In 1956 Mitsubishi began the design of a light utility transport to be powered by two turboprop engines and allocated the designation Mitsubishi MU-2. It was not until 14 September 1963 that the first of four prototypes was flown, a cantilever high-wing monoplane with a pressurised fuselage, retractable tricycle landing gear and two'wing-mounted turboprop engines. Initial production versions were the MU-2A with Turbomeca Astazou turboprops, MU-2B with Garrett TPE331 turboprops and a similar MU-2D, an unpressurised multi-role MU-2C for the Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force, a search-and-rescue MU-2E, and the MU-2F with uprated TPE331 engines. The MU-2G which fol-- lowed had the powerplant of the MU-2F and was the first with a lengthened fuselage (by 1.88 m); subsequent versions have included the MU-2J with more powerful engines, MU-2K combining MU-2F fuselage and MU-2J powerplant, MU-2L and MU-2M higher-weight variants of the MU-2J and MU-2K respectively, and finally the MU-2N and MU-2P, corresponding to the MU-2Land MU-2M, but with Garrett TPE331-5-252M engines. In 1965 Mitsubishi established a factory at San Angelo, Texas, to assemble MU-2s for the North American market, and this became the main assembly and marketing point for worldwide distribution under the name Mitsubishi Aircraft International Inc. Last production models of the MU-2 were the long-fuselage Marquise, with Garrett TPE331-10-501M turboprop engines flat-rated to 533kW, accommodating a crew of two plus seven to nine passengers; and the Solitaire, with the same engines flat-rated to 496kW, seating a crew of two plus six or seven passengers. Apart from powerplant, these two versions are basically similar to the earlier MU-2N and MU-2P respectively. When production ended at the end of 1983, 831 MU-2s of all versions had been built, including 73 military versions.