# Mitsubishi's Dynamic Aircraft Duo, 80 Years Ago



## ColesAircraft (May 25, 2010)

When we think of Mitsubishi, we conjure images of fast sports cars and big screen televisions, but let us not forget the machines that made Mitsubishi Heavy Industries what it is today!

The Type 10 carrier-based torpedo-carrying triplane (of course):







These aircraft were built by Mitsubishi from 1920 to 1922, and designed with the help of Sopwith.  Only 20 were built, as the machine proved to be too big, underpowered, dangerous to fly, and totally unable to take off from a carrier deck while loaded with a torpedo (which was its whole intended mission).  But, wow, is it an interesting spectacle to look at!

Above is my artwork depicting the Type 10, which I just released as a series with the following twin:

If we remember the then-famous (in 1930) Junkers G.38, which was in its day the largest airplane in the world, we probably still don't realize that while Germany stopped at building two such aircraft, Mitsubishi of Japan went on to turn the transport into a viable heavy bomber - and built six of them!  The Ki-20 was the only military aircraft produced by Japan that was completely hidden from the public, so 'top secret' was the Ki-20 all the way up into the start of WW2 - by which time the underpowered behemoth was totally obsolete.  One aircraft survived the war in a Tokyo museum, only to be destroyed by the occupying forces.






- Ron Cole

http://www.ColesAircraft.com


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