"B5N Kate Armament Query" Topic

Does anyone know the armament of the B5N Kate torpedo plane? My web search yielded conflicting info as to whether forward firing MGs were mounted. Wiki indicates that twin MGs were mounted in at least some aircraft, but would they have been the exception? Rear armament seems to have been either a single or twin MG.

Any info appreciated!

IIRC standard armament was just a single Breda 7.7 mm in the rear cockpit.

So far all of my printed sources list just a single 7.7mm Type 92 machine gun firing rearward. Robert

One source I have says B5N1 had one 7.7mm Type 89 manually aimed from rear cockpit; B5N2 had two 7.7mm Type 89 manually aimed from rear cockpit and two 7.7mm fixed above forward fuselage. Another source states that B5N2 only had the single 7.7mm (Type 92 in this case) manually aimed from the rear cockpit. I have another book to check this but can't get to it right now. Can't tell anything different from the few photos I've been able to uncover.

As an afterthought, there were different models within each major subtype (B5N2 Model 11 and B5N2 Model 12, for example). The version with 2 rear and 2 forward guns could be a minor variant rather than a subtype, although the same source claims that 40 of the 4mg armed B5N2 were in the strike group on Pearl along with 100+ of the single mg B5N1. The source is Bill Gunston's Combat Aircraft of WWII, which I have always found to be pretty accurate.

My sources seem to indicate the B5N2 had one 7.7mm MG in a trainable rear cockpit mounting.

Sources: Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II, David Mondey.

Whispering Death boardgame, J.D. Webster. 1x 7.7mm Type 92 (listed as having a defensive gun/dorsal manual gun/upper fuselage).

B5N1 usually had 1 rear MG, B5N2 usually 2. I think Sundance is on the right lines for forward guns – forward MGs were limited to one variant of the B5N2 iirc.

My other sources – Japanese Aircraft of World War II by Collier and another general book on WWII a/c show the B5N2 only with a single rear mg (Type 92) also, so I'm betting that the 2 forward firing guns is a minor variant. I've been somewhat disappointed with Collier, though – not as complete and thorough as I was expecting. Anyone have Francillon's Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War? I've heard that's better, and all the websites that indicate forward guns used Francillon as a reference.

Whispering Death boardgame, J.D. Webster. 1x 7.7mm Type 92 (listed as having a defensive gun/dorsal manual gun/upper fuselage).

Whistling Death (the Japanese nickname for the F4U Corsair).

J.D. does really, really thorough research and has a big collection of books that he cross-references. He's sussed out many errors that have been repeated from book to book--a lot of these books rely on earlier works for their data. For example, errors where top speeds in kph were then stated to be in mph, and book after book accepted the flawed data.

I agree – JD does a great job. However, I have never even heard of a book – let alone seen one – that lists all Japanese a/c and all of their various models, variations, etc (in English, at least). It is not too far-fetched to think that they may have added guns to the B5N at some point.

Thanks for the feedback, guys! I'll probably just use the single LMG in the rear, as it would appear to be the standard configuration.

They're gonna need some close escorts!

Just checked Francillon (and several other reputable sources)to find that there is no mention of Kates with forward firing guns of any kind – WING OR COWLING mounted.
I think the 'would that it could be' folk have been reading Wikipedia again.

Checking "Flying Guns of WW2" it lists that the Nakajima B5N Kate models 1 and 2 had only a single 7.7mm Type 92 MG mounted on a flexible mount in the rear.

The Mitsubishi B5M1 (Kate61 or Mabel) was armed in a similar manner.

-Binhan

Been away for a few days and find now that there are no further posts on this subject – can we take it as read that the forward firing Kate never existed?

Agreed Sarge, I couldn't find anything showing any version of the Kate with more than the one rear firing gun.

So let it be written, so let it be said…