Nakajima Aircraft Company — Aircraft & Engines 1930–1945: The Technical Catalog

A reference catalog of every aircraft and aero-engine developed, prototyped, or produced by Nakajima Aircraft Company between 1930 and 1945 — Japan's largest and most prolific aerospace manufacturer of the era, responsible for over 29,000 aircraft and tens of thousands of radial engines supplied to both the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy.

From its founding through to its dissolution by Allied Occupation order in 1945 — and its subsequent reorganization through 1950 into what would eventually become Subaru Corporation — Nakajima Aircraft Company stood at the apex of Japanese industrial aviation. Its engineers produced some of the most capable and numerous aircraft of the Pacific War, from the ubiquitous Ki-43 Hayabusa to the formidable Ki-84 Hayate, and from the infamous B5N "Kate" torpedo bomber to the J9Y Kikka, Japan's first operational turbojet aircraft.

At Online Aviation Library, we are committed to preserving and making accessible the primary technical documentation of this era — flight manuals, maintenance instructions, engine overhaul references, and engineering records that form the irreplaceable archive of Nakajima's legacy.

🇯🇵 日本語による導入 / Japanese Introduction

1930年から山年1945年にかけて、中島飛行機製作所は日本最大の航空機メーカーとして、帝国陸軍および海軍に2万退以上の航空機と数万基のエンジンを供給しました。Ki-43「隼鷹」やKi-84「疊風」などの優秀な戦闘機、パールハーバー攻撃で悪名を馨せB5N「天山」魚雷機、そして日本初のジェット機「J9Y橊花」に至るまで、中島の工学的遺産は今日も世界の航空学者や技術史研究者にとって不可欠な参照資料であり続けています。

1945年の戦後解体後、中島は段階的に再編され、最終的に富士重工業株式会社（現スバル株式会社）となりました。Online Aviation Library（OAL）は、この時代に作成された一次資料—飛行マニュアル、整備指示書、エンジン整備文書—を保存し、世界中の研究者や愛好家に提供することを使命としています。

Between 1930 and 1945, Nakajima Aircraft Company was Japan's foremost aerospace manufacturer, supplying over 29,000 aircraft and tens of thousands of radial engines to the Imperial Army and Navy. From the Ki-43 Hayabusa and Ki-84 Hayate to the B5N torpedo bomber and the J9Y Kikka — Japan's first jet aircraft — Nakajima's engineering legacy remains indispensable for aviation historians and technical researchers worldwide. Following its post-war dissolution, the company was reorganized through 1950 into what ultimately became Subaru Corporation. Online Aviation Library is committed to preserving and making accessible the primary documentation of this era.

✈️ Part I — Aircraft Catalog (1930–1945)

📌 Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) — Ki-Series

The Army designated its aircraft using experimental project numbers (“Ki”) alongside official “Type” designations. Click each section to expand.

📌 Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) — Alphanumeric Types

The Navy used an alphanumeric designation scheme representing aircraft type, design number, manufacturer, and variant.

📌 Civil & Export Designs

⚙️ Part II — Aero-Engine Catalog (1930–1945)

Throughout this period, Nakajima focused exclusively on high-performance, air-cooled radial piston engines — alongside a single, historically pivotal late-war jet design. The engines carry distinct designations assigned by the company, the Army (Ha series), and the Navy (NK series).

The Sakae engine deserves particular note: it powered not only Nakajima’s own Ki-43 Hayabusa but also the Mitsubishi A6M Zero — making it arguably the single most strategically important Japanese aero-engine of the Pacific War. The Ne-20 turbojet, meanwhile, represents a profound technological leap: Japan’s first operational jet engine, bench-tested and flight-proven in the Kikka just weeks before the war’s end.

📚 Technical Documentation at Online Aviation Library

At OAL, our mission is to preserve, present, and make accessible the primary technical literature of aviation history. For the Nakajima catalog, this means flight manuals, maintenance instructions, engine overhaul documentation, parts catalogs, and engineering references — sourced, authenticated, and presented to the standards our customers expect.

Whether you are a historian, a restoration engineer, a scale modeler, or simply a passionate student of Japanese aviation heritage, the technical record of Nakajima’s 1930–1945 output is an irreplaceable part of the global aerospace archive. We are committed to making it available.

New Nakajima titles are added to the OAL catalog on a rolling basis. Follow this blog or subscribe to our newsletter to be notified when new documentation becomes available.

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