Nakajima G8N Renzan

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The Nakajima G8N Renzan, meaning Mountain Range, was a four-engine long‑range heavy bomber designed for Japan’s Imperial Navy during World War II. Only four prototypes were built, and the aircraft never went into production. It was retired in August 1945.

Development and design
- In 1943 the Navy asked Nakajima to create a four‑engine, land‑based bomber able to meet strict long‑range requirements. The target performance included a top speed of about 320 knots (roughly 590 km/h) and a bomb load of 4,000 kg, with a range of about 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) with a full load, or about 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km) with a lighter load.
- The Renzan had a mid‑mounted wing, a small wing area, tricycle landing gear, and a large single vertical tail. It used four Nakajima NK9K‑L Homare 24 radial engines with turbochargers and special cooling fans.
- Defensive armament included nose, dorsal, ventral, and tail turrets, plus two flexible machine guns at the beam positions.

Operational history
- The first flight occurred on 23 October 1944, with Navy testing starting in January 1945. By June 1945 three more examples had been completed; one prototype was destroyed on the ground by U.S. carrier aircraft.
- The Navy hoped to produce many more (16 prototypes and 48 production aircraft were planned), but the program was canceled in June 1945 because of the worsening war and a shortage of lightweight aluminum.
- A variant, the G8N2 Renzan‑Kai Model 22, would have used four 2,200 hp Mitsubishi MK9A engines and could carry the air‑launched Ohka suicide bomber. Brief consideration was given to an all‑steel G8N3, but Japan surrendered before further development.
- After the war, one prototype was taken to the United States and scrapped; no G8N aircraft survive today.