Nakajima Jill B6N2 (single engine)
N318
FE 1200
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Two views of Jill, both showing its most vulnerable aspects.  Four-bladed prop chewing into opponents, was its only means of frontal defense, since Jill had no forward firing armament. Although a ventral gun was installed on some models to fire to the rear, direct attacks from underneath could also be made with impunity, and with disastrous results, when wingroot tanks were exposed, as in the photo below..

 
Courtesy Air Power Magazine, Jan 1975

Nakajima B6N2 Jill.  Although a satisfactory performer, Jill's size and high landing speed limited it to use on large carriers only.  Although similar to its predecessor, Kate, two years of teething trouble delayed Jill's combat debut until mid-1943, by which time attack had gone fare beyond its limited state of the art.
Courtesy Air Power Magazine, Jan 1975

Basically the same as the Kate, but with much more powerful engine.  Jill may have been 50 mph faster, but with puny defensive armament, she was a setup for Hellcat and Corsair fighters.  Designed in 1939, the aircraft did not go aboard carriers until 1943 due to a rash of landing accidents involving weak arresting hooks.
Courtesy Air Power Magazine, Jan 1975
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James D. West
www.IndianaMilitary.org
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