It was designed by the Naval Air Technical Arsenal at Yokosuka, and while unimpressive during testing, it was ordered into service by the Imperial Japanese Navy and used until replaced by more capable aircraft.

It was powered by a single Hiro Type 91 W engine rated at 450 kW (600 hp).

[2] Testing proved that the aircraft had poor stability and control, and that the engine was unreliable.

The competing Mitsubishi and Nakajima aircraft were even less successful however, and after modifications made by Tokuichiro Gomei of Aichi Kokuki, the aircraft was accepted by the Navy in August 1933 as the Kugisho Navy Type 92 Carrier Attack Bomber, with a short designation of B3Y1, with production by Aichi, Watanabe and the Hiro Naval Arsenal, 129 being produced by the time that production finished in 1936.

It served operationally in the early part of the Second Sino-Japanese War,[3][4] gaining a good reputation for accurate level bombing against small targets.