Actually, the Renzan was based on the Douglas C-54/DC-4 transport. Like the FW-200 Kondor.....it was/would have been a complete sheep in wolves clothing.

I know that the Japanese captured several of our shot aircraft during the war, including the B-17 and B-26 and made studies of them. To me this aircraft looks an awful lot a 4 engine version of our B-26 Marauder. Take a look at the tail section and round body section of the aircraft and see if you agree with me. Also, the gun positions and turrets look a lot like those use on U.S. heavy bombers, like the B-17 and B-24. Lucky for us this aircrft was not developed much earlier.

At 780 kph,who needs defensive armament? The greatest problem was that the original design was lost when the napkin bearing it burned following an incendiary strike on a strip club in Kawasaki City. Shame, it was a good strip club

Here's another Nakajima heavy bomber product: the G10N Fugaku. six engines, speed of 780km/h, 20,000kg of bombs, and a range of 19,400 km. Only downside was a weak defensive armament of four 20mm cannon in single turrets.

There is more to a strategic bomber force than an aircraft. The Italian Air Force operated the Piaggio P-108, an excellent strategic bomber, in quantities up to a dozen. Not a strategic force. Japan did not have the industrial capacity to do any better with Rita. They also didn't have fuel to train pilots, let alone fuel 500 Ritas.

I'm glad the Rita never saw combat action. It would have sent fear to Truman and Hap Arnold.

Good comments people...this was a very good design! Ceratinly no copycat stuff! Adniral Yamamoto saw, even before Pearl Harbour, that after six months of war, American production capabilities would quickly overwhem that of Japan. This aircraft was doomed never to serve operationally...PITY THE JERRIES DIDN'T GRAB THE DESIGN! A FAR better proposition than the riduculously over complicated Heinkel 177!

Actually,looks to resemble more to a Pe-8.

I built a kit of this aircraft. Originally issued by Frog, and later by Hasegawa. Could have been one of the great bombers of WWII, with turbo-supercharged engines and heavy defensive armament.

That the Japanese air ministry could develope such a technically advanced bomber at this time in the war showed that their engineers were not copy cats but put some of the best military aircraft into the sky during the war. Nakajima KI-84, Kawanishi N1K2-J Shinden Kai and the surprise of them all the Kawasaki KI-100!

looks like this could do some danage if it got out about the time of midway, almost looks a B-17
thank you

Amazing aircraft,i discovered it by mistake,as a model at a modellers show,i must have several large books on WW2 aircraft,no mention of this though,but the name was enough.now i've looked into it,i must say it's typically Japanese,fast,long ranged,heavily armed & with a reasonable bombload!