Project Z was Japan’s ambitious attempt to develop a long-range, intercontinental bomber capable of reaching the United States of America during the Second World War. A similar counterpart to Germany’s “Amerika” bomber, Messerschmitt Me 264, the program started in 1942. The plan was for a strategic bomber specifically designed to fly from Japan’s Northern Kuril islands to the US continent, then continue on and land in German-occupied France, where it would be refueled and rearmed.

Details of the project were given to the Japanese Nakajima aircraft company, which began drafting and developing the overall design. Three prototype concepts were presented to the Imperial Japanese Army: the Nakajima G10N, the Nakajima G5N, and the Kawasaki Ki-91, offered by another aircraft company, Kawasaki. However, these prototypes never went into production, as increased demand for interceptors and fighters to guard local areas led to more resources being allocated elsewhere due to the Allied invasion of the Japanese home islands in 1944.

If Project Z goes as planned, the concept of an ultra-long-range bomber reaching the United States could lead to the production of the Nakajima G10N Fugaku.

The G10N Fugaku, whose development began in January 1943, had six contra-rotating propellers powered by 5000-horsepower Nakajima Ha-505 Type 36 16-cylinder air-cooled radial engines. However, this engine design was replaced with the 2500-horsepower Nakajima NK11A radial engines as it was still under development.

With a wingspan of 207 feet, a length of 131 feet, and a height of 28.8 feet, the bomber can travel at over 10000 meters and reach a top speed of 680km/h. Depending on the range and fuel requirement, the bomber could have carried a 44000 lbs of payload.

Even so, mass-producing these bombers can be complex, considering Japan’s industrial output and capacity to build cutting-edge weapons compared to the United States. Moreover, continued Allied air raids on Japanese factories and production lines later in the war led to the building of more cheap, rudimentary, and disposable aircraft like the Nakajima Ki-115 fighter aircraft using the country’s dwindling resources.

https://simpleflying.com/why-ww2-nakajima-g10n-fugaku-bomber-never-made-it-to-usa/

https://inf.news/en/military/eb3197f17b2274d695806ed01ee21364.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Z_(bomber_project)

https://warhistory.org/zh/@msw/article/nakajima-g10n-strategic-heavy-bomber

https://banapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Nakajima_G10N_Fugaku