Mitsubishi B5M

B5M
General information
Type	Attack aircraft
Manufacturer	Mitsubishi
Primary user	Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS)
Number built	125
History
Introduction date	1937
First flight	1937

The Mitsubishi B5M was an Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) land-based attack aircraft, originally intended for carrier use. The B5M was also given the long formal designation Navy Type 97 No.2 Carrier Attack Bomber (Japanese: 九七式二号艦上攻撃機) and Allied reporting name of Mabel. This aircraft was mistakenly known as the Nakajima Army 97 by the British.^[1]

The B5M was designed in response to a 1935 specification for a new bomber for use on the IJNAS aircraft carriers (Mitsubishi Navy Experimental 10-Shi Carrier Torpedo Attacker). The machine was to have a crew of three, folding wings for flight deck storage, a speed of not less than 322 km/h (200 mph), a flight endurance of not less than seven hours, and the ability to carry at least 800 kg (1,760 lb) of bombs - a tall order for a single-engine aircraft of the mid-1930s. It was intended as a backup for the Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bomber. Although designed as a carrier-based aircraft, it was relegated to land-based torpedo bomber duties in World War II. 125 were built.