Nakajima Fugaku

The Fugaku had its origins in "Project Z (bomber project)", a 1942 Imperial Japanese Army specification for an intercontinental bomber which could take off from the Kuril Islands, bomb the contiguous United States, then continue onward to land in German-occupied France. Once there, it would be refueled and rearmed and make another return sortie. Project Z called for three variations on the airframe: heavy bomber, transport (capable of carrying 300 troops), and a gunship armed with forty downward-firing machine guns in the fuselage for intense ground attacks at the rate of 640 rounds per second (i.e. 38,400 rounds per minute). Development was initiated in January 1943 and a design and manufacturing facility built in Mitaka, Tokyo. Nakajima's 4-row 36-cylinder 5,000 hp Ha-54 (Ha-505) engine was abandoned as too complex. Project Z was cancelled in July 1944, and the Fugaku was never built. ==Operators (planned)==

; • Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service – (Fugaku) • Imperial Japanese Army Air Force – (Project Z) ==Specifications (Project Z / Fugaku projected)==

Fugaku: }} Fugaku: }} Fugaku: }} Fugaku: }} Fugaku: 6x Nakajima NK11A 18-cyl. air-cooled radial piston engines developing at take-off}} Fugaku: 4-bladed constant speed propellers diameter }} Fugaku: 211.89 m2 (43.4 lb/ft2}} ; }} ==See also==