Although Mitsubishi’s Zero is Japan’s most recognizable aircraft of World War 2, it was not the fastest or more powerful. That place belongs to a simple floatplane that evolved into Japan’s last hope against the United States: the Kawanishi N1K2-J Shiden Kai or George.
The Shiden Kai was superior to the Zero in armament, speed, armor, and, more importantly, maneuverability, making it capable of successfully engaging US Navy Corsairs and Hellcats and emerging victorious.
A unique and creative feature incorporated by the Shiden Kai’s engineers made the aircraft highly mobile and effective in combat, an idea so effective that it could have brought Japan to victory if it had arrived earlier in the war…
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Kawanishi built the fastest best 4 engine flying boat of the war!
2 prototype 4 engine bombers that were too little too late.
THIS after they bought the unwanted Douglas DC-4E
For the technologies in it….
Which became their slow, long range utility aircraft
Flying the mail from Manchuria to Odessa.
While it lasted.
As with the big Junkers on that longest route of WWII.
History!
J.C.
I think you haven't taken into account the lack of fully trained pilots. Japan had lost so many experienced pilots that even if the aircraft had been introduced it would have made very little difference.
That was the first time, for me , hearing about that.
The kill ratio is skewed heavily toward the Japanese. They were flying new aircraft, unfamiliar to the US pilots. They were also experienced and good pilots being chosen. That combination was bound to score some kills early on. The engagements noted were also cherry-picked. I would not be surprised if actual kill ratios showed different results than the cherry-picked ones.
Where and how was this researched? at some Ivy League Woke College?.
I read everything on WWII available as a teen and young man. as the Greatest Gen dies off the history of wwii is being offered by all the wrong people, leaning toward the aim of making America and any allies the aggresor in the war through Shocking new reveleations that are pure fabrication from Communists in the US and elsehwere.
If we postulate aircraft to late? One answer to this BEARCAT
8:33 "G4U Corsairs"…
Delay only. Never "crush." Never victory. The submarines alone reduced Japan to national starvation and imobilization due to lack of fuel. Buy April, 1945, Japan faced the Allies alone.
Whatever the nazi party may have done was futile, no one can fight the industrial power and manpower of the USA, even more if you think losses during WW II were around 600'000 for American allies, and ten million for Germany. Seven and a half million deaths in Soviet Union.
When Hitler declared war to the US, after attack to Pearl Harbor, by virtue of his agreement with Japan, all Germans knew the war was lost.
But this may have been know from the very beginning, UK and their domestics, France, were involved in destroying Germany as industrial and trading competitor. Wehrmacht took one month to control France, Poland, 'liberators' took years, ravaged 80% of Europe.
For sure they were not 'fighting for freedom', everyone knew how the Stalin system was, when soviets entered Poland from NorthEast, while Hitler did same from southwest, wasp helped Stalin to survive and grow the soviet social-imperialism, as Mao, who got rid of soviets in 1962, pointed.
Those Japanese were so clever! Soon, they may even start making cars, then we’re in trouble!
Thank you for doing shiden kai
More click-bait. Please put a picture of the actual aircraft in the thumbnails! The Corsair was featured on your Wildcat video and a twin-engined American flying boat was featured on this one!
A fine plane with limited number of experiecned pilots to fly it, or carriers to ship it. US would have prevailed anyway.
Why do the planes pictured at 4:44 carry US markings?
Hellcat at 6:08 and 6:39
looks like a Thunderbolt.
wow
If one listens to your videos, they can learn something. However, if they watch your videos, they'll be left confused since many of your videos contain images that don't correlate with the narration.
Great video!
Great vids, but do you think you could also use metric in your weights and speeds as well as MPH and Pounds, so KPH and Kgs please? Perhaps in a subtitle on the video? Cheers
This is really overlooking Japan’s fuel, resource, and trained pilot shortage that was present almost immediately after the US joined the war.
The major problem for both Nazi Germany and Japan was declaring war on the United States. Once that was done they were finished.