
The D3a Val was the Japanese main dive bomber of the war. The carrier-based
aircraft had a major role in the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941,
and in the subsequent Japanese carrier operations in the Pacific and Indian
Ocean. The Val was the latest in a long line of Aichi dive bombers based
on the German Heinkel (He.111) designs. Up to 882lbs of bombs could be
carried externally and the Val had two forward-firing 7.7mm machine guns.
