This Day in Aviation History
August 3rd, 1945
First flight of the Kyushu J7W Shinden.

The Kyūshū J7W1 Shinden (震電, “Magnificent Lightning”) fighter was a World War II Japanese propeller-driven aircraft prototype with wings at the rear of the fuselage, a nose mounted canard, and pusher engine.

Developed by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) as a short-range, land-based interceptor, the J7W was a response to Boeing B-29 Superfortress raids on the Japanese home islands. For interception missions, the J7W was to be armed with four forward-firing 30 mm cannons in the nose.

The Shinden was expected to be a highly maneuverable interceptor, but only two prototypes were finished before the end of war. A jet engine–powered version was considered, but never even reached the drawing board…..

Source:
Wikipedia, Kyushu J7W: http://gstv.us/2agtVBY

Further Reading:
Diseno-Art, Kyushu J7W Shinden: http://gstv.us/2agtDLj

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Photo from: http://gstv.us/2agu6NE

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