The Plane To Save Japan - Biggest Japanese KX-3

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When our story begins, Japan was no longer in the ascendency in the Pacific war. America had entered the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and was fighting Japanese forces with its allies all over the Pacific.
Its once-impressive naval force was getting regularly thumped by Allied forces,
And Even Japan’s merchant fleet was under constant threat of attack from Allied forces.
This had dire consequences for Japan since it meant that supplies and manpower could not be easily replenished between the various islands it occupied throughout the Asia Pacific region
The war in the Pacific was also huge in scale, with much of it on remote, far-flung islands.
The war had become nothing short of a logistical nightmare for the Empire.
And so it was in 1943 that the Imperial Japanese Navy instructed the Kawanishi plant to build a solution to this problem
The plane would have to transport up to 1000 soldiers or Imperial Marines at a time, with all their equipment included.
Importantly, the plane was to be capable of being deployed anywhere in the Pacific region.
For just a little context, comparing the KX-3 to the Hughes H-4 Hercules built in 1947, Commonly and famously known as the ‘Spruce Goose,’ it’s obvious that the KX-3 was over 2 times larger in both length and wingspan.
A more modern seaplane/flying boat comparison might be the Soviet ‘Caspian Sea Monster’. Well, even that huge plane doesn’t come close in any metric to the sheer massiveness of the Kawanishi KX-3.
Appropriately, think Godzilla when thinking of the Kawanishi KX-3!
But making this insane dream a reality would be A Herculean Design and Engineering Task,
The most obvious design and technical feat that the Kawanishi engineers had to overcome with the KX-3 was also very simple:
how does one get such a huge plane into the sky and able to fly under its own power?
However, the team of engineers had no choice but to take up the challenge foisted on them by the imperial government.
Development work was expedited by the Kawanishi team using the company's own proven H8K flying boat or ‘Emily’ as the starting point.
The logic was simple: keep all of Emily’s dimensions and simply enlarge them all until it morphed into the gigantic KX-3.
This meant that the KX-3 would have a boat-like hull for water-borne take-offs and landings.
The hull would have had a wide-spanning wing main-plane to match. This design factor would be ultra-critical in ensuring that the huge plane had lift and drag as needed.
Also, long-running flaps would be affixed to the trailing edges of both wing members for added lift and drag capabilities.
The fuselage had slab sides and a rounded dorsal surface for aerodynamic maximization, as well as outboard sponsons or projections from the side of the plane that could support the plane’s massive appendages near its midway points.
The tail unit at the extreme end of the fuselage would feature a pair of high-reaching vertical fins for control and added stability.
Details regarding what horsepower would have supplied the KX-3 have differed over the years, with one theory being that the Rikugun Kokugijutsu
Kenkyuuju (RKK) 12 Ne201 turboprop engines would have amounted to about 132,000 horsepower.
Each engine would have driven multi-blade propeller units in puller fashion, augmented by a further four to six Mitsubishi Ne 330 turbojet engines.
By the way, that turbojet technology would have been made available courtesy of Nazi Germany's BMW company. Yes the same one that would later go on to make cars.
The aircraft would have required a crew of 24 men with its range on a full load being 18,520 kilometres or 11,507 miles.
Its top speed would have been approximately 345 knots, with a stall speed of 120 knots.

[@FoundAndExplained]

Special thanks to all the patreons and youtube channel members for making this video possible. I, unfortunately, didn't include credits in this version and will make up for it in the next video.

[@hyenafur]

I’m curious: what if you re-engines the Godzilla plane with modern engines like on the 777/787 but mounted in the same configuration as the AN-72 which utilizes the Coandă effect to generate more lift.

[@user-wo1gx1wm1o]

Will you ever do the lavi plane?

[@smoketinytom]

Might be worth noting I’m the description the sources of your footage from Amazon and other movies.

[@peekaboopeekaboo1165]

You still don't want to indicate China as a whole being invaded by Japan.

[@silentbrain7451]

Yo great video I love you're channel, can you talk about the bartini m2500 flying aircraft carrier in a futur vidéo ?

[@naberville3305]

I've seen the h-1 Hercules 'spruce goose' in person several times. When you said this thing would be 2x the size I almost fell out of my chair.

[@mrzerogaming4012]

Damn it's that big?

[@trevorng2786]

Same, I was shocked!

[@ericstromberg9608]

No kidding. The HK-1 is VAST.

[@abigailhowe8302]

I've only ever seen the Hannah Barbara cartoon special about The Spruce Goose... where all the cartoon characters go to the museum and see it and accidentally fly it (and I've read the literature on her too of course) but yeah, the scope by comparison...holy hell 0.0

[@nobodyherepal3292]

Same. The Spruce is the biggest aircraft I’ve seen in person. It blew me away as a kid seeing in its museum.

[@vustvaleo8068]

plot twist: the plane was actually made to carry giant robots, more specifically the Tetsujin-28.

[@Africanhorror]

Everyone gangster till Japan unveils it's new gundam

[@johnbockelie3899]

How do you keep American fighter planes away from it ?

[@wellsilver3972]

@@johnbockelie3899 damn thing uses so much oil

[@theoriginal13coloniesusa11]

@@johnbockelie3899 simple place fighter escorts defend it

[@lardlover3730]

lmao

[@Nafeels]

If the "BMW" jet engines proposed for this big chungus would indicate anything, it's highly likely that it's the Ne-20, which was based on the BMW-003 turbojet design, which itself is an incredible wartime story to tell. Simply put, a bunch of Japanese engineers not only figured out how jet engines worked in an incredibly short time, but also built a functioning one with the knowledge they had.... BASED ON A BUNCH OF PICTURES OF THE ORIGINAL BMW-003 BLUEPRINTS ONLY! Out of the many projects here this one just seems plausible that the IJN would be committing to. Since we're already this far on obscure Japanese "wonder weapons" why not delve into projects like the Fugaku, the Kikka, the Shinden, or even the Ne-20 itself? It would be an instant like from me.

[@xvdd1]

I get the feeling it would have been easier if they did have blueprints but they only had a cutaway drawing the blueprints were lost when the sub carrying them from Germany was sunk by the US but only after a Japanese envoy with the cutaway 003 drawing had left the sub in Singapore. Japanese scientists had been studying jet engines since the 1930's but their prototype did not perform as well as the BMW 003 although both would have suffered reliability problems due to the shortage of rare materials as happened in Germany, there is no doubt that Japan had, and still does today, an excellent engineering base with a fine attention to detail.

[@Nafeels]

@@xvdd1 Well said. In retrospect, I believe the BMW-003 was more suited to the Japanese engineers for many reasons compared to the Jumo-004. The Jumo-004 was larger, requiring more rare metals for the turbine blades, and more complex than the BMW-003, which was extremely suited for smaller airframe like the He-162. As a result, the Ne-20 was a fantastic powerplant for the equally petite Kikka. I, however didn't know Japanese engineers already studied jet engines as early as the 30's though, that's pretty incredible on their part! We learn something new everyday.

[@proger1960]

@@xvdd1 I wonder if Japan started to work on V-2 type missiles , never heard anything on that

[@xvdd1]

@@proger1960 This is a quote from the book "Tools of War" : "According to decrypted messages from the Japanese embassy in Germany, twelve dismantled V-2 rockets were shipped to Japan. These left Bordeaux in August 1944 on the transport U-boats U-219 and U-195, which reached Djakarta in December 1944. A civilian V-2 expert was a passenger on U-234, bound for Japan in May 1945 when the war ended in Europe. The fate of these V-2 rockets is unknown." Of course this leads off into a whole new set of questions not least of which is how do you get that many V2's in 2 subs but apart from that there does not seem to be any reports of long range ballistic missile development by Japan they did bomb the US by balloon though.

[@proger1960]

@@xvdd1 Ah thanks fam , kinda interesting to know what if these critical technologies reached mainland Japan and somehow managed to be used against the allies and specifically America.

[@Melty-K]

The text on the plane really does say “Boku no Pico”

[@Fesukura86]

Finally someone notice it

[@Melty-K]

@@Fesukura86 I was the first to notice lol

[@user-ft9ul5ul5v]

and the rear says "Japanese fleet is really cool"

[@martydearmodillyou4231]

Ayo what.

[@captain_commenter8796]

Japan: We own the largest battleship IJN Yamato! Also Japan: **Proposes the worlds largest seaplane, the KX-3**

[@mrzerogaming4012]

Seaplane*

[@helicoptersauce]

@@mrzerogaming4012 that is a plane

[@smoketinytom]

Don’t forget about their I-400 Submarine.

[@nathanromero3430]

I swear, these guy just said go big or go home

[@weldonwin]

Japanese Army: *(Proposes its own Giant airplane design, just purely out of sheer spite for the Navy)*

[@framk]

"we need something to save our dwindling resources!" "ok, what do we do?" "build a gigantic plane! preferably with 16 engines!"

[@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music]

Next video: "This is the massive in-air refueling tanker designed by Japan..."

[@tk9839]

Like the Germans yeah let's build mega-tanks such as the Ratt towards the end of the war...

[@Tsotha]

@@tk9839 no wonder the Axis lost, then...

[@73honda350]

Yeah, and they would have needed a fleet of them, along with significant numbers of long range escorts to have made even a dent in their logistical needs. I'm highly skeptical this thing would have even been possible, let alone a practical use of dwindling resources after 1943 for Japan. As a weapon, it would have been a lot like IJN's two mega battleships which accomplished nothing for their war effort.

[@Cresette0]

lol

[@KasbashPlays]

I'm so glad more KZbinrs are making Mustard-type videos about aircraft and machinery of old. I live for content like this.

[@elroyfudbucker6806]

Bit confused about it's top speed. At 5:32, he mentioned that it would have had a top speed of 345 knots, which is just shy of 400 mph, or 640 kph, a speed that only the very fastest of fighter aircraft could attain, then later described it as a slow, lumbering beast.

[@OverseerMoti]

The writer confused airspeed standards between WW2 and today.

[@evaluateanalysis7974]

At 2:50 that's an ekranoplan not a flying boat.This guy doesn't like letting facts get in the way of telling a good story.

[@Colt45hatchback]

Yeah i was gonna say that too, pretty sure the a6m5's fastest variant had a top speed at optimal altitude of 343knots

[@ABetterQuestion]

He also said 50mm guns and talks about drag like a positive characteristic...derp. Sure you don't wanna take another crack at "hurculean"? No? Print it? Ooookaaay.

[@dillan6134]

Dude clearly just doesn’t know much about the topics he makes videos about.

[@shoking9825]

plane designers: hey japan how much engines do you want? japan: yes

[@ducksarecool5313]

Lmao

[@Mamorufumio]

to be fair they needed the large number of engines, as they didn't really have as powerful engines for aircraft that other world powers did at the time

[@JIMJAMSC]

How this same tired "yes" line which has been used in almost every possible topic still gets hundreds of thumbs up is usually more amazing that the subject.

[@channelsixtysix066]

Excellent, something else large and slow for the Allies to aim at. The KX-3 would have been airborne equivalent to the Yamato Class of battleships.

[@johnruschmeyer5769]

And would have made for a heck of an anime 30 years later. :-)

[@M167A1]

At least a battleship could defend itself. No matter how many turrets you hang on the thing it's still going to be easy meat for fighters. I guess if you really went bananas with the concept you might Force earlier adoption of 20 mm cannons and air to air rockets (unguided) by the United States..

[@Destilight]

Imagine trying to dodge flak with that

[@Wehrnobyl]

@@Destilight it’s probably big enough to put flak on it

[@Colt45hatchback]

@@Wehrnobyl yeah you could just about drop the payload to 800 fully equipped soldiers and put a pair of flak 88's on haha, then again, might be better off with some 40mm autocannons, faster training and elevating and better rate of fire to hose down the p47's which are durable as and no doubt, what would be sent after it.

[@alexvinson7373]

400mph was not "slow and lumbering" at any point in WWII, except perhaps when compared to the the ME-262(530mph). The Hellcat and the Lightning fighters only went about 420mph in 1945.

[@willboudreau1187]

This plane did not go 400mph, it went mid 300's if you listened to the computer generated narration.

[@DestroyahTheBanned]

​@willboudreau1187 it's not, he narrates it

[@senaya]

What was the reason for building such a huge plane instead of using like 16 H8K planes to transport the same number of troops? I imagine building several H8K transport planes was much easier than building even a single KX-3 and losing one would've been much less of an impact for Japan.

[@fitrianhidayat]

I know right? it'd probably be easier to shot too, because of its mere size

[@ArneChristianRosenfeldt]

big planes have big range. Tip vortex loss or Reynolds number of something. A380 is probably optimal size. See how planes did not grow that much after the spruce goose.

[@edwardfletcher7790]

All these people who envision these Giant machines never think how easily destroyed they are. Why not a fleet of 50 normal sized cargo planes ?

[@TROOPERfarcry]

^^This^^ And if anything, it's larger size makes it *more* likely to get hit by triple-As. It's as close to "all-eggs-in-one-basket' thinking as we're likely to see.

[@verticalflyingb737]

big plane is cool though - the designers probably

[@Barten0071]

mass production is hard

[@edwardfletcher7790]

@@Barten0071 Not as hard as protecting the world largest plane from fighter planes and AA fire ...

[@papimtl9885]

Range probably ? 50 x too small of a range is still inferior to 1 x sufficient range ?

[@remi_gio]

Keep them coming Nick! Love the unheard of, glorious machine designs from the past! 👍🤗

[@user-fn3py8hv9p]

Me, a Japanese watching this: hey this looks interesting… I didn’t know this was even planned at all! 0:44 Also me: IS THAT…. NO….. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@N1GHTSTRIKER-45]

What is it

[@user-fn3py8hv9p]

@@N1GHTSTRIKER-45 it’s written… Bokuno pico in hiragana…

[@N1GHTSTRIKER-45]

@@user-fn3py8hv9p now this is scary

[@user-fn3py8hv9p]

It’s written in almost all scene and I just can’t haha…

[@alexandru.g8746]

Holy shit lmfao

[@cursedhawkins1305]

For a country with very little to no resources which was the reason for their rather aggressive expansion of their own territory, they sure acted like they had resources to spend on such ambitious projects such as this.

[@carlosandleon]

they didn't cause they didn't build it

[@DocWolph]

It's called an "investment". All the same, it turned out to be a bad one.

[@cursedhawkins1305]

@@carlosandleon Given that it was in the process of being built, they likely did but likely not enough to actually mass produce such a craft of that size.

[@myMotoring]

They did build the largest battleship and an aircraft carrier submarine.

[@startingbark0356]

Less bigger and stronger is cheaper then more smaller and weaker

[@alphadawg81]

...and then in 2020 it became reality. We've finally seen Japanese transportation engineering paired with a BMW engine. ...In the Toyota Supra.

[@GlamorousTitanic21]

I would love to see a Found and Explained/Mustard crossover where you both do voiceovers for one of each others videos. That would be awesome and fun to watch.

[@clintfalk]

He narrates the way that Bob Dylan sings.

[@vice6996]

i feel like this thing would've been incredibly easy to shoot down regardless of armament. escort probly would've made it more difficult, but it's so massive and cumbersome i wouldn't think it would take much for several good pilots to bring it down.

[@keshvinkumar5770]

I would like to see a video about the G10 Fugaku, the intercontinental bomber thought up by Imperial Japan

[@omargeseng3591]

Imperial Japanse Navy: We losing most of our ships! we need to build more ships! Also Japanese Navy: *Build a large seaplane that bigger than a ship*

[@fractalign]

A year to build and 20 minutes to destroy, sounds like a real smart idea.

[@seanbryan4833]

Yeah, a quick squirt from the .50 cals of any US fighter that happened upon it and this thing is gone.

[@jacobreed3684]

Yes It really does thats efficiency for you

[@JackoNorm]

The absolute madman actually named the plane 'Boku no Pico'. I see you, found.

[@randyhavard6084]

Coming up with a design like this halfway through the war was delusional. Everyone they built would have been blasted from the skies

[@jfangm]

This aircraft would have lasted all of 5 seconds in the air before being jumped by Bearcats and Tigercats. Also of note, the Japanese built a fuel-carrying plane that had to use the very fuel it was carrying on the return trip.

[@iR-80]

This thing would have only been finished in late 46, so then there'd be Lockheed P-80s and Curtiss F15Hs joining the fun too!

[@naufalhisyamrabbani9521]

There's a user mission with this plane in War Thunder. It was barely flyable and could only fly through ground effect.

[@bonearrowgamingcommunity3380]

Not really it was quite easy to fly at 8km high

[@naufalhisyamrabbani9521]

@@bonearrowgamingcommunity3380 the higher you go, the thinner the air becomes, which means aircraft have their maneuverability increase the higher they go. So, it makes sense for the KX-3 to become more maneuverable the higher it flies.

[@bonearrowgamingcommunity3380]

@@naufalhisyamrabbani9521 I know, having played that usermission I basically spawned one of them in one and let it fly straight and for the time I flew a F-40 sabre above it for size comparison. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine if there were funds resources and time to build it and make variations of it to make a flying aircraft carrier or a bomber of it

[@chrismartin3197]

Sounds like the Do-X

[@iR-80]

What is that usermission called

[@Sierra-Golf-19]

Nice use of clips from "Man in the High Castle". Great very informative video.😎

[@petersmythe6462]

"Relatively slow and lumbering" Uh... 345 knots isn't slow. There were plenty of fighters that would have difficulty intercepting that. A B-29, considered at the time to be very difficult to intercept, had a top speed at altitude of 317 knots.

[@paintnamer6403]

Maybe 345 Kph, that would be 214 Mph and that would be slow enough for fighters to deal with.

[@whyjnot420]

Flying boats are always awesome and the craziest of them are always crazy in ways seldom seen with land/carrier based aircraft. This one ranks up there as royally insane, but still since it was just a design the Caproni Ca.60 still beats it for pure awesome insanity.

[@luckytaylor382]

“A little company called BMW. Yes, the same one that would go on to make cars.” Uh, no. BMW had already been producing cars for over ten years at that point. They first produced them in 1928.

[@SpaceMonkeyBoi]

Japan when they make a giant target: "go big or go home"

[@leinad3305]

Hey! Great video, I really enjoyed it! I would like to suggest a specific plane which I would love to see being covered by you, obviously only if you think it might be worth your attention. This plane would be the I.Ae. 30 Ñancú, which was the fastest natively built South American fighter plane to this date. I think it's really cool, even though it did not have a big impact on post-war Argentina. Anyway, I wish you a great day and I am looking forward to your upcomming videos!

[@MiKeMiDNiTe-77]

What an amazing design..Japan had a lot of very good looking planes in WW2 great colour schemes too...

[@benkyba5715]

the editing on this one is really nice. good job!

[@jkleylein]

Even with all those engines it hardly looks like it could drag itself through the water fast enough to take flight.

[@baraxor]

I've wondered about that myself; and that it would be at best a primitive Ekranoplane.

[@twinpiperzed7222]

And with those huge floats no way it hits 345knots

[@jeffreymcdonald8267]

The airframe itself is gorgeous. If scaled down to a reasonable size for twin or maybe even four engines this could have been an excellent seaplane.

[@TonyWony]

One of my favorites models i produce for this channel! Thank you Nick (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

[@robbingham3246]

I always wondered how he got such nice models, do you have a shop?

[@myMotoring]

@@robbingham3246 he means 3D models

[@robbingham3246]

@@myMotoring Aye I was hoping so, I love printing and painting models

[@TonyWony]

lol i planted a few easter eggs ^^

[@larrydee8859]

Fascinating flying boat subject! Great work Lad!

[@TheK4nT0]

Thank you for your channel, I thoroughly enjoy all your videos and even returned to making planes in Kerbal Space Program thanks to you 😁

[@maisonraider4593]

It would have been a hard to miss target for interceptors. Such a behemoth would have required a large group of escorting fighters, and of course none had the range to do that job. The only way for this to work would have been even more powerful engines and the ability to cruise at extremely high altitudes far above the service ceiling of existing fighters.

[@iR-80]

Curtiss XF15C, Lockheed P-80, Gloster Meteor and McDonnell FH: *allow us to introduce ourselves*

[@maisonraider4593]

@@iR-80 lockheed p80, meteor. Ahahahaha yes very reliable aircraft I’m sure, not even a swept wing design, plagued by problems, and what was their operational ceiling???

[@seadog686]

Then there would be the additional weight/space penalty of an oxygen system for the crew and passengers.

[@maisonraider4593]

@@seadog686 if it wasn’t pressured

[@ianmilne6214]

I hadn't seen anything on this large aircraft before and this is the first I've heard of it. If you like large aircraft you should have a look at the 'Airliner #4' proposed by Norman Belle Geddes in the late 1920's. A large flying wing 'Flying Hotel' concept that never left the planning stage but allegedly had investors lined up and ready to go. Information is sketchy but original concept plans are on the internet. There is written information in the 'Horizon's' book by Geddes, but very little information on the early discussions and designs. It would be a good subject for investigation and could answer some of the questions about this unusual aircraft.

[@Yuki_Ika7]

i love this beast of a flying boat! while it may not have been very practical as a person who loves all things floatplanes/flying boats it overjoys me you made a video about it!!!!!

[@HellenicWolf]

awesome vid man

[@sansin1026]

おお、まさか、海外のサイトで紹介されるとはうれしい限り、KX-3知っているとは

[@Schlipperschlopper]

I ve heard they even planned to install 2 telescopic high speed underwater propeller shafts or turbine nozzles for for sea maneuvre and additional thrust until 50 knots or so, plus the air propellers.

[@scottstewart5784]

The hull looks designed to be low friction, with the step-downs.

[@parkercline8265]

When you first look at it it’s just a plane with a lot of engines until you look at the size O_O

[@slavasandsglam]

Veeeery interesting material, thank you very much!

[@k.g.b.1150]

Imagine that this plane got built and you're a Japanese pilot, taking it for its first test flight. In the middle of your flight you check your instruments and see: *Check engine warning* *Battery check warning* *Oil warning* *Temperature warning* "Dammit did we have to use BMW engines?"

[@projjwalray-6341]

A huge downside of an aircraft like this would have been - the amount of damage that could be caused by the allied forces just by downing a single one of these.

[@clintfalk]

Compared to a cargo ship carrying more cargo and more troops, sunk by an air attack or an torpedo? Think about it. What is moving faster and is only vulnerable to air attack?

[@dereenaldoambun9158]

@@clintfalk Both.

[@wcolby]

What is the purpose of the vertical red stripe on the fuselage? Looks like all the props are up above the wing.

[@davidbradley3227]

Great video! Side note- d-day stripes on the ki 12 looks a little funny

[@MothaLuva]

You say the airplane is supposed to cruise at 345 knots and you call that slow for a plane this size at that era..?

[@Caktusdud.]

People, if you have war thunder, you can find this vehicle as a user made mission. I never made it I just know about it. I would love to have seen an aircraft that big, to be fair though, it won't be that hard to bring down. Those engines are the open and how much do you bet that the Americans will start looking for those juicy fuel tanks to burst open?

[@pathfinder5723]

Love the use of man in the high castle footage

[@JimmySawFinger]

That pixel are you have in this show is sweet. This KX-3 looks like a easy target for roving fighter squadrons.

[@manifestman132]

I love massive flying boats I feel like Japan could have pulled it off but it would be a big sitting duck while landed. I would also love some of those desk models i your videos in physical form.

[@randomperson3187]

can you also talk about the j7w1 shinden or G10 bomber?

[@joshuazachary4705]

It's crime you don't have more subscribers, your production values are spot on. Reminds me of old History Channel.

[@FoundAndExplained]

Feel free to share us on your social medias and get the word out there. Thank you for the support!

[@user-jb3ex3dh1n]

これはとても素晴らしいどうがです 外国の皆さん日本を誉めてくれてありがとう

[@blaster915]

Well, now I HAVE to find a model to fly of this in Flight Simulator 2020. This beast looks TOO COOL not to fly!! :D

[@trainman2226]

American pilots: “hey guys watch this” *fires a single 50 cal incendiary round near it* “splash one bandit”

[@georgivanev7466]

You're my new favourite channel

[@jamesbugbee6812]

Yamato under the Golden Gate is a nice touch. Emily was the finest 'boat of the war. 💜

[@enterprism5298]

Me:*Reads Hiragana at 3:04* *vietnam flashbacks*

[@billbye2427]

Now where would Japan have ever gotten the aviation gas to feed the beast?

[@davidcarreira536]

Great vídeo as always. Here is a sugestion for a future vídeo: the two big-ass Saunders Roe flying boats, SaRo Princess and SaRo Queen.

[@stevedeleon8775]

This Giant Japanese Egg Roll would of been BLOWN💥out of the sky by our P51 Mustang s & Corsairs..

[@MrShrog]

Hello there

[@Willon]

General kenobi, you are a bold one.

[@keshvinkumar5770]

It's an older code, but it checks out

[@hiroyan00818]

『日本は本当にクールな海軍』 うん、まあわかる。 『ぼくのぴこ』 なぜにショタアニメ……

[@TheGenericavatar]

Looking at that reminds me of the Fliesher studio era Superman cartoons, specifically the one featuring a giant strategic bomber.

[@eliasbouhout1]

3:53 HOLD ON, WAIT A MINUTE

[@rarityadf11f]

Hmmmmm in my opinion, the plane is similar to the Blohm and Voss BV-238

[@edwardcnnell2853]

The need for a large seaplane transport was necessary due to America's island hopping tactic and naval production. Island hopping left troops stranded on islands needing resupply or evacuation. American naval production included almost 100 aircraft carriers. Less known of these ships were smaller escort carriers nicknamed Jeep carriers. This small aircraft carriers escorted convoys and provided anti ship and submarine protection. Their aircraft could also scout for hunter packs destroying Japans shipping. Japan's surface fleet had become one large target for Alled shipping and aircraft. This made matters worse for Japan because in an effort to supply remote or cutoff bases they were using their submarines as supply ships reducing their anti shipping role. Japan had a real need for a very large seaplane but a smaller sized craft in greater numbers would have been more feasible. Smaller and more numerous like America's escort carriers. Up scaling an existing design by not such a great amount could have produced an aircraft that actually have been put into production.

[@chamberlane2899]

I can't imagine that either idea would have done that well. By the time these aircraft would have been built, Japan had no real advantage over Allied airpower, the US having surpassed them in airspeed, altitude, range, firepower, and pilot experience. Whether they had multiple large flying boats or one massive one, sooner or later they'd be spotted by US forces, at which point they'd quickly get swarmed and torn to shreds. Multiple planes might have been more successful (at least they could afford to lose one) but still, none of those ideas would have lasted long. Might've been cool to see what kind of crazy stuff Japan would've built to protect them though, I'm imagining some sort of parasite, floatplane version of the Shinden.

[@edwardcnnell2853]

@@chamberlane2899 Those planes would not have turned the tide of war. But as they off loaded supplies at an island hopped base they load with troops to evacuate out. That would mean Allied forces would have faced additional thousands of defenders on the islands they made landings on. This fits in with the Japanese strategy to bleed the Allies until they would accept an settled peace agreement. I doubt that anything but surrender would be pursued by the allies. Those planes would have meant thousands more Allied deaths.

[@edwardcnnell2853]

This is an example of the tremendous US wartime production. One shipyard that built 50 escort class aircraft carriers in 16 months. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5KtaoSQpZJ3gNE Other escort carriers were in production in other shipyards.

[@Posttrip]

Agreed. It would have been built by an enemy, at the time. But, I would have loved to have known a few made it off the assembly line with a couple of examples on display, today. And, if there had been a proposal for a flying boat passenger version just after the war. But, ShinMewa has carried this expertise into the present with its PS-1 and PS-2. They are SUPERB flying boats and amphibians.

[@User-ghcwvouvmgs]

I have a feeling that it would be quickly shot down due to being such an easy target to hit and aim at and a smaller bomber being able to down a bomb on it if it got above it.

[@Digi20]

The Numbers for this do not add up. If you take a large Bomber, like the B-36 of that time and scale it to the dimensions, you end up with a gross weight at least in the 1800-2500 ton range. and that is before taking into account the necessary structural reinforcements etc. - also, the interiour dimension would be sooooo huge you could probably put a 0 behind the 900 person transport capability, with room to spare. there where no engines available back in the day to lift that monster into the air. more real: for 500 tons, you end up at around 1.2 times the size of the hughes h4 hercules. still giant, but that might have been feasable with turboprops and jets becoming available later in the 1940s.

[@startingbark0356]

There would be engines available, they just use a lot

[@iR-80]

The Japanese would probably make the KX-3 out of paper mache and Elmer's glue

[@_qaz_]

It was just a design concept study, not really a 'real' military proposal.

[@CockpitScenes]

Top speed of 345 kts - are you kidding me? The best Japanese fighter at the time - the Zero - had a max speed of only 300 kts. So the Japanese had turboprop engines in WW II?

[@holeshotshane6344]

I knew it was massive but seeing it next to the spruce goose and the ekranoplan really puts it into prospective

[@tundralou]

If turbojet/turbo props were developed at that time-thinks may have worked out

[@lordofthesticks0]

The text on the front of the plane is ぼくのぴこ (yes it's read boku no piko) while the back of the plane is 日本は本当にクールな海軍 which translates to "Japan has a really cool navy" you are the maddest madlad in the world don't think nobody notices that :)

[@DocWolph]

9:45 There is nothing controversial about a nation, even if they were and enemy and a vicious one, was trying to maintain their holdings. They lost and no one is extolling tthem to acknowledge what they did, especially on this more benign issue.

[@kamikazefilmproductions]

Thank god someone talked about this

[@warrendesonia7924]

Harry Turtledove should do a series of books on the Pacific War that would have the Mt. Fuji Bomber & the KX-3 available at the start of the war & the British reinforcing Singapore with more warships in early 1941........

[@sieno103]

＿人人人人人人人人人人人人人人＿ ＞　日本は本当にクールな海軍　＜ ￣Y^Y^Y^Y^Y^Y^Y^Y^Y^Y^Y^Y^Y^Y￣ 「ぼくのびこ」とか意味不明な日本語のせいで機体はとても素晴らしいのにダサく見えてしまう…… しかも坂井中尉搭乗機に撃王とも書いてあって……うん………

[@Laurence0227]

y'allah~ あの「ぼくのびこ」は，このものた！ kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJOrdqeLe5l9p6s&ab_channel=Vian

[@sieno103]

知りたくなかったこんな事実… 情報提供ありがとう！

[@pyonpyon1978]

ぼくのぴこ？？

[@SSmith-fm9kg]

nice video!

[@FoundAndExplained]

Thanks for the visit

[@FrequencyORD]

I can’t imagine something twice as big as the biggest plane ever made.

[@eskayseries3587]

First

[@chrischu3974]

second i guess

[@Willon]

Third comment cos the first dude commented twice

[@GALANTXVR4]

I used to watch mustard all the time but he switched to nebula. You are now my go to channel for odd aircraft.

[@FoundAndExplained]

Thanks for watching!

[@aurorajones8481]

VERY COOL! Yea i too would enjoy seeing this thing in the air.

[@SoloRenegade]

there is nothing controversial about building warplanes in a time of war. why is everyone overly sensitive these days?

[@mopar_dude9227]

Building more conventional planes, or slightly more advanced isn’t controversial. Building something that is so far above what has been built is, especially if you are using up precious raw materials. The controversy wasn’t from outside countries, it was from within the Japanese military as to if it was a good idea to commit so many resources to the project. The only one overly sensitive is you for making a stupid comment.

[@jeffreychandler8666]

I have never been aware of this plane before, however, I am familiar of the "Spruce Goose."

[@BusterBuizel]

Run! It’s Godzilla! It may look like Godzilla, but due to international copyright laws it is not. STILL WE SHOULD RUN LIKE IT IS GODZILLA!

[@Kettenhund31]

What a fantastic, lumbering target! A real dream as far as fighter pilots were concerned. A couple of 20mm or 30mm canon shells into the wing root and down she goes!

[@American97percent]

1:03 "The Man in the High Castle"

[@lancerevell5979]

I can imagine a squadron of P-38 fighters swarming this lumbering behemoth like a school of sharks dismembering a luckless blue whale.

[@dy7296]

Another short fact is that "BMW flugmotoren" or "BMW aircraft engines" was later renamed as "MTU Aero Engines" post ww2. It influenced a lot in Pratt & Whitney's development on modern turbofans.

[@labloob]

Thank you.