Nakajima B5N

B5N
A Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" in flight
Role	Carrier-based torpedo bomber/high-level bomber Type of aircraft
National origin	Japan
Manufacturer	Nakajima Aircraft Company
First flight	January 1937
Retired	1945
Status	Retired
Primary user	Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Number built	1,149[1]

The Nakajima B5N (Japanese: 中島 B5N, Allied reporting name "Kate") was the standard carrier-based torpedo bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) for much of World War II. It also served as a high level bomber.

Although the B5N was substantially faster and more capable than its Allied counterparts, the American Douglas TBD Devastator monoplane (the U.S. Navy's first all-metal, carrier-borne monoplane of any type with retracting gear), and the British Fairey Swordfish and Fairey Albacore torpedo biplanes, it was nearing obsolescence by 1941. Nevertheless, the B5N operated throughout the whole war, due to the delayed development of its successor, the B6N.

In the early part of the Pacific War, when flown by well-trained IJN aircrews and as part of well-coordinated attacks, the B5N achieved particular successes at the battles of Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea, Midway, and Santa Cruz Islands.^[2][3]