A Japanese Navy carrier dive bomber that served as a principal early-war strike aircraft.
Development
Aichi D3A was developed by Aichi Kokuki in Empire of Japan as a attack aircraft. The family first flew in 1938 and entered service in 1940. Its recorded airframe configuration is fixed wing, with the family classified in the archive as core combat-aircraft scope.
Operational History
Operationally, Aichi D3A is represented primarily in the attack aircraft role. The sourced variant records include service with Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. Its documented combat-history coverage includes World War II. Role tags attached to the family include carrier based and dive bomber.
Variants and Lineage
Major variants represented in the structured record include D3A1 and D3A2.
Variants
| Designation | Type | Role | Recorded operators |
|---|---|---|---|
| D3A1 | Production | Attack | Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service |
| D3A2 | Production | Attack | Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service |
Representative specifications
Configuration-specific profiles are shown separately so values from different variants are not blended into one false “standard” aircraft.
D3A1 — C011 baseline technical profile
- Crew
- 2
Powerplant: 1 × Mitsubishi Kinsei radial
Armament: Forward-firing machine guns, a flexible rear gun, and a centerline bomb with smaller wing bombs.
Sources and further reading
Structured references supporting this aircraft family, variants, specifications, and narrative sections.
- Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War — Putnam · Tier 3