View source for Nakajima A6M2-N

{{Short description|Japanese floatplane fighter}}
<!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft]]. Please see [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content]] for recommended layout. -->
{{Infobox aircraft
 |name = A6M2-N
 |image = File:A6M2-N Rufe.jpg
 |caption = A6M2-N
 |type = Interceptor/fighter-bomber [[floatplane]]
 |national_origin = Japan
 |manufacturer = [[Nakajima Aircraft Company]]
 |designer =
 |first_flight = 7 December 1941
 |introduction = 1942
 |retired =
 |number_built = 327
 |status =
 |primary_user = [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]
 |more_users =
 |developed_from = [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero]]
 |variants =
}}

The '''Nakajima A6M2-N''' ('''Navy Type 2 Interceptor/Fighter-Bomber''') was a single-crew [[floatplane]] based on the [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero]] Model 11. The [[World War II Allied names for Japanese aircraft|Allied reporting name]] for the aircraft was '''Rufe'''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hammel |first=Eric |url=https://www.google.com.hk/books/edition/Carrier_Strike/AT8QEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=nakajima+rufe&pg=PA9&printsec=frontcover |title=Carrier Strike: The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands October 1942 |date=2020-12-21 |publisher=Daniel Hammel |language=en}}</ref>

==Design and development==
While waiting on the completion of the [[Kawanishi N1K]], Nakajima was chosen by the Imperial Japanese Navy to provide an interim floatplane, which they did by modifying Mitsubishi's A6M-2 Model 11. Mitsubishi was not offered the contract as they were already overburdened. Nakajima proposed that they could churn out 900 aircraft in under a year. The design of the plane itself wasn't much different than the A6M-2 it was based on. The retractable, wheeled undercariage was removed and plated over. This was replaced by a large central float and one cantilever stablizer float under each wing. The tail was straightened out and the under fuselage received a type of two-section "keel" designed to counteract movement by the central float. The engine, cockpit, and armament remained stock. The first prototype of the A6M2-N flew on 7 December 1941, ten months after the initial request, and an order for 500 units was placed. Despite their boasts about production capability, Nakajima was unable to deliver more than 327 aircraft, including the prototype.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |last=encyclopedia |first=naval |date=November 27, 2023 |title=Nakajima A6M2N "Rufe" |url=https://naval-encyclopedia.com/naval-aviation/ww2/japan/nakajima-a6m2n-rufe.php |website=naval encyclopedia}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=March 2025}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.php?aircraft_id=1388|title=Nakajima A6M2-N (Rufe) Fighter-Bomber / Interceptor Floatplane Aircraft|website=www.militaryfactory.com}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=March 2025}}

==Operational history==
The aircraft, referred to as the "Suisen 2" ("Hydro fighter type 2"), was deployed in 1942 in both the [[Aleutians]] and [[Solomon Islands]] operations. On 7 August 1942, almost all of the Rufes in the Solomons were destroyed by a raid made up of 15 [[Grumman F4F Wildcat]]s launched from the [[USS Wasp (CV-7)|USS ''Wasp'']]. The A6M2-N proved its worth in the Aleutians at [[Kiska]], where they weren't hampered by the lack of airfields and allowed land-based fighters in the [[Kuril Islands]] to be freed up for tasks elsewhere.<ref name="auto"/>{{unreliable source?|date=March 2025}}

[[File:A6M2-N Rufe at Attu NAN15Apr43.jpg|thumb|A6M2-Ns at [[Holtz Bay]] in [[Attu Island]], [[Alaska]]]]

The seaplane also served as an [[Interceptor aircraft|interceptor]] for protecting fueling depots in [[Balikpapan]] and Avon Bases ([[Dutch East Indies]]), and they reinforced the [[Shumushu]] base ([[Kuril Islands|North Kuriles]]) in the same period. Such fighters served aboard [[seaplane carrier]]s [[Japanese seaplane tender Kamikawa Maru|''Kamikawa Maru'']] in the [[Solomon Islands|Solomons]] and [[Kuriles]] areas and aboard Japanese raiders [[Hōkoku Maru|Hokoku Maru]] and [[Aikoku Maru]] in Indian Ocean raids. Later in the conflict, the [[Ōtsu, Shiga|Otsu]] Air Group utilized the A6M2-N as an interceptor alongside [[Kawanishi N1K]]1 Kyofu ("Rex") aircraft based in [[Lake Biwa|Biwa lake]] in the Honshū area, suffering heavy losses. By this time it was already well-known that the Rufe simply could not compete against modern fighter designs, so production ceased in September 1943.<ref name="auto"/>{{unreliable source?|date=March 2025}}

[[File:A6M2-N anchorage-common.jpg|thumb|A6M2-Ns lined up along a beach.]]

The last A6M2-N in military service was a single example recovered by the French forces in Indochina after the end of World War II. It crashed shortly after being overhauled.<ref name="Dorr vietp249">Dorr and Bishop 1996, p. 249.</ref>

==Operators==
[[File:A6M2-N Pilots.jpg|thumb|Japanese pilots at an A6M2-N plane anchorage. Two Rufe planes are visible in the background.]]
;{{JPN}}
* [[Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service]]
** [[Yokohama Air Group]]
** [[Toko]] Air Group
** [[Ōtsu, Shiga|Otsu]] Air Group
** [[Yokosuka Naval Air Group]] (technical evaluation unit)
** 11th Air Fleet
** 5th Air Fleet
** 36th Air Fleet
** 452nd Air Fleet
** 934th Air Fleet

;{{FRA}}
*[[French Navy]] - Postwar, one Nakajima A6M-2N was captured in [[Indo-China]], it was impressed into service with the French Navy in late 1945.

==Specifications (Nakajima A6M2-N)==
[[File:Nakajima A6M2-N 3-view line drawing.png|thumb|3-view drawing of the Nakajima A6M2-N]]
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=''Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War'' <ref name="Fran pac p428">Francillon 1970, p.428.</ref>
|prime units?=met
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|crew=1
|length m=10.1
|length note=
|span m=12
|span note=
|height m=4.3
|height note=
|wing area sqm=22.44
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=1912
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=2460
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg=2880
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=[[Nakajima NK1C Sakae 12]]
|eng1 type=14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine
|eng1 kw=<!-- prop engines -->
|eng1 hp=940
|eng1 note=for take-off
::::{{cvt|950|hp}} at {{cvt|4200|m}}

|prop blade number=3
|prop name=constant-speed metal propeller
|prop dia m=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia note=
<!--
        Performance
-->
|max speed kmh=435
|max speed note=at {{cvt|5000|m}}
|cruise speed kmh=296
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed kmh=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed note=
|range km=1148
|range note=
|combat range km=
|combat range note=
|ferry range km=1783
|ferry range note=
|endurance=<!-- if range unknown -->
|ceiling m=10000
|ceiling note=
|g limits=<!-- aerobatic -->
|roll rate=<!-- aerobatic -->
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude={{cvt|5000|m}} in 6 minutes 43 seconds
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading note=
|fuel consumption kg/km=
|power/mass=
|more performance=
<!--
        Armament
-->
|guns=<br />
**2 × {{cvt|7.7|mm|3}} [[Type 97 aircraft machine gun|Type 97 machine gun]]s in forward fuselage
**2 × {{cvt|20|mm|3}} [[Type 99 cannon|Type 99 Mark 1 autocannon]] in the outer wings
|bombs= 2 × {{cvt|60|kg|0}} bombs
}}

==See also==
{{aircontent
|related=
* [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero]]
|similar aircraft=<!--single seat, single (radial)engine, all metal monoplane floatplane fighters -->
* [[Bernard H 110]]
* [[Dewoitine HD.780]]
* [[Grumman F4F Wildcat#F4F-3S "Wildcatfish"|Grumman F4F-3S Wildcatfish]]
* [[Kawanishi N1K|Kawanishi N1K1 Kyōfū]]
* [[Loire 210]]
* [[Supermarine Spitfire (late Merlin-powered variants)#Spitfire Floatplanes (types 355 and 359)|Supermarine Spitfire floatplanes]]
|lists=
* [[List of aircraft of Japan during World War II]]
* [[List of aircraft of World War II]]
* [[List of fighter aircraft]]
* [[List of military aircraft of Japan]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
* Dorr, Robert F. and Chris Bishop. ''Vietnam Air War Debrief''. London:Aerospace |Publishing, 1996. {{ISBN|1-874023-78-6}}.
* Francillon, R.J. ''Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War''. London:Putnam, 1970. {{ISBN|0-370-00033-1}}.
* Green, William. ''War Planes of the Second World War, Volume Six: Floatplanes''. London: Macdonald & Co., (Publishers) Ltd., 1962.
* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. ''The Complete Book of Fighters''. New York: Smithmark, 1994. {{ISBN|0-8317-3939-8}}.
* Jackson, Robert. ''Combat Legend: Mitsubishi Zero''. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 2003. {{ISBN|1-84037-398-9}}.
* Janowicz, Krzystof. ''Mitsubishi A6M2-N Rufe (Kagero Famous Airplanes 4)'' (in Polish/English). Lublin, Poland: Kagero, 2004. {{ISBN|83-89088-42-8}}.
* Mikesh, Robert C. ''Warbird History: Zero, Combat & Development History of Japan's Legendary Mitsubishi A6M Zero Fighter''. Osceola, Wisconsin: Motorbooks International, 1994. {{ISBN|0-87938-915-X}}.
* Sakaida, Henry. ''Imperial Japanese Navy Aces, 1937–45''. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 1999. {{ISBN|1-85532-727-9}}.
* Gunston, Bill. ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Combat Aircraft of World War II''. London, UK:  Salamander Books Ltd., 1978 {{ISBN|0-89673-000-X}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|Nakajima A6M2-N Rufe}}

{{Nakajima aircraft}}
{{Japanese Navy short aircraft designations}}
{{Allied reporting names}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakajima A6m2-N}}
[[Category:Floatplanes]]
[[Category:Low-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:1940s Japanese military reconnaissance aircraft]]
[[Category:Aleutian Islands campaign]]
[[Category:Nakajima aircraft|A6M2-N]]
[[Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1941]]