Mitsubishi J2M Raiden

The Mitsubishi J2M Raiden, meaning Lightning Bolt and code-named Jack by the Allies, was a single-engine land-based interceptor of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in the Second World War. Jiro Horikoshi, the designer of the Zero, built it to the 14-Shi specification as a local-defence fighter that traded manoeuvrability for speed, climb and heavy cannon armament. Its large Kasei engine sat behind a long cowling and drove the propeller through an extension shaft. Cooling and undercarriage problems slowed production, with serial deliveries only reaching units in December 1943. A turbocharged J2M4 stalled at two prototypes, and bombing of the Mitsubishi plant at Nagoya, which began in December 1944, halted output.