J6K1

Description

The ' is a gift rank Japanese fighter with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). 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.

Survivability and armour

• 8 mm steel plate behind the pilot
• Self-sealing fuel tanks (1 underneath pilot, 1 behind previously mentioned fuel tank, 1 in each wing)

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

Modifications and economics

Crew training

Experts

Aces

Research Aces

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

/ /  %

/ /  %

Modifications

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 can be thought of as a slightly heavier N1K2. This means your climb rate and turn rate have been nerfed somewhat. In the beginning of each battle you will need to sideclimb as the J6K's added weight makes the climb rate rather subpar against many of your opponents. 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.

When turnfighting, you should stay at around 400 km/h. Above this speed and your control surfaces will stiffen, while going below the speed will cause weight of the J6K to drag you down. Remember to pop your flaps out whenever turning. In many cases, the J6K is like a N1K2 with more guns and a better engine, with slightly worse climb and flaps.

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. If there is no way you can escape, head-on the Bearcat and pull off at around 1.1 km. Try to start a turnfight with the enemy. Your superior turn time and slightly better manuvering energy retention will allow you to eventually bleed the Bearcat's speed and light him up. However, under no circumstance should you go vertical with the Bearcat unless you have superior energy.
• 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

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 13 mm		7 in (mod20)
II		Compressor	Airframe		Offensive 20 mm
III	Wings repair	Engine		New 13 mm MGs		12 in (mod30)
IV		Engine injection	Cover		New 20 mm cannons
This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase

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

The Kawanishi J6K Jinpu was a land-based interceptor fighter design finalized by the Kawanishi Aircraft Company in 1944. It was an improved version of the earlier discontinued Kawanishi J3K using a more powerful engine, the Nakajima Homare 42 radial engine, rather than the Mitsubishi MK9B.

J3K

In early 1942, Kawanishi and its engineers were developing their first ever land-based fighter out of their own volition (which would later be known as the N1K-J Shiden (Kai)). At the same time, the Navy approached Kawanishi with the 17-Shi Fighter Plane plan. Instead of using their own N1K design for the contract, they decided to design a new land-based fighter from scratch instead.

While developing the plane, Kawanishi insisted on using the Nakajima Homare engine instead of the Mitsubishi Ha-43-21 (MK9) that the Navy demanded for (this wasn't the first time they would defy the Navy's orders as the same happend during the development of the N1K1). Kawanashi's reasoning was mainly production-related however as their own Homare engine was still in development and building an airframe without a complete engine would be stagnant.

Because of this and the already in development N1K-J Shiden (Kai), Kawanishi opted to cancel the J3K project and with that the 17-shi in early 1943.

J6K

After the J3K, the Nakajima NK9A Homare 42 was fully developed and Kawanishi restarted the designing of the J3K, now under the designation of J6K Jinpu.

(Other J-designations went to: J3K, J4M Senden, J5N Tenrai).

In June of 1944 a design was fully drawn up and ready to be put up to the test and a first airframe was to be built. There were 3 possible armaments for the plane which would be:

• 2 x 13.2 mm machine guns (nose), 4 x 20 mm cannons (wings)
• 2 x 13.2 mm machine guns (nose), 2 x 30 mm cannons (wings)
• 6 x 20 mm cannons (wings)

While a mock-up was being built, their homebrew of the N1K-J Shiden within the Navy was successfully causing havoc among the Americans, reducing the need for the new aircraft.

During a private-venture meeting in May 1945, just before the end of the war, there would be plans to reconsider the plane for a high-altitude role, but these plans would be the last nail to the coffin, as there were plans to improve the A7M for this role instead.

Media

• 

  Standard camouflage

• 

  Experimental orange camouflage earned by getting 11x pilot stars in 2019 "Operation F.R.O.S.T."

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