinished design could have been used as an anti-submarine maritime patrol aircraft, but the prototype was lost in a landing accident in January 1945.

Little was known to the Allies about the existence (and importance) of the K11W rugged trainer family, so it was not assigned a traditional "codename".