Yokosuka D4Y 'Judy' Units

by Mark A. Chambers

ISBN: 9781472845047

Published: 2021-09-14

In 1938, the Japanese Air Technical Arsenal at Yokosuka initiated the development of an aircraft that would later serve as one of World War 2's finest dive-bombers. Acting in response to the requirements issued by the Naval Air Headquarters for an aircraft to eventually replace the Aichi D3A aboard carriers, the resulting D4Y Suisei ('Comet'), codenamed 'Judy' by the Allies, was initially powered by a licence-built German Daimler-Benz DB 601 inline engine. Despite its inauspicious combat debut during the Battle of Midway in June 1942, the 'Judy' eventually proved to be a dive-bombing asset for the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force (IJNAF) during battles in the latter years of the Pacific War. Over the final months of World War 2, when it became apparent that there would be no Japanese victory, the IJNAF employed the 'Judy' in the dreaded kamikaze role. Thanks to its proven high-speed characteristics in a dive, the D4Y was quite adept at suicide attacks. Indeed, a specialist...