Nakajima Aircraft Company

The Nakajima Aircraft Company (中島飛行機株式会社, Nakajima Hikōki Kabushiki Kaisha) was a prominent Japanese aircraft manufacturer and aviation engine manufacturer throughout World War II.

In 1919, the two founders split and Nakajima bought out Nihon Aircraft's factory with tacit help from the Imperial Japanese Army.

This had a severe impact on Nakajima as one of the two largest aircraft manufacturers in Japan; the second was Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI).

Unlike MHI, Nakajima did not diversify into shipbuilding and general machinery, and so was forced to dissolve into a number of spin-off companies set up by its former managers, engineers, and workers.

As a result, leading aeronautical engineers from the company, such as Ryoichi Nakagawa, helped transform Japan's automobile industry.