Kyūshū J7W Shinden

Overview

The Kyūshū J7W Shinden (震電, "Magnificent Lightning") is a World War II Japanese prototype, propeller-driven fighter plane with wings at the rear of the fuselage, a nose-mounted canard, and a pusher engine. Developed by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) as a short-range, land-based interceptor, the J7W was a response to Boeing B-29 Superfortress raids on the Japanese Home Islands. For interception missions, the J7W was to be armed with four, forward-firing 30 mm type 5 cannons in the nose. The Shinden was expected to be a highly maneuverable interceptor, but only two prototypes were finished before the end of the War. A jet engine–powered version was considered but never reached the drawing board.