J2M2

This page is about the Japanese fighter J2M2. For other uses, see J2M (Family).

J2M2

Ki-108 Kai

J5N1

J2M2

Ki-108 Kai

J5N1

Japan

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
5.3	5.0	3.7

Class:

Fighter

Research:26 000

Purchase:76 000

Description

The J2M2 Raiden is a rank III Japanese fighter with a battle rating of 5.3 (AB), 5.0 (RB), and 3.7 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.49 "Weapons of Victory".

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 5 500 m596 km/h

Turn time19 s

Max altitude11 500 m

EngineMitsubishi Ha-32 Mod 23

TypeRadial

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight4 t

The J2M2 Raiden is an odd duck of an interceptor, featuring the weird combination of high climb rate but poor diving characteristics. It's main go-to is somewhat like the Bf-109 and Yak series - vertically looping opponents to bleed their speed and then swooping down or coming up behind them to punish. The guns are frustrating to use due to their below-average muzzle velocity, small ammo supply, and atrociously low rate of fire on the cannons.

The aircraft shares the same characteristics as the future J2M3 and M5 and can be a demo of what is there to come in the Japanese tree. The other models do not have particularly higher engine performance, and are only slightly faster with slightly better firepower, their main advantage being vastly more ammo to spray with.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 5,500 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	569	551	11500	19.7	20.4	16	16	300
Upgraded	626	596		18.8	19.0	28.3	21.2

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
0	350	488	454	280	~13	~10

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 430	< 460	< 400	> 324

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear350 km/h

Unlike other Japanese fighters, the J2M2 has some decent armour. There is a 70 mm bulletproof glass plate in front of the pilot. There is also a tiny triangular section of steel that is 8 mm behind the pilots head. Another thing the J2M2 has that other Japanese planes don't have near rank 3, is self-sealing fuel tanks. There is however no armour around the engine so the engine is very prone to bullets striking and damaging it.

Picture displaying the 70 mm bulletproof glass plate in front of the pilot.

Picture showing the 8 mm steel plate behind the pilots head.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB959 → 1 304

RB2 134 → 2 902

SB3 051 → 4 149

Total cost of modifications24 900

45 300

Talisman cost1 100

Crew training22 000

Experts76 000

Aces500

Research Aces320 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

60 / 150 / 310 %

142 / 142 / 142 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 1 700 Cost: 3 100 150 Radiator Research: 1 700 Cost: 3 100 150 Compressor Research: 1 900 Cost: 3 500 165 Wings repair Research: 1 500 Cost: 2 700 130 Engine Research: 1 500 Cost: 2 700 130 Engine injection Research: 2 700 Cost: 4 900 240	Airframe Research: 1 900 Cost: 3 500 165 EFS Research: 1 500 Cost: 2 700 130 Cover Research: 2 700 Cost: 4 900 240	type89_belt_pack Research: 1 700 Cost: 3 100 150 type97_new_gun Research: 1 900 Cost: 3 500 165 type99mk2_belt_pack Research: 1 500 Cost: 2 700 130 type99mk2_new_gun Research: 2 700 Cost: 4 900 240

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 12 x 20 mm Type 99 Model 2 cannon

Ammunition200 rounds

Fire rate490 shots/min

Weapon 22 x 7.7 mm Type 97 machine gun

Ammunition1 100 rounds

Fire rate900 shots/min

The J2M2 is armed with:

• 2 x 20 mm Type 99 Model 2 cannons, wing-mounted (100 rpg = 200 total)
• 2 x 7.7 mm Type 97 navy machine guns, nose-mounted (550 rpg = 1,100 total)

The two 7.7 mm machine guns are mounted in the cowling of the aircraft serve as good backups if the cannons run dry, or if there is a need to poke a fleeing enemy into a maneuver. The cannons are decent, but the best belts are by far Stealth. The HEF-I and HEF-T rounds have quite low TNT equivalent amounts, while the HEF without tracer has nearly double that amount of explosive. Due to the spotty nature of the guns, Stealth helps mainly by allowing you to surprise opponents more often, as well as having the most HEF by far.

Suspended armament

List of setups (1)

Setup 12 x 60 kg Navy Type 97 Number 6 ground bomb

The J2M2 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 2 x 60 kg Navy Type 97 Number 6 bombs (120 kg total)

The two 60 kg bombs are basically worthless. Do not take them.

Usage in battles

In the start of a match, you'll want to use your best advantage, climbing. The J2M2 has an incredible rate of climb for its BR. This will almost always guarantee you an altitude advantage, and from there, you should pick out your targets one-by-one. The J2M2 does not have the best offensive guns so make sure to never head-on. If you are diving on an opponent and they are trying to head-on, break off and do a spiral climb. Your opponent (if he's greedy enough) will stay on you and lose all of his energy. Once you see him about to go into a stall, quickly dive down to him and shoot him down, but do not go too fast as your controls lock up badly above 550kph. Another advantage of the J2M2 is the top speed. The J2M2 can go very fast for its BR and you should use it to your advantage.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Excellent climb rate (21.2 m/s spaded)
• Excellent top speed (592 km/h or 370 mph)
• Easily outperforms other allied aircraft it usually faces
• Out turn most allied planes except for the Spitfire
• Small size
• Does not bleed energy like the Zero
• More ammo for the 20 mm than the early Zero models
• Has armour and self-sealing fuel tanks

Cons:

• Awful high-speed diving characteristics
• Still very low ammo supply on the cannons of just 100 rounds per gun
• Low muzzle velocity makes the cannons hard to aim
• Low fire rate means you do not kill quickly despite surprisingly good TNT filler per HEF bullet.
• Slower than US planes
• 7.7 mm machine guns are quite ineffective at 4.3, lowering your combat capability once cannon ammo runs out

History

Development

During the China Incident (Sino-Japanese war) the Navy had sustained some damage from Chinese bomber groups as they didn't have any dedicated interceptors at the time, for this reason the Navy put out multiple specifications for planes to deal with threats which the Chinese made clear to the Navy. For bombers specifically they specified for a strictly local-defense interceptor known as the 14-Shi Interceptor.

The designer behind the A6M, Jiro Horikoshi and his team started development on this specification. But due the harsh unrealistic specifications for mainly engine output required for the team to use a strong engine which wasn't available yet and with the oversized engine required for the task resulted in a sleek but stubby plane.

After the initial J2M1 prototypes outfitted with the 1,044 kW Mitsubishi MK4C Kasei 13 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine and didn't come near the specification requirements, engine vibrations coming from the cooling system and a troublesome undercarriage design held it back from being used as a production model.

The J2M2 Model 11 was outfitted with 1,379 kW Mitsubishi MK4R-A Kasei 23a 14-cylinder radial engine which somewhat overcame the teething problems but still didn't reach the requirements, overburdened with engine problems and electrical malfunctions in the landing gear remained.

Mitsubishi wanted to make the best of it and get out the J2Ms into combat service before it was officially adopted in the Navy. Engine problems and performance were only further resolved in further modifications.

Combat History

The first few produced J2M2s were delivered to the development units in December 1942 but the troublesome amount of engine problems still held it back from mass production. Troubleshooting almost took a year and the first batch of the serial built J2M2 Model 11 could be delivered to 381st Kōkūtai in December of 1943.

Furthermore, the J2M2 saw limited action in the Philippines, although it was largely ineffective due to the limited initial production batch and design flaws.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the J2M2 from live.warthunder.com.

Market

Camo "IJNAS Prototype"

Images

J2M2 in hangar w/ decals.

Videos

The Shooting Range #178 - Pages of History section at 04:36 discusses the J2M "Raiden".

IN THE NAME OF THUNDER! - Raiden section at 01:53 discusses the J2M's.

Best aircraft for Boom & Zoom discusses the J2M2 at 1:48 - War Thunder Official Channel

See also

Related development

• Mitsubishi J2M3 (following model)

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance

Mitsubishi Company (三菱商会)
Fighters	A5M4 · Hagiri's A5M4
	A6M2 mod. 11 · A6M2 · A6M3 · A6M3 mod. 22 · A6M3 mod. 22Ko · A6M5 · A6M5 Ko · A6M5 otsu · A6M5 Hei · A6M6c
	A7M1 (NK9H) · A7M2
	J2M2 · J2M3 · J2M4 Kai · J2M5 · J2M5 (30 mm)
Hydroplanes	F1M2
Interceptors	Ki-83 · Ki-109
Bombers	G4M1
	Ki-21-Ia · Ki-21-I hei · Ki-67-I Ko · Ki-67-I otsu
Jet Fighters	Ki-200
Captured	▃A6M2 · ␗A6M2
See also	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Post-War)