Nakajima's Ki-27 ("Nate"), the Imperial Japanese Army's
first monoplane low-wing fighter, entered service in 1936
and outnumbered all other Japanese fighters at the time
of Pearl Harbor. The B5N ("Kate" carrier-based torpedo
bomber played a major role in that attack, and was largely
responsible for sinking the
Ki-49 "Donryu"
U.S. aircraft carriers during the
Battle of Midway. Nakajima's Ki-43 Hyabusa ("Oscar")interceptor
fighter, though deficient in firepower, was the mount
of most Japanese fighter aces. The much less manoeuvrable
Ki-44 Shoki ("Tojo") was used primarily as a homedefense
fighter. Other significant Nakajima aircraft included
the B6N Tenzan ("Jill"' torpedo-bomber, the J1N1 Gekko
("Irving") three-seat reconnaissance/nightfighter; the Ki-
49 Donryu ("Helen") heavy bomber; and the Ki-84 Hayate
("Frank"), a good all-round fighter, though relatively
unproven in battle. Nakajima also developeda floatplane
version of the Zero fighter as the A6M-2 ("Rufe").
