Jokosuka L3Y [Tina]

Yokosuka L3Y - an overview of the versions

九六式陆上运输机 – Maritime transport plane Type 96

Allied code name: Tina
Japanese name: ?






sources:
Tadeusz Januszewski and Kryzysztof Zalewski, Japońskie samoloty marynarski 1912-1945, tiel 2, Lampart, 2000, ISBN 83-86776-00-05
http://www.airwar.ru/enc/cww2/l3y.html
author archive.

Brief history:

Kaigun Koku Hombu (headquarters of the naval air force) in 1937 commissioned the First naval arsenal of the requirement for the redevelopment of land-based bombers G3M1 on the transport plane. Bomber aircraft had excellent range, but on the other hand, quite there was a narrow hull without pumovnic, i.e. without usable space.

The designers deal so that you have removed all of the pull-out of turret and thereby obtain a room for ten passengers. The seats were in two rows of five, on both sides of the torso. The adjustment was on the outside recognizable by the door on the left side of the fuselage and five oblong windows on each side (above each seat). For the defense of remained to maintain the dorsal gun positions with machine gun the Type 92 the caliber of 7.7 mm. The aircraft was marked as G3M1d 11D, but soon the label changed to "air traffic aircraft Type 96 Model 11" or abbreviated L3Y1 11. Operationally flew between Japan and China, and transported high-ranking officers and VIP passengers. Later transported in addition to the officers and medical material, mail between the Japan, New Guinea, Solomon islands and New Britain.
In 1938 she needed a civilian airline Dai Nippon Koku K. To. aircraft of similar qualities, it was therefore decided that the parent factory rebuilds of 24 aircraft of type G3M2 model 21. The modified aircraft were called So-Yu and flying on routes between Japan, Korea and China. Visually very similar to the maritime L3Y1, but were not armed, the navy these machines after the outbreak of war adopted as the G3M1-L Model 12. Civilian aircraft carried out several major flights such as long-haul flight Tokyo – Tehran – Tokyo (JBEOA) or Tokyo – Rome – Tokyo (J-BAOC).
In the autumn of 1939 arises the last version of this type, it is marked L3Y2 model 12 (G3M2d 21D). The basis was the bomber G3M2 model 21, but powered by the was engines Kinsei 45, the same engines powered the bombers G3M2 model 22.

After the outbreak of war in her first of these aircraft engage in a few commando actions of the japanese naval air force on the Philippines and on the island of Timor.
The allied intelligence service them assigned code name Tina, but on some of the battlefields has been applied to the erroneous designation of "transport Nell" (the code name of the bomber).

sources:
René J. Francillon Ph. d., Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis Maryland, Reprinted 1990, ISBN-0-87021-313-X
Tadeusz Januszewski and Kryzysztof Zalewski, Japońskie samoloty marynarski 1912-1945, tiel 2, Lampart, 2000, ISBN 83-86776-00-05
http://www.airwar.ru/enc/cww2/l3y.html
http://www.aviastar.org/air/japan/yokosuka_l3y.php
author archive.