[Yokosuka vol 18] Akagi-san's Aviation Lecture

Yokosuka Naval District Anthology, Volume 18, Chapter 9
Title: Akagi-san's Aviation Lecture
Author: Kushinada Wirue (https://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=409790)
Original Dump: https://boards.fireden.net/a/thread/167134402/#167137651

Page 62
Yukikaze: Akagi-saaaaan!!
Akagi: ?

Akagi: Good day, Yukikaze-san.
Did you need something?
Yukikaze: Akagi-san, Yukikaze wants to ride a fighter once!

Akagi: Yukikaze-san...?
Our aircraft are piloted by the fairies, you know...
Yukikaze: I know! But I wanna ride!

Akagi: Th-Then let's start by studying carrier-borne fighters, alright?
Yukikaze: Okay!

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Page 63
Yukikaze: But you carrier ladies have a lotta different planes on board, right?

Akagi: That's right. Let's talk about the Type Zero Fighter today.
Yukikaze, do you know what "lift" is?

Yukikaze: L-i-f-t?
Akagi: Let's start there.

Akagi: To put it simply, lift is a force that pulls an object against gravity.
It's simple to produce - it emerges from a low and a high velocity air current around the wings caused by propulsion.
The difference between the two currents generates lift that raises the airframe as a whole.
⟶: High velocity current
↑: Lift
←: Direction of Movement
→: Low velocity current

Yukikaze: Ohhh.
So if a wing catches a breeze, it's not really "flying"
so much as being "blown upward"?
Akagi: Roughly speaking, yes.

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Page 64
Akagi: All carrier-borne aircraft rely on lift to fly.
The Zero's forte is dogfights, where maneuverability is key,
but it had various models with different engines,
and also had a fighter-bomber variant equipped with bombs.
[Type Zero Fighter Model 21 A6M2b
Crew: One
Wingspan: 12.0 m; Length: 9.05 m; Height: 3.53 m
Wing area: 22.44 m²; Empty weight: 1754 kg; Loaded weight: 2421 kg
Wing loading: 107.89 kg/m²; Powerplant: Nakajima Sakae 12 (Take-off 940 hp)
Maximum speed: 533.4 km/h (288 knots); Rate of climb: 6000 m in 7'27"]

Fairy: A dogfight = an air battle.
The first number symbol in the model is the airframe; the second, signifying a change in engine.
12 m←Type 0 Model 21→Nakajima Sakae 12
11 m←Type 0 Model 52→Mitsubishi Kinsei

Akagi: The armament was 2 x 20mm and 2 x 7.7mm machine guns.
They were scattered under the wing and on the nose.
Yukikaze: Wouldn't the ones on the nose shoot the propeller?
Fairy: The sights were set to 200 m forward.
Because the ammo for the 7.7 mm would fly straight for 200 m.

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Page 65
Akagi: No worries, there was a synchronization gear.
Guns would only fire in between gaps in the propeller's rotation.
Yukikaze: Ohhh, that's a pretty smart device!!
→: To the firing lever

Akagi: That said, even with the gears there were times when the propeller was hit.
So the 7.7 mm machine guns were mounted on the sides of the nose and the 20 mm machine guns under the wings,
as the larger machine gun would absolutely destroy the propeller if its shots connected.
Fairies: (We good!)

Akagi: And above all, the Zero's range! Under the right conditions, it could fly 3000 km!!
Arrow: Over 3000 km
Yukikaze: Awesome!!
So it could get from Hokkaido to Kyūshū without refueling!!
Fairy: This was several times the flight range of the Type 96 fighter.

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Page 66
Akagi: Of course, the exact value depended on whether drop tanks were equipped, flight speed, and model, but it was nonetheless a serious threat.
The engine's low fuel consumption; the variable pitch of the propeller; the capacity of the fuel tank; and the thoroughness of weight reduction.
These are the four ways it could achieve such long range.

Akagi: Because it underwent such thorough weight optimization, the Type 0 Fighter is quite light despite its size.
One factor that played a role in saving weight is the bauxite you all bring back from expeditions.
It becomes "extra super duralumin", a lightweight yet sturdy aluminum alloy.
Yukikaze: Oh yeah, it's part of how you make aluminum!

Fairy: (Read if you have time to spare!)
Extra Super Duralumin (Al7075 alloy) is a lightweight, free-cutting aluminum alloy used for the main girders of the wings with aluminum, 1.6% steel, 2.5% magnesium, 2.3% chrome, and 5.6% zinc all alloyed together.

Akagi: However...

Akagi: The sophisticated materials and bare-bones airframe proved to be more effective than originally envisioned, but it then became an issue of strength...
[Dim]
Yukikaze: Eh...?

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Page 67
[Watch your speed!]
Fairy: If one exceeded a certain level of stress, an oscillatory phenomenon called "flutter" emerges. There were times when this damaged the wings.
There was a so-called speed limit for nose dives of 629.7 km/h.

Akagi: But hey, Yukikaze-san, the Zero's maneuverability was really... good...
Fairy: Akagi-san, we're almost out of pages.

Akagi: Ehhh? There were so many good things left to talk about the Zero...
Yukikaze: Yukikaze will try her hardest not to lose to the Zero!!
Fairy: Do your best in sea battle!

Fairy: If we get the opportunity again, look forward to Akagi-san's Lecture on Piloting, Zero edition!
(Will there be?)
END