B5N2

Description

The B5N2, designated as the Type 97 Carrier Attack Bomber (九七式艦上攻撃機), was the standard Japanese carrier-based torpedo/high-level bomber during World War II. With its first flight in 1937, it served the Japanese Navy very favourably with its highly capable ordnance and was considerably faster than any Allied counterparts. Due to delays in the production of the B6N (Family), the B5N saw service from 1937 all the way until 1945, supplementing the B6Ns in secondary roles. While it saw initial service in the Second Sino-Japanese war, it played a major role in the opening phase of the Pacific war, contributing to the successes at Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea, Midway, and Santa Cruz Islands.

The B5N2 has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27. While a considerably large target for the size of its wings, the B5N is a very manoeuvrable and relatively fast plane, able to outmanoeuvre and outspeed enemy interceptors. The B5N also carries a favourable array of ordnance for both high and low-altitude bombing on top of ship attacks.

Nicknames

• IJN Pilot nickname: Kanko (艦攻, Abbriviation of 艦上攻撃機 (Kanjō Kōgekiki)).
• Allied reporting name: Kate.

General info

Flight performance

Details

Survivability and armour

• No armour
• Non-self-sealing fuel tanks (2 in each wing)

Modifications and economy

• When upgrading this plane focus on getting the payload especially the torpedo modification. This is due to the high chance Japan has to get naval maps.
• After you've unlocked all the possible torpedoes, it is recommended that you research the flight performance modules first, as the aircraft has very little defensive and offensive capabilities.

Armaments

Suspended armament

With the amount of presets the B5N2 offers, it leaves a lot of space and multipurpose over to the pilot of any skill level with only 2 presets being a bad choice: the 800 kg AP bomb, and Type 91 Model 2 torpedo. The other presets should be chosen for these reasons:

• 1 x Type 91 Model 3 Torpedo = Naval targets
• 1 x 800 kg = ...
  • High altitude naval bombing
  • Low-skill / collateral tank bombing
  • Base bombing
• 2 x 250 kg = Intermediate-skill tank bombing
• 6 x 60 kg = High-skill precise tank bombing

The B5N2 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 6 x 60 kg Navy Type 97 Number 6 bombs (360 kg total)
• 2 x 250 kg Navy Type Number 25 Model 2 bombs (500 kg total)
• 2 x 250 kg Navy Type 98 Number 25 bombs (500 kg total)
• 1 x 800 kg Navy Type Number 80 Model 1 bomb (800 kg total)
• 1 x 800 kg Navy Type 99 Number 80 AP bomb (800 kg total)
• 1 x 835 kg Type 91 Model 2 torpedo
• 1 x 850 kg Type 91 Model 3 torpedo

Defensive armament

The B5N2 is defended by:

• 1 x 7.7 mm Type 92 machine gun, dorsal turret (1,000 rpg)

Usage in battles

The B5N2 is a Japanese torpedo-bomber that is lacking in offensive armaments and is defended by a single 7.7 mm Type 92 machine gun at the back, which makes it lacking in defence against enemy pursuers. Its greatest weapon is not the speed to outrun enemy fighters but its manoeuvrability and ability to do tight turns against most enemy aircraft till help arrives from the team.

The B5N2 might lack in offensive weaponry such as machine guns and cannons but it has a great variety of payload from 60 kg bombs to 800 kg bombs and even torpedoes in its arsenal to take out ground and naval targets with. Coming with 2 different 800 kg bombs, its important to pick the one most suitable for the mission, preferably the Navy Type Number 80 Model 1 over the Navy Type 99 Number 80 AP, with the benefit that the Type Number 80 Model 1 has a better blast radius and more explosive power than the Type 99 Number 80 AP bomb which is good at taking out a single heavily armoured target. It also come with two different sets of 250 kg bombs that can be dropped one by one and are preferable when striking at two different targets than a singular 800 kg.

Against naval targets, it's most preferred to use the Type 91 Mod.2 and Type 91 Mod.3 to deal with the sailors, keep in mind to dive and get fast speed to quickly get in and out of engagement with a warship or patrolboat to minimize the risk of being shot down. But when doing a dive attack to get the speed its important to not go over the speed limit where the B5N2 can drop the torpedoes without having them explode in the water on contact which would make the attack futile.

Every enemy should be seen as a serious threat to the B5N2, as it does not have an offensive armament. The only thing the plane has when it comes to armament is 1 7.7 mm machine gun, which is not a reliable way to fend off enemies with it lacks damage and doesn't offer the best coverage, but at 1.7 it might be enough to scare off ill-armoured biplanes.

Manual Engine Control

Pros and cons

Pros:

• B5N for Carrier-based torpedo bomber
  • Bomber spawn
  • 1x Type 91 Aerial Torpedo
    • Torpedo has the highest drop speed in the game at 580 km/h and is one of the most feared torpedoes in Naval Battles
  • 6x Type 97 No.6 Land Bomb (60 kg)
    • Gets a bomb rack of 6 x 60 kg bombs which can be used to hit multiple targets
  • 1x No.80 Land Bomb (800 kg)
    • Heaviest bomb Japanese Navy can offer
• Common Navy plane construction:
  • Excellent manoeuvrability

Cons:

• B5N for Carrier-based torpedo bomber
  • No offensive armament
  • No airbrakes
  • Relatively Large target
• Common Navy plane construction:
  • Poor defensive armament: 7.7 mm Type 92 MG
  • Fragile, little armour, and no self-sealing fuel tanks
  • Exposed tail gunner

History

The Nakajima B5N2 (Allied code name: Kate) was a plane first flown in January 1937 for the Imperial Japanese Navy. About ~1149 Nakajima B5N Torpedo bombers were made for the Japanese Navy. It would see service in World war 2 and was the Japanese Navy's primary torpedo bomber for the early part of World war 2. The Nakajima B5N Torpedo bomber was credited with the sinking of three US Carriers the USS Lexington CV-2, USS Yorktown CV-6 and USS Hornet CV-8. One of the most notable pilot of the B5N is Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the first wave of aircraft during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Although a total of 5,928 B5Ns were built, none survived the war. Two B5N's are know to exist, both made from wreckage's. One can be seen at the Pearl Harbor Memorial, it is missing its tail, left wing, engine, canopy, and a few other parts.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the B5N2 from live.warthunder.com.

Images

Videos

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance