Editing Aichi D3A (section)

==Operational history==
An individual D3A dive bomber was commanded by the senior ranking crew member aboard, which could be the observer rather than the pilot.{{sfn|Tagaya|2011}} This was in contrast to [[US Navy]], where the pilot was almost always the commander of a dive bomber. For example, [[Petty Officer First Class]] [[Kiyoto Furuta]] was serving as a pilot to [[Lieutenant (navy)|Lieutenant]] Takehiko Chihaya during the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor]],{{sfn|Tagaya|2011}} and later on to Lieutenant [[Keiichi Arima]] during the two carrier battles of the [[Solomon Islands campaign]],{{sfn|Lundstrom|2005b|}} both of whom were observers.

The D3A1 first saw combat operation in November 1939, one month prior to its official acceptance as the Navy Type 99 dive bomber. Nakajima sent several examples to the 14th Air group operating at [[Haikou]] on [[Hainan]] island in [[South China]]. These D3A1s were commanded by [[Lieutenant (navy)|Lieutenant]] [[Sadamu Takahashi]] and supported the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] in the [[Battle of South Guangxi|capture of Nanning]], which was intended to cut the supplies coming from [[French Indochina]]. After the capture of [[Nanning]], they continued to be operated in the area in 1940. In May 1940, [[12th Air Group]] became the second front-line unit to be equipped with the new D3A1 dive bombers. They first participated in the [[Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang|capture of Yichang]] and conducted anti-shipping operations on [[Yangtze]] river, west of [[Yichang]], in order to cut the Chinese supplies coming from [[Chongqing]]. In September, D3A1 from the 12th Air Group started to fly [[Bombing of Chongqing|missions against Chongqing]], which was the Chinese capital at the time. After the [[Japanese invasion of French Indochina|invasion of Indochina]] in autumn 1940, 14th Air Group operated at [[Hanoi]] and flew missions against [[Kunming]] and [[Burma Road]].{{sfn|Tagaya|2011}}

The D3A1 commenced carrier qualification trials aboard the [[aircraft carrier]]s {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Akagi||2}} and {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Kaga||2}} during 1940, while a small number of aircraft made their combat debut from land bases over [[Second Sino-Japanese War|China]].{{sfn|Air International|1987|p=289}} Starting with the attack on Pearl Harbor, the D3A1 took part in all major Japanese carrier operations in the first 10 months of the war. They achieved their first major success against the [[Royal Navy]] during their [[Indian Ocean raid]] in April 1942. D3A1 dive bombers scored over 80% hits{{sfn|Francillon|1979|p=274}} with their bombs during attacks on two [[heavy cruisers]] and an aircraft carrier during the operation.

Before the Indian Ocean raid, the established doctrine regarding attacks against ships was to arm all D3A1 dive bombers with semi-AP bombs. On 5 April 1942, an IJN carrier force attacked [[Colombo]] on [[Ceylon]] with half of its complement, while the other half was kept in reserve for strikes against ships. Since a second strike against Colombo was deemed necessary, the dive bombers of the reserve force were rearmed from semi-AP bombs to land bombs. When British heavy cruisers were spotted soon afterwards, the reserve force was sent with a portion of D3A1 dive bombers armed with land bombs. In the subsequent attack, land bombs unintentionally proved very effective in suppressing the [[anti-aircraft fire]] from the ships. As a result, the doctrine was modified in order to intentionally equip the first few D3A1 dive bombers with land bombs. This new method was already implemented for the attack that sank {{HMS|Hermes|95|6}} just four days later, and continued to be used from then on.{{sfn|Tagaya|2011}}

During 1942, dive bombing attacks by carrier-based D3A1 and D3A2 bombers significantly contributed to sinking of three US fleet carriers: [[USS Lexington (CV-2)|''Lexington'']] at the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]], [[USS Yorktown (CV-5)|''Yorktown'']] at the [[Battle of Midway]] and [[USS Hornet (CV-8)|''Hornet'']] at the [[Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands]]. In addition, they damaged the carrier [[USS Enterprise (CV-6)|''Enterprise'']] both at the [[Battle of the Eastern Solomons]] and at the [[Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands]].{{sfn|Lundstrom|2005a|}}{{sfn|Lundstrom|2005b|}} Besides carrier-based units, D3A dive bombers also operated from land bases during the Solomon Islands campaign, where they participated in the [[Guadalcanal Campaign]], [[Operation I-Go]], [[Operation SE]] and Operation RO, and during the [[New Guinea campaign]], where they participated in the [[Battle of Milne Bay]] and [[Battle of Buna–Gona]]. The main land-based unit to operate D3A dive bombers during these campaigns and battles was the [[2nd Air Group|2nd/582nd Air Group]].{{sfn|Lundstrom|2005b|}}{{sfn|江間|1991}}{{sfn|Hata|Izawa|Shores|2011}}

During the course of the war, D3A dive bombers often combined their attacks upon enemy warships with the IJN [[Nakajima B5N]] ''Kate'' torpedo bomber; consequently enemy vessels were often sunk by a combination strike of bombs and torpedoes. However, there were occasions when just the D3A's would make the attacks, or at least score the sinking hits. Discounting the Pearl Harbor strike, which also used the B5N for level bombing and torpedo attacks, D3A dive bombers were credited with sinking the following Allied warships (partial list):{{sfn|Brown|1990|pp=60–125}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stuart |first=Robert |date=2006 |title=Leonard Birchall and the Japanese Raid on Colombo |url=http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vo7/no4/stuart-eng.asp |website=Canadian Military Journal}}</ref>
* {{USS|Peary|DD-226|6}}, American destroyer, [[Bombing of Darwin|19 February 1942]] – Australia ([[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]]){{sfn|Roscoe|1953|p=96}}
* {{USS|Pope|DD-225|6}}, American destroyer, 1 March 1942 – [[Java Sea]]
* {{USS|Edsall|DD-219|6}}, American destroyer, 1 March 1942- [[Indian Ocean]]
* {{USS|Pecos|AO-6|6}}, American oiler, 1 March 1942- Indian Ocean
* {{HMS|Cornwall|56|6}}, British heavy cruiser, 5 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
* {{HMS|Dorsetshire|40|6}}, British heavy cruiser, 5 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
* {{HMS|Hector|F45|6}}, British armed  merchant cruiser, 5 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
* {{HMS|Tenedos|H04|6}}, British destroyer, 5 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
* {{HMS|Hermes|95|6}}, British aircraft carrier, 9 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
* [[Royal Fleet Auxiliary|RFA]] ''Athelstone,'' British freighter, 9 April 1942 - Indian Ocean
* [[HMS Hollyhock (K64)|HMS ''Hollyhock'']]'','' British corvette, 9 April 1942 - Indian Ocean
* [[SS British Sergeant|SS ''British Sergeant'']], British Tanker, 9 April 1942 - Indian Ocean
* [[Royal Norwegian Navy|SS]] ''Norviken,'' Norwegian Cargo Ship, 9 April 1942 - Indian Ocean
* {{HMAS|Vampire|D68|6}}, Australian destroyer, 9 April 1942 – Indian Ocean
* {{USS|Sims|DD-409|6}}, American destroyer, 7 May 1942 – Pacific Ocean
* {{USS|De Haven|DD-469|6}}, American destroyer, 1 February 1943 – Pacific Ocean ([[Ironbottom Sound]])
* {{USS|Aaron Ward|DD-483|6}}, American destroyer, 7 April 1943 – Pacific Ocean (Ironbottom Sound)
* {{USS|Kanawha|AO-1|6}}, American oiler, 8 April 1943 – Pacific Ocean (Tulagi, Solomon Islands)
* {{USS|Brownson|DD-518|6}}, American destroyer, 26 December 1943 – Pacific Ocean{{sfn|Parkin|1995|p=198}}
* {{USS|Abner Read|DD-526|6}}, American destroyer, sunk by kamikaze 1 November 1944 – Pacific Ocean{{sfn|Parkin|1995|p=251}}
* {{USS|William D. Porter|DD-579|6}}, American destroyer, sunk by kamikaze 10 June 1945 – Japan ([[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]])

As the war progressed, there were instances when the dive bombers were pressed into duty as [[Fighter aircraft|fighter]]s in the [[Interceptor aircraft|interceptor]] role, their maneuverability being enough to allow them to survive in this role.{{sfn|Francillon|1969|p=25}} When the [[Yokosuka D4Y]] ''Suisei'' became available, the D3A2s ended up with land-based units or operating from the smaller carriers, which were too small to handle the fast-landing ''Suisei''. When American forces recaptured the [[Philippine Islands|Philippines]] in 1944, land-based D3A2s took part in the fighting but were hopelessly outdated and losses were heavy. By then, many D3A1s and D3A2s were operated by training units in Japan, and several were modified with dual controls as Navy '''Type 99 Bomber Trainer Model 12'''s (D3A2-K). During the last year of the war, the D3A2s were pressed back into combat for ''[[kamikaze]]'' missions.{{sfn|Air International|1987|p=209}}