Mitsubishi 2MR8

Type 92 Reconnaissance Aircraft
Role Reconnaissance aircraft
Manufacturer Mitsubishi
First flight 28 March 1931
Introduction 1932
Primary user Imperial Japanese Army Air Force
Number built 234 (4 prototypes + 230 production aircraft)

The Mitsubishi Army Type 92 Reconnaissance Aircraft (九二式偵察機) (company designation 2MR8) was a Japanese short-range reconnaissance aircraft of the 1930s designed by Mitsubishi for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. A total of 230 were built, serving between 1933 and 1936. A parasol monoplane, the Type 92 was the first military aircraft powered by an engine both designed and manufactured in Japan to enter service.

Development and design[edit]

In 1930, Mitsubishi developed two designs to meet a Japanese Army requirement for a short-range reconnaissance aircraft to supplement the larger, long-range Kawasaki Type 88, the 2MR7, a biplane based on its earlier 2MR reconnaissance aircraft and B2M torpedo bomber developed for the Imperial Japanese Navy, and the 2MR8, a high-wing parasol monoplane.[1]

The first of four prototypes flew on 28 March 1931, powered by a 239 kW (320 hp) Mitsubishi A2 radial engine. Successive prototypes were modified with more powerful engines, reduced wing area and a shorter fuselage until the fourth prototype was accepted by the Japanese Army, and ordered into service as the Type 92 Reconnaissance Aircraft.[2]

The production Type 92 had fixed wide-track divided landing gear, and was powered by a 354 kW (450 hp) Mitsubishi Type 92 radial engine. It carried a crew of two in open cockpits, with an armament of two synchronised, forward-firing 7.7 mm (.303 in) machine guns and one or two flexibly-mounted guns on the observer's cockpit. Production completed in 1934 after a total of 230 aircraft were built.[2]

To meet the requirements of the Japanese Ministry of Railways for a survey aircraft, Mitsubishi developed a civilian version of the Type 92, the Hato survey aircraft. A single aircraft was ordered in 1935, together with a Fokker Super Universal built by Nakajima. Powered by a 298 kW (400 hp) Mitsubishi A5 engine, it differed from the military version in having a glazed canopy over the rear cockpit (which accommodated a crew of two), an open forward pilot's cockpit, and spat-type main wheel fairings. It was delivered in March 1936 and registered J-AARA.[3]

Operational history[edit]

The Type 92 saw active service in Manchuria with the air battalions (later expanded to air wings) of the Kwantung Army Air Corps between 1933 and 1936.[4] The Mitsubishi Type 92 was also used by the Chinese Air Force in the early stages of the Second Sino-Japanese War.[5]

Operators[edit]

 China
  • Kwangsi Air Force purchased two Type 92s in September 1934, with a few more being purchased in 1935.[5]
 Japan

Specifications[edit]

Data from Japanese Aircraft, 1910-1941[2]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 8.52 m (27 ft 11 in)
  • Wingspan: 12.75 m (41 ft 10 in)
  • Height: 3.48 m (11 ft 5 in)
  • Wing area: 26 m2 (280 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 1,060 kg (2,337 lb)
  • Gross weight: 1,770 kg (3,902 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Mitsubishi Army Type 92 400hp Air Cooled Radial 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 298–354 kW (400–475 hp) (company designation A5)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed Reed-type fixed-pitch metal propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 220 km/h (140 mph, 120 kn)
  • Endurance: 4-5 hours
  • Service ceiling: 5,700 m (18,700 ft)
  • Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 10 minutes 30 seconds
  • Wing loading: 68.1 kg/m2 (13.9 lb/sq ft)
  • Power/mass: 0.24 kW/kg (0.15 hp/lb)

Armament

  • Guns: 2 × fixed forward firing 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine guns, 2 × flexibly mounted 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine guns in rear cockpit

References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mitsubishi Type 92 Reconnaissance Aircraft.
Notes
  1. ^ Mikesh & Abe 1990, p. 180.
  2. ^ a b c Mikesh & Abe 1990, p. 182.
  3. ^ Mikesh & Abe 1990, p. 195.
  4. ^ Donald 1997, p. 647.
  5. ^ a b Andersson 2008, pp. 57–60.
Bibliography
  • Andersson, Lennart (2008). A History of Chinese Aviation: Encyclopedia of Aircraft and Aviation in China until 1949. Taipei, Taiwan: AHS of ROC. ISBN 978-957-28533-3-7.
  • Donald, David, ed. (1997). The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Leicester, UK: Blitz. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.
  • Mikesh, Robert C.; Abe, Shorzoe (1990). Japanese Aircraft, 1910-1941. London: Putnam & Company Ltd. ISBN 0-85177-840-2.


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