Mitsubishi Shinten

Design and development

The Mitsubishi Shinten was a development of the early Mitsubishi Kinsei (A4) engine. The stroke of the Kinsei was increased from 150 mm to 160 mm on the Shinten model 11 and to 170 mm on the Shinten model 21 and 21Kai designs.

Lengthening the stroke increased the displacement from the Kinsei's 32.3 L to 36.1 L for the Shinten model 11. The increased displacement raised the horsepower from 1070 hp to 1200 hp at take-off power.

Initially the Ha6 was to be installed on the IJAAS Mitsubishi Ki-21 bomber aircraft, but it was decided to use a competing engine, the Nakajima Ha5 instead. Furthermore, Mitsubishi was ordered to produce Nakajima's engine at its factory under license. So only 113 Shinten/Ha6 engines were made and they were installed on only few types of aircraft.

In order to beat the rival and also to develop a more powerful engine for the new Navy Attack Bomber that became the infamous Mitsubishi G6M Betty, the Shinten was developed into the Mitsubishi Kasei by increasing the bore from 140 mm to 150 mm which in turn brought the displacement to 42 L and increased power to 1500 hp.

IJNAS engine naming method

Main article: Japanese aircraft engine identification systems

It was the Imperial Japanese Navy's common practice to refer to its engines by name. The Japanese method of identifying model numbers of aircraft engines is unique in that the model number always has two digits and may be followed by one or more letters. The first digit represents the major version of the engine and the second number represents the minor version of that model engine.

The first model number assigned to an engine is always 11, meaning the first major design and first minor version of that design. A major change to the design increments the first number and resets the second number to one. A minor change to the engine model increments the second number by one. If a very minor change is made, suffix letters are added after the model number. When a special modification is made, the model number is followed by the suffix 'kai', as in the Shinten Model 21kai, which decodes as the second model of the Shinten engine, 1st revision, specially modified.

IJAAS engine naming method

Main article: Japanese aircraft engine identification systems

The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service referred to its engines by their engine (Japanese:Hatsudoki abbreviated Ha) model number. Ha numbers were assigned in sequence as the engine design was accepted. This engine (Ha6) would be the 6th engine accepted by the IJAAS.

Variants

; Shinten 11 (A7) : 920 hp at 2300 rpm (take-off), 700 hp at 2100 rpm (normal). 1934 4 made ; Shinten 21 (A6) : 950 hp at 2320 rpm (take-off), 800 hp at 2150 rpm (normal). ; Shinten 21kai (A6) : 1200 hp at 2360 rpm (take-off), 1020 hp at 2250 rpm (normal). 1934–1939 109 made

Applications

• Mitsubishi Ki-21
• Yokosuka H5Y

Specifications (Shinten)

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References

Notes

Bibliography

• Matsuoka Hisamitsu, Nakanishi Masayoshi. The History of Mitsubishi Aero Engines 1915–1945. Miki Press, Japan, 2005.
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References

1. Francillon, René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. p. 515
2. Gunston, Bill. (2006). "World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines, 5th Edition". Sutton Publishing Limited.