By 1926, the
Imperial Japanese Navy's
Mitsubishi 1MF fighters (also known as
Type 10 Carrier Fighters) were in need of replacement, and so three of the leading Japanese aircraft manufacturers, Nakajima,
Mitsubishi, and
Aichi were asked for proposals for a new carrier-based fighter. Nakajima purchased a licence from the British
Gloster Aircraft Company for production of the Gloster Gambet. It was a private venture design for a carrier-based derivative of their earlier
Gloster Gamecock fighter. The
prototype Gambet was built by Gloster and first flew on 12 December 1927. The prototype Gambet was shipped to Japan early in 1928. After modifications were made and it was fitted with a Nakajima-built
Bristol Jupiter engine, the Gambet was evaluated by the Japanese navy against competitors from Aichi and Mitsubishi. It proved to be more manoeuvrable while still being a stable gun platform 50 A1N1s were built. The
A1N2 used the 336 kW (450 hp)
Nakajima Kotobuki 2 engine and was introduced in 1930. Production of approximately 100 was completed by 1932. ==Design==