Koizumi A7K Taifuu

The Koizumi A7K Taifuu is a single seat carrier based fighter, manufactured by the Koizumi Aircraft Company and operated by the Empire of Japan from 1941 to 1948. The KS9K was officially designated as the A7K or the Type 1 Carrier-based Fighter (一式艦上戦闘機 ichi-shiki-kanjō-sentōki).

Design and Development
Designated as the KS9K by the Koizumi Aircraft Company, the KS9K was originally made as an alternative to the A6M Fighter series. Although not being completely accepted, the KS9K was allowed to be produced for further testing.

The KS9K had better speed, acceleration, and ruggedness compared to A6M, although less maneuverable and had a much higher stall speed. The pilots of the 275th Fighter Squadron liked the planes as it allowed them to fight planes on equal terms that the A6Ms struggled to do so.

Despite its reputation during the tests, it did not supersede the A6M and was flown alongside it.

When it was accepted into service, the A7K had four of its 7.7mm machine guns removed in favour of two 20mm Type 99 cannons with 200 rounds each. It also gained an arresting gear and the landing gear was strengthened.

The space that the plane took and the need of a larger flight deck for launching disallowed the A7K to be used on multiple carriers. The Kokuryuu-class carriers and Shimosa were the only known carriers carrying the A7K Carrier-based fighters.

Operational history
The KS9K fighters were first supplied to 275th Fighter Squadron on 1940 who were stationed in Manchuria during the initial testing phase. They performed great against Soviet aircraft.

Their initial armaments however proved to be ineffective against heavier planes, prompting Koizumi to redesign the fighter to include heavier guns.

The first time these fighters were used as a carrier-based fighter was in 1941 after the commissioning of the Aircraft carrier Shimosa and operated by the Shimosa Carrier Group.

KS9K
Land-based Prototypes flown against Soviet Aircraft. Had an armament of four 7.7mm Machine guns

Type 1 Model 11 A7K
The initial production A7K Fighter, it had an armament of two 7.7 machine guns and two 20mm Type 99 cannons.

Type 1 Model 22 A7K2
The most common variant of the A7K fighters. The armaments of the A7K2 are two 7.7 mm machine guns and two 20 mm Type 99 cannons with 50 extra rounds on each wing.

Type 3 Seaplane Fighter A7K2-N
Float-plane reconnaissance variant of the A7K fighters. It was the standard float-planes used by the 10th fleet. Also used as a fighter bombers on the converted Muteki Carrier-Battleship on 1945.

Umikaze D4K
The Dive Bomber variant of the A7K2. It was used extensively by the 10th Fleet as their primary dive bomber.

Taifuu Model 32 A7K3
Introduced in 1944, Taifuu was the first extensive modification of the A7K Fighter series. The wings have been slightly swept forwards and the canopy had been fully replaced by a bubble canopy type and a new tail design. The Taifuu was simplified compared to the former A7K2 Fighter and ended up being lighter despite the heavier armaments of four 20cm Type 99 cannons.