The Japanese Navy recognized that it would not be possible to build
runways on all of its potential island conquests, nor would it have
sufficient carrier numbers to make up for that deficiency. Thus, it was
decided in 1940 to build a floatplane fighter to be used from such
islands. While that design (the N1K "Rex") went through normal
development, the Model 11 Zero (p.W112) was modified to serve the role
as a stop-gap measure by the Nakajima corporation. Basically, the
landing gear and arrestor hook of the
Zero were removed and the wheel wells faired over. A large central
float was added under the fuselage and one stabilizing float under each
wing. The tail was also slightly increased in height.
Just under 330 Rufes were produced through 1943, entering
service in early 1942. They generally didn't perform well against
Allied
fighters (in particular, land-based fighters), only having much success
in the Aleuthian Campaign of
1942-43. The Rufe suffered by the increased weight and drag of the
floats, which greatly diminished the performance of the basic Zero
airframe. Late in the war, some were used in vain attempts to
intercept B-29's (p.W:MP102) over the home islands but suffered heavy
losses.
The A6M2-N had a crew of one. The plane uses 35.4 gallons of aviation gas at routine usage.
Subassemblies: Waterproofed Light Fighter chassis +3, Light
Fighter Wings with High Agility option
+2,
one sealed Small AFV Main Pontoon [Body:U] +3, two sealed Small Weapon
Stabilizing Pontoons
[Wings:U]
+0, one fixed skid +0.
P&P: 708-kW HP aerial gasoline engines with 708-kW prop
and 156-gallon light fuel tanks [Body] and 81 gallon light fuel tank
[Main Pontoon]; 4,000-kW batteries.
Occ: 1 CS Cargo: 6.5 Body
| Armor | F | R/L | B | T | U |
| All | 2/2 | 2/2 | 2/2 | 2/2 | 2/2 |
| Pontoons | 2/3 | 2/3 | 2/3 | 2/3 | 2/3 |
Weaponry
2¥Aircraft LMGs/7.7mm Type 97 [Body:F] (680 rounds each)
2¥20mm Short Aircraft ACs/Type 99-1 [Wings:F] (60 each)
Equipment
Body: Medium radio receiver and transmitter, navigation
instruments,
autopilot. Wings: One 132-lb hardpoint each.
Statistics
| Size: 33'x39'x14' | Payload: 1.06 tons | Lwt: 3.18 tons |
| Volume: 144 |
Maint.: 40 hours | Price: $25,500 |
HT: 7
HP: 50 Body, 90 each Wing, 75 Main Pontoon, 45 each
Stabilizing
Pontoon, 15 Skid.
| aSpeed: 271 | aAccel: 7 | aDecel: 24 | aMR: 5.75 | aSR: 2 | |
| Stall: 71 mph | -2 mph per loaded hardpoint |
| wSpeed: 27 |
wAccel: 7 | wDecel: 10 | wMR: 0.1 | wSR: 3 | |
| Draft: 1.2' | Float: 3.2 tons |
Variants
The Kawanishi N1K1 Kyofu (1943) was heavier (4.09 tons) and had a much
more powerful engine
(1,089-kW), giving a top speed of 304 mph. Armament was the same.
Allied code nme was "Rex". Only 97 were built, including 8 prototypes.