Possibly no Japanese plane inflicted more damage on Allied shipping than the Aichi D3A "Val" dive bomber. Over 120 participated in the Pear Harbor attack, while in the East Indies Vals were responsible for the sinking of the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and cruisers HMS Dorsetshire and HMS Cromwell in the spring of 1942. In the period between these two events, the Val racked up an incredible hit rate of over 80%. However, by the end of 1943, with most experienced air crews dead, the hit rate had dropped to under 10% and the Val's days a front-line dive bomber were over. An attempt was made late in the war to adapt them to kamikaze attacks, but low speed and poor maneuverability rendered them ineffective.
The D3A was intended as a replacement for the earlier D1A. The D3A1 entered service in 1939 and was the type used for the first few months of the Pacific campaign, to be replaced by the D3A2 by the end of 1942. While the Val was primarily flown from carriers, it was also used as a land-based dive bomber and was roughly the counterpart of the German Ju 87 Stuka (p.W114) and American SBD Dauntless (and, coincidentally, both of these saw a great deal of success early in the war, only to be overtaken by technological advances within a year). The Val was replaced by the D4Y.
Some 470 D3A1's were built. Crew consisted of a pilot and gunner/observer. The D3A1 uses 36 gallons of aviation fuel per hour.
Navy Type 99 Carrier Bomber Model 11 (Aichi D3A1)
Subassemblies: Light FB Chassis +3, Light FB Wings +2, three
fixed Wheels +1
P&P: 798 kW HP gasoline engine w/798-kW aerial propeller,
285 gallon standard tanks [Body and wWings]
Occ: 2 CS
Cargo: 12 Body
| Armor | F | R/L | B | T | U |
| Body | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Wings | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Wheels | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
Weaponry
2*Aircraft LMG/Type 97 [Body:F] (500 each)
Aircraft LMG/Type 92 [Body:R] (500)
551-lb bomb [Body:U]
Equipment
Body: long range radio receiver and transmitter, navigational
instruments, arrestor hook, 551-lb hardpoint. Wings: 132-lb hardpoint
each.
Statistics
| Size: 33'x47'x11' | Payload: 1.6 tons | Lwt: 4.2 tons |
| Volume: 312 | Maint.: 47 hours | Price: $18,200 |
HT: 9
HP: 165 [body], 120 [each wing], 15 [each wheel]
| aSpeed: 242 | aAccel: 11 | aDecel: 20 | aMR: 5 | aSR: 2 | Stall: 65 mph |
Design Notes
Design speed was 245 mph. The historical value has been used, as well
as historical wing area (376). Loaded weight and performance statistics
assumes one 551 lb bomb.
Variants:
The primary production version was the D3A2 (1942), with over 1,000
built. It used a larger 969-kW engine with a top speed of 267 mph.
The D3A2-K was a trainer version, converted from existing D3A2's in service.
The D3N built by Nakajima had retractable landing gear, but it failed to enter production.