Kurosaki R6K Raiden
| R6K Raiden | |
|---|---|
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| Role | |
| Manufacturer | Kurosaki Aircraft Company |
| Introduction | Septem 10th, 1494 |
| Retired | 1503 |
The Kurosaki R6K Raiden (雷電, Thunderbolt) was a land-based fighter aircraft used by Akitsu between 1494 and 1503. The fighter was built in a canard design which was highly unusual at the time. The wings were on the rear with stabilizers at the front, and the propeller was on the rear in a pusher configuration.
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Development
The raiden was designed by Jiro Hidemasa, who worked for Kurosaki Aircraft Company at the time, at the request of the Imperial Akitian Army Air Service. In 1489 the Imperial Akitian Army sent requests to multiple aviation companies in Akitsu, including Kurosaki, asking for a highly maneuverable mid-range fighter that could run rounds around other aircraft at the time. Jiro Hidemasa had previously built the Kurosaki K5K Raiu, the signature plane of the Imperial Akitian Naval Air Service at the time, and thus was tasked by his superiors with the project. Jiro sent a prototype design to his superiors within the first month, based on a fighter of a cannard design that he had been thinking of for the past few months. The initial designs were sketchy at best, but because of Jiro's claim that if he had more time to work on it he could create something that was faster and more maneuverable than any other aircraft his superiors told him to keep working on the design.
Jiro spent the next two years perfecting the design, running many tests with small-scale models and calculations. Finally, he submitted a concrete blueprint to his superiors in 1491. This blueprint was the basis for the first prototype, the R6J1, which was built in 1492. The prototype showed very promising results, delivering on the promise of high speed and meneuverability. However, it showed some flaws, namely a range that was slightly below what the Imperial Akitian Army wanted and a slight drag to the right. These flaws were fixed within a few months, and the R6J2 was built as the second prototype. The R6J2 met all of the Imperial Akitian Army's fuel specifications, dealt with the drag issue, and exceeded the requirements for speed and maneuverability. As a result, the R6J2 was quickly selected as the new fighter by the Imperial Akitian Army, and quickly went into production as the R6K1.
