The Nakajima C6N Saiun (彩雲, "Glowing Cloud") was a carrier-based reconnaisance aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. Advanced for its time, it was the fastest aircraft put into service by Japan during the war. The Allied codename was Myrt.

The C6N originated in a Navy specification for a reconnaisance plane with a top speed of 650 km/h and range of 4,630 km. Nakajima's initial proposal, designated N-50, was for a craft with two 1,000 hp engines housed in tandem in the fuselage, driving two propellers mounted on the wings. With the development of the 2,000 hp class Nakajima Homare engine, though, this configuration was abandoned and Nakajima decided on a more conventional single-engine layout. However, the Homare's output turned out to be less than initially expected, so the design had to be optimized in other areas. The resulting aircraft was designed around a long and extremely narrow cylindrical fuselage, just large enough in diameter to accommodate the engine. The crew of three sat in tandem under a single canopy, while equipment was similarly arranged in a line along the fuselage. Like Nakajima's earlier B6N "Tenzan" torpedo bomber, the rudder was angled slightly forward to enable tighter packing on aircraft carriers. High landing speed from the small wing area was alleviated with hydraulic slats and Fowler flaps.

The first flight was on May 15, 1943, and the prototype achieved a speed of 639 km/h. Although designed for carrier use, by the time it entered service in September 1944, there were few carriers left for it to operate from, so most were used from land bases. Its speed was exemplified by a famous telegraph sent after a successful mission: "No Grummans can catch us." ("我に追いつくグラマンなし").

A total of 379 aircraft were produced. A turbocharged development mounting a 4-blade propeller was developed by Yokosuka, this was called the Saiun-kai. A night-fighter version with oblique-firing (Schräge Musik configuration) single 30 mm (or dual 20 mm) cannon was also developed.

Specifications (C6N1)

General Characteristics

• Crew: three
• Length: 11.00 m (36 ft 1 in)
• Wingspan: 12.50 m (41 ft 0 in)
• Height: 3.95 m (13 ft 0 in)
• Wing area: 25.5 m² (274 ft²)
• Empty: 2,968 kg (6,543 lb)
• Loaded: 4,500 kg (9,900 lb)
• Maximum takeoff: 5,260 kg (11,596 lb)
• Powerplant: 1x Nakajima Homare 21 18-cylinder radial engine, 1,485 kW (1,990 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 610 km/h (379 mph)
• Range: 5,310 km (3,300 miles)
• Service ceiling: 10,740 m (35,235 ft)
• Rate of climb: 736 m/min (2,415 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 176 kg/m² (36 lb/ft²)
• Power/Mass: 0.33 kW/kg (0.20 hp/lb)

Armament

• 1x flexible rearward-firing 7.92 mm Type 2 machine gun

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Designation sequence: C3N - C4A - C5M - C6N