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The Fighter Shiden (George) was originally developed from the Kyoofuu
(Rex) fighter float seaplane which was manufactured by Kawanishi
Aircraft Manufacturer. This company was well knwon to have developed
successful four-engined flying boat, H6K Kyuunana Taitei (Mavis)
and H8K Nishiki Taitei (Emily).
It was determined by the IJN Air Force that the urgently needed
Interceptor fighter be made by converting the Kyoofuu (Rex) into
a land-based fighter. Based on this decision, the IJN ordered
Kawanishi to develop the Shiden in December, 1941. One year after
in 1942, the prototype of the Shiden rolled out. Having being
based on the Rex, which was the mid-wing seaplane with the float,
the George became the fighter with the long legs.
A complex device of two step retraction of undercarriage, and
automatic dogfight flaps were adopted to the Shiden. Time needed
for the development of whole project suffered heavily from the
development of these unique devices, thereby formal adoption of
the Shiden was overdue in November, 1944.
As its name implies, an automatic dogfight flap is the equipment
with which a flap operates automatically during the dogfight
maneuver. When a flap is extended a little, an airplane turns
sharply in the dogfight, while it just cause nothing but drag in
straight flying. The device was made in such a way that a flap
extend a little automatically when the sensor using the mercury
took G. (not simulated in CFS2)
Technical Data
| Model 11 | N1K1-Ja |
| Span | 12,00 m |
| Length | 8,855 m |
| Height | 4,058 m |
| Weight, loaded | 3,750 kg |
| Weight, empty | 2,710 kg |
| Powerplant | Nakajima, Homare 21. |
| Power | 2,000 hp |
| Maximum speed | 583 km/h at 5,900m |
| Armament | 20mm cannon x 4 |
| Bomb | Two 60 kg or 30 kg bombs |
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Allied code name, George, was used for both Shiden and Shiden-Kai,
although they were quite different from a standpoint of the wing
configuration. The former was the mid-wing monoplane, but the latter
had the low-wing configuration. A Japanese word "Kai" means MODIFIED
or REFORM in English.
Shiden went into quantity production in November, 1944. However, as
time passed, a defective undercarriage under the mid-wing configuration
and limited view from the seat in cockpit had become too big issue to
be ignored.
A plan to convert Shiden from the mid-wing monoplane to the low-wing
monoplane in order to improve these deficiencies was brought up already
in 1943, and eventually it was pushed forward. As a result, the Shiden-Kai
was born in April, 1944. After having received the thorough evaluation test,
it proved to be far better than Shiden in every respect. Therefore, it was
formally adapted as the IJNAF interceptor fighter in January, 1945.
In the IJNAF, she was classified as the KYOKUCHI SENTOUKI. The Figher
Jack had also belonged to this classification. The word KYOKUCHI means
parochial or local action, and the word SENTOUKI means the Fighter plane.
There existed considerable variety among the model of the Shiden-Kai
such as the following, N1K2-J, N1K2-Ja, N1K3-J, N1K3-A, N1K4-J, N1K4
-A, N1K2-K. A total of approximately 400 Shiden-Kai as a whole were built.
Of these Shiden-Kai, N1K2-JCN1K2-Ja, and N1K3-J were the type of
Shiden-Kai which were mass-produced. N1K3-A was a prototype of
carrier-based Shiden-Kai, and N1K2-K was two-seat fighter trainer
for pilots to become familiar with the phenomenal maneuverability of
the Shiden-Kai.
Technical Data
| Model 21 | N1K2-J |
| Span | 11,990 m |
| Length | 9,346 m |
| Height | 3,960 m |
| Weight, loaded | 4,200 kg |
| Weight, empty | 2,660 kg |
| Powerplant | Nakajima, Homare 21. |
| Power | 2,000 hp |
| Maximum speed | 594 km/h at 5,600m |
| Armament | 20mm cannon x 4 |
| Bomb | Two 60 kg bombs, two 250 kg bombs |