In December 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy commissioned the Kawanishi aircraft Compagny to build a prototype for what tentatively called '' Local Interceptor No.1 '' Specs called for the prototype to be a convesion from Kawanishi`s Kyofu seaplane fighter. The prototype mounted with the new Nakajima '' Homarc '' engine, first flew on December 31, 1942. In subsequent prototype orders, the aircraft became known as the Shiden (George). The mid-fuselage wing root design of the orginal Shiden made for very long main landing gear legs and a structurally complicated two-stage gear retration process. Noteworthly design legacies from the Kyofu were the combat flaps the Shiden inherited from its seaplane fighter predecessor. The flaps were capable of providing considerable lift to the airframe during dogfights. Fixed armament for the Shiden Type 11 (N1Ki-jb) of four Type 99 Model 2 20mm machine guns were housed within the main wings, and two 250kg bombs could be carried, one each wing.
Drie uitvoeringen mogelijk:
- 210nd Flying Group, Tokashima detachment, Tokushima AB, laat 1944
- Yatable Flying Group, Tsukuba AB, Februari 1945
- Genzan Flying Group, korea Genzan (Wonsan)AB, begin 1945
