Mitsubishi 1MT

 

After the Great War, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) sought to become a strong and modern force and was looking for suitable aircraft to serve on their aircraft carrier Hosho (which was the world's first commissioned ship built as a carrier). 

The Japanese government asked their, back then, allies for help, namely the United Kingdom. They asked for a torpedo bomber which could serve on board and aircraft carrier. At that time, 1920, Herbert Smith, former main designer in Sopwith Aviation Company (which had been recently defunct), together with a group of engineers and specialists, were sent to Japan to work on that requirement of the IJNAS. Their main task was to design a carrier-fighter (the 1MF), a  carrier-reconnaissance plane (the 2MR) and a carrier torpedo-bomber (the 1MT). Although both the 1MF and the 2MR were successful, same thing can't be said about the 1MT. 

The 1MT was designed as a triplane with the objective of achieve the shortest possible runway for take off, while the triplane configuration was chosen to give the aircraft the minimum required maneuverability. The construction of the prototype began in 1921 and one year later, on 9th August 1922 it was completed. The first take off and flights were satisfactory, at the hands of test pilot William Jordan, who was part of Smith's team and in November he flew two prototypes to Kasumigaura Naval Base, to test them on board the Hosho. Such tests began in December, and the 1MT was shown to be too heavy and large for carrier service, however, as the IJNAS lacked any other carrier torpedo-bomber, a small batch of 20 aircraft was ordered, however none of them operated with the Hosho as their service was plagued by technical failures and defects. Those 20 machines were manufactured by Mitsubishi at their plant in Nagoya between 1922 and 1923. 

However, this failed design gave the technical department of the IJNAS experience on how not to design a carrier-capable torpedo bomber and therefore their next requirement for a torpedo-bomber led to the more successful Mitsubishi B1M1.

The 1MT was powered by a single Napier Lion engine which yielded 450 hp of power and drove a two-bladed propeller. It was armed with a single 450 mm (17.71 in) torpedo warhead weighing 800 kg (1.764 lb).

A single machine was assigned the civilian registration of J-BEGG and was used as a passenger plane with the Hamamatu Hikoki Seisakusyo company in 1926.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_1MT

2. https://www.valka.cz/Micubisi-1MT1-typ-10-t34010 (translated)

3. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_J-3.html