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Originally Posted by LukeFF
On the subject of Japanese air patrols, I recall reading in a book about the Bowfin how the Japanese had fitted radar to some of their planes late in the war. If so, when did this happen and how effective was it?
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Here's one example. The Kyūshū Q1W Tokai ( "Eastern Sea"), was a land-based anti-submarine patrol bomber aircraft with radar developed for the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. The Allied code name was Lorna.
The design may have been derived from the German Junkers Ju 88 medium bomber, the Japanese Navy having received some examples for technical evaluation during the war. The radar antennae were located on the back fuselage near the tail.
The IJN ordered development as the Tokai in September 1942, and the first test flight took place in September 1943. It finally entered service in January 1945. The Q1W carried two low-power engines, allowing for long periods of low-speed flight, and was the first purpose-designed anti-submarine warfare aircraft in the world. Due to lack of resources some models were constructed solely of wood. Given their rather low production rate and how briefly they were in service not much is know about how effective these planes were.
