What were the Japanese airplanes called during world war 2?

Answer 1

P-40 "Skyhawk" The plane used by the "Flying Tigers" early in the war. Correction: "Warhawk". Also used by British and Commonwealth in North African campaign (as "Tomahawk").

P-38 "Lightning" with a double engine nacelle joined by the wing and stabilizer. The fuselage was in between the nacelles at the center of the wing. Correction: The P-38 featured twin fuselages joined by wing and horizontal stabilizer, with a single nacelle in the center of the wing for the pilot, controls, and guns.

P45 "Thunderbolt" Correction: P-47

P-52 "Mustang" Correction: P-51 Later versions had licence-built Rolls Royce engines which transformed a mediocre fighter into one of the best of WWII.

P-39 "Aerocobra" - Loaned to Russia before US entered war. Correction: "Airacobra."

B-24 Liberator - US 4 engine bomber with the longest range.

B-25 I believe a 4 engine bomber. Maybe named the "Marauder" .

Correction: "Mitchell" was a 2-engine bomber.

B-26 "Mitchell" a 2 engine fighter bomber employed primarily in the Pacific theater. General "Billy" Mitchell who commanded a famous air force unit gave the plane its name. Correction: Name was "Marauder". General Mitchell demonstrated that airplanes could be used to sink a ship before the war.

A-20 Havoc was very similar to the B-26.

B-17 "Flying Fortress" The workhorse of the airforce bomber fleet.

B-29 "Superfortress" The 4 engine bomber that dropped the atomic bombs.

P-61 "Black Widow" Advanced 2-engine night fighter(US).

Messerschmidts: German fighters that came in several models ending with a jet powered fighter near the end of the war. Bf-109, Me-110 and Me-410 ighters and jet fighter/bomber Me-262 and rocket-jet Me-163.

Heinkel: He-111 German fighters and bombers employed in the air war on Britain

Stuka: Ju-87 German dive bomber/strafer used as early as "Guernica"

Junker Ju-88 Most common German bomber. Later developed into Ju-188 and Ju-388.

Zeros: Japanese fighter used in the bombing and strafing of Pearl Harbor and later throughout the war. A very fast, maneuverable plane not equaled until the P52 was put in the air. Allied code name was Zeke. Correction: At the start of the war in the Pacific, the US Navy's carriers were equipped with Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters. The Wildcat couldn't turn with the Zero, nor match its rate of climb, but the F4F could outdive its opponent and was remarkably resistant to damage. Like most Japanese aircraft, the Zero carried no armor and did not have self-sealing fuel tanks. US pilots in F4Fs quickly learned to dive away from trouble, and they all knew that a single well-placed burst at a Zero's wing root created a lovely torch that burned all the way to the sea. The Zero met its match and more when the Navy received its first Grumman F6Fs in late summer, 1943. The Hellcat could equal or exceed the Zero in every aspect of performance. The Mustang, while easily outperforming the Zero in every way, seldom flew against the Japanese.

Tony Ki-63 Japanese fighter that was designed around the German Diameler engine so it looks almost like the Bf-109. Correction: The Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien, or "Flying Swallow," was code-named "Tony" by the US. It was designed around Kawasaki's license-built version of the German Daimler-Benz 601 liquid-cooled V-12 engine, the same powerplant used by the famous Messerschmit Bf-109, but the Tony bore little resemblance to its German counterpart.

Supermarine Spitfire: The British fighter that fought the war against the German air campaign. Also came in fast photo-reconaissance versions as well as folding-wing naval versions (Seafire).

Hawker Typhoon: British fighter. Came late in the war and was used against V-1 flying bombs and as a rocket-armed ground attack plane.

Swordfish: British torpedo bi-plane that struck crippling blow to the German Battleship Bismark. Also to the Italian fleet at Taranto, a battle the lessons of which were observed closely by the Japanese (Pearl Harbor).

L-3 & L-4 "Bird dog" or "Grasshopper" - Light observation aircraft used for forward air observers and liason.

Fiesler Storch "Stork" - German light observation aircraft that had excellent short take-off capbablities.

Focke-Wulf: Fw-190 German fighter. Radial-engined and one of the best fighters of WWII

Focke-Wulf Fw-200 Germany's only 4-engine bomber. Developed from an airliner, generally used in the Atlantic campaign to shadow shipping as it was not useful as a bomber (light bombload and unable to sustain battle damage).

Henschel Hs-129 German 2-engine aircraft designed just for ground attack role and carried one large anti-tank cannon in some versions.

De Haviland: An English bomber used throughout the war.

Correction: De Haviland is the name of a aircraft manufacturer and not any specific aircraft.

Dornier Do-17 & Do-217 German bomber.

Heinkel He-219 German 2-engine night fighter (looks like a bomber).

Arado Ar-196 German seaplane that was flown off their battleships.

US Navy carrier aircraft: Wildcat, Hellcat, Corsair (fighters), Avenger (torpedo bomber) Kingfisher (floatplane carried largely by battleships and cruisers so not strictly speaking a carrier aircraft). Dauntless, Vindicator and Helldiver (dive bombers)

US Training aircraft: BT-13 Valiant, PT-17Stearman(bi-plane), AT-6 Texan(called SNJ in Navy: this aircraft was often seen in post-WW2 War Movies, recognizable by slant of wings)

Avro Lancaster most famous and versatile bomber of WWII used extensively in night bombing of Axis Europe.

Short Sunderland large flying boat used extensively in Atlantic command area for attacking U-Boats and rescuing seamen and downed airmen

Bristol Beaufighter ground attack, anti-shipping and night fighter, one of the best aircraft of WWII. Known as "Whispering Death" by the Japanese because of their silent, low-level approch. Flown by Australian squadrons in New Guinea.

Dehavilland Mosquito another versatile British fighter-bomber built almost entirely from wood, used extensively as a fast unarmed photo-reconaissance plane and as a light, pinpoint bomber. Also used to drop flares and incindiary bombs to mark targets for heavy bombers.

Supermarine Walrus obsolete biplane/floatplane used extensively on British naval ships for artillery spotting and air/sea rescue

Handley Page Halifax British 4-engined bomber which shared long-range bombing duties with the Lancaster. Not as versatile nor as tough (higher attrition rate).

Hawker Hurricane mainstay of the Battle of Britain, overshadowed by the Spitfire although fought in greater numbers. Built largely of wood, they were cheaper than Spitfire and less delicate

Answer 2

Japan destroyed their records prior to surrendering. Everything they did was a secret; best estimates are approximately 50,000 Japanese airplanes during the war. Unlike Germany, Japan had to split it's "metal industry" with warship construction (along with tanks, guns, etc).

Answer 3

The majority of Japanese bombers in WWII were torpedo and dive bombers; single engine and carrier-borne aircraft, as Japan was primarily a naval force.

The land-based twin engine Mitsubishi G4M, code named "Betty" was the most famous (to Americans) and the most common during WWII in the Pacific. It was flown from Japanese island bases.

Answer 4

targets
Those on the opposite side called them enemies; those on the same side called them allies.

Answer 5

Japanese airplanes were called meatballs or zeeks if I'm not mistaken.

Answer 6

Flying Fortress