J6K1

J6K1

J6K1

Japan

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.3	6.7	6.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

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Description

The J6K1 is a gift rank IV Japanese fighter with a battle rating of 6.3 (AB/SB) and 6.7 (RB). It was introduced during Update 1.95 "Northern Wind" as the main pilot reward for the 2019 winter event Operation F.R.O.S.T.

General info

Flight performance

The J6K is an excellent air superiority fighter at its tier that can easily compete with its contemporaries. Originally designed as an interceptor to counter the legendary B-29, it performs the best at altitude and mounts an insane amount of weapons for its size and class at the cost of lower ammunition per gun. Despite the weight of the aircraft, it retains reasonable maneuverability, climb rate and top speed which turn it into an enemy's nightmare when piloted well.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 10,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	664	645	13000	18.2	19.2	12.4		400
Upgraded	710	686		17.8	18	20	16

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	+	-
		520	280	___	~12	~9

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 390	< 390	< 470	> 324

Compressor	Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
Setting 1	1,000 m	2,000 hp	2,190 hp
Setting 2	4,500 m	1,785 hp	1,955 hp
Setting 3	9,000 m	1,578 hp	1,728 hp

Survivability and armour

• 8 mm steel plate behind the pilot seat Befitting of a Japanese aircraft, it is quite susceptible to damage. Despite the wings being strong enough to hold up in high G maneuvers, they are quite weak when taking battle damage, especially so when doing said maneuvers. Fires are also quite deadly, which happen quite often due to the large amount of fuel tanks scattered about the aircraft.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The J6K1 is armed with:

• 6 x 20 mm Type 99 Model 2 cannons, wing-mounted (200 rpg = 1,200 total)
• 2 x 13.2 mm Type 3 machine guns, wing-mounted (200 rpg = 400 total)

The J6K1 Jinpu is an ostensibly well-armed aircraft, boasting the most cannons of any Japanese aircraft. Although the Type 99 Model 2's lack the stopping power of the Type 5/Ho-155 typically mounted on tier IV Japanese aircraft, they can do the job well when aimed accurately. The Type 3 HMG's are also reasonable spotting weapons that have similar muzzle velocity to the 20 mm's and are quite accurate, allowing for easy follow-up shots. One should not rely on the HMG's as they deal negligible damage. Due to the considerable space between the cannons, it is recommended to set a convergence below 500 meters. Otherwise, you will only be hitting the target with your practically nonexistant 13mm HMGs.

Your belt setup should be either stealth or universal for both weapons. However, universal for the cannons and stealth for the HMG's allow you to focus on tracking with the cannons, which helps with players who either are learning to or have trouble with aiming them.

Suspended armament

The J6K1 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 4 x 60 kg Navy Type 97 Number 6 bombs (240 kg total)
• 2 x 250 kg Navy Type 98 Number 25 bombs (500 kg total)

Usage in battles

The J6K1 is quite the quirky aircraft to fly, as it doesn't apply to most of the rules other Japanese aircraft follow. It's relatively quick compared to the lower speeds of the N1K's, J2M's and Ki-84's, and while it is reasonably maneuverable and beats every American aircraft spare the P-59A in RB, it is not nearly enough to compete with the Spitfires, Re.2005's, and even some variants of the Bf 109 that are very commonly encountered in Arcade. However, it holds specific advantages over all of these aircraft, which changes depending on which one it's engaging. Versus Merlin Spitfires it outspeeds them and destroys them at high altitude, versus Griffon Spitfires it can out-maneuver them and it's considerably faster than the Re.2005 and can deal quite a bit of damage with its large armament setup. The only exception to these are the Bf 109's, as your approach style will have to change depending on the variant of the Messerschmitt in question and if they are mounting gunpods or not. You can outmaneuver the G-6, G-10, G-14 and K-4 when they mount the gunpods but you can't outspeed them, however the reverse is true for the G-2 and F-4. Ideally, you should Boom-&-Zoom 109's if you have an altitude advantage or try to head-on them but the latter poses a significant risk due to the lack of bulletproof glass on the J6K.

Speed and altitude are your best friends when piloting the Jinpu. The Nakajima Homare 42 engine that powers the aircraft is tuned for high altitude combat, and is quite poor at altitudes below 2,000m, so altitudes around or above 4,000m are your ideal combat areas. Once you reach that altitude, start hunting for bombers and high flying attackers, then tear them to shreds with your impressive armament layout. If there are no bombers or they have all been destroyed, you are free to fly a more reserved high altitude energy fighter role versus other fighters. If diving on an opponent, be wary that the J6K stiffens up quite severely at speeds and has quite a low absolute rip speed of 780 kmh/484 mph.

Specific enemies worth noting:

• P-51H-5-NA. The last of the Mustangs is a fearsome opponent that can walk all over the J6K if given the chance. It's significantly quicker, is better at altitude, and climbs better. To top it off, it mounts a sextet of the unnaturally powerful Browning M2 .50 cals that can literally light an aircraft ablaze in a short burst. Fortunately, it's quite poor in an extended turning engagement as a result of its design focusing on high speed combat and has a very weak airframe. Attempt to force it to turn fight you and bleed all of its energy, but be sure to make effective use of combat flaps and rudder.
• F8F-1B. Bearcat. This one word strikes fear into the hearts of all opponents who hear it, and the Jinpu is no exception. The last single-engined fighter of the famed Grumman Cat series can both literally and figuratively destroy the J6K with its amazing speed, excellent armament, Near Focke-wulf roll rate, and brutal acceleration. It is the only aircraft the J6K can simply not deal with, so it should be avoided at all costs unless it is distracted. If one tries to force an engagement with you, immediately seek assistance from teammates.
• I-225. The white Russian menace is the king of high-altitude combat. It outspeeds you, outclimbs you and can easily light you on fire with its fast-firing quad setup of ShVAK's. However, it is very poor in a turning engagement and has an extremely weak airframe. Turn-fight then light it up.

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 3 gears	Not controllable

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Excellent armament (best belts are universal/stealth for the 20mm and ground targets/universal on the 13mm)
• Above average climb rate, usually on par or above the best allied fighters except the A2D
• Strong wings, can pull up to 12G at high speed
• Reasonably fast for a Japanese fighter
• Solid energy retention
• Good acceleration
• Effective combat flaps and rudder
• Reasonable cockpit visibility despite a few bars

Cons:

• A bit fragile due to lack of armour, pilot is very vulnerable too
• Extreme lock up of rudder and ailerons
• Guns are all mounted on the wings, resulting in significant convergence
• Vne (never exceed speed) is 780 km/h TAS
• Fires are almost always lethal
• Can face early jets, the A2D is a common opponent too and can easily outrun you

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Special] Operation F.R.O.S.T.

Kawanishi Aircraft Company (川西航空機)
Fighters	J6K1
N1K	N1K1-Ja · N1K2-J · N1K2-Ja
Bombers	H6K4 · H8K2 · H8K3
Hydroplane	N1K1 · E7K2

Winter events
2022	Winter Quest
Pilot stars	Late 298D · ◄Tornado IDS MFG
Tanker stars	T-80UM2
Sailor stars	USS Newport News
2021	Operation W.I.N.T.E.R.
Pilot stars	C. 202D · ◊MiG-23MF
Tanker stars	A.C.I · AGS
Sailor stars	IJN Hayanami · MPK Pr.201K
2020	Operation W.I.N.T.E.R.
Pilot stars	Ro.57 Quadriarma · MiG-21PFM
Tanker stars	E.B.R. (1954) · Class 3 (P)
Sailor stars	Type K-8 No.13 · USS Baltimore
2019	Operation F.R.O.S.T.
Pilot stars	TIS MA · J6K1
Tanker stars	QF 3.7 Ram · ▃Merkava Mk.2B
Sailor stars	PT-811 · Jaguar
2018	Festive Quest
Pilot stars	M.B.152C1 · Fw 190 C
Tanker stars	SU-85A · T30
Christmas Lights	P-43A-1 · Comet I "Iron Duke IV"
2017	Festive Quest
Pilot christmas toys	P-40C · NC.900
Tanker christmas toys	AEC Mk II · Ersatz M10
Christmas Lights	Fw 189 A-1 · KV-2 (1940)
2016	Winter Holiday
Pilot stages	Ki-21-I hei · Me 262 A-2a
Tanker stages	▃LVT(A)(4) (ZIS-2) · ▂Type 62
2015	War Thunder Fulfills Your Wishes!
Pilot reward	▂P-63C-5
Tanker reward	VK 45.01 (P)
2014	Holiday War Thunder Marathon!
Pilot reward	I-301
Tanker reward	M8A1 GMC