Description
The Kawanishi N1K Shiden (Japanese: purple lightning) is a Japanese, single-engine low wing fighter with a classic tail from the Second World War. The flight of the prototype took place in December 1942. The N1K1-J Shiden was a development of the N1K1 Kyofu Type 11 hydroplane. However, the two machines differed significantly from each other. First of all, the N1K1-J had a traditional wheeled chassis, a different engine, differently contoured wings and other on-board armament. Despite many imperfections (e.g. poor visibility from the cabin, very delicate main landing gear, problems with the Homare 18 engine), the machine turned out to be a formidable opponent for American planes. First of all, due to high manoeuvrability and a good rate of climb. The aircraft entered service in 1944 and served in Formosa, the Philippines, Okinawa and the island of Honshu until the end of the war. An extension of the N1K1-J design was the N1K2-J model with a more powerful engine and a simplified structure. It entered mass production, which ended with the production of approx. 420 machines in the period 1944-1945.
