Aichi D3A "Val"
The dive bomber of Pearl Harbor — and briefly the most effective in the world.
The D3A "Val" was the Imperial Japanese Navy's primary carrier dive bomber through the first two years of the war. Its elliptical wing and fixed spatted undercarriage gave it a curiously old-fashioned look — but in 1941–1942, in the hands of highly-trained crews, it was devastatingly effective against Allied warships.
01Participated in the Pearl Harbor attack on 7 December 1941 and in subsequent operations across the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. D3As sank more Allied warships than any other Axis aircraft, including the British heavy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire and the carrier HMS Hermes in April 1942.
02The loss of most of Japan's experienced naval aviators at Midway and in the Solomons campaign hit the D3A force particularly hard, since accurate dive bombing demanded a great deal of training. By 1943 the aircraft was obsolete.
03Late-war D3As were used as land-based bombers and in kamikaze roles. They were succeeded in carrier service by the Yokosuka D4Y Suisei, but the "Val" remained in second-line duty until the end.
Theatres of operation
- ·Pacific
- ·Indian Ocean
Principal operators
- ·Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
- ·Royal Thai Air Force
Others in the same fight.
Lockheed P-38 Lightning
P-38F / G / H / J / L
Vought F4U Corsair
F4U-1 / -1A / -1D / F4U-4
Grumman F6F Hellcat
F6F-3 / -5 / -5N
Douglas SBD Dauntless
SBD-1 / -3 / -5 / -6