The Aichi D3A 'Val' was Japan's principal naval dive bomber when World War II began and along with the Zero and the 'Kate' formed the deadly backbone of Japan's carrier might. At first glance the D3A appeared obsolescent mainly due to its prominent fixed landing gear but, as the US would soon find out, they would be terribly effective helping damage or destroy 8 battleships during the Pearl Harbor attack alone; 'Vals' would eventually be credited with sinking more Allied ships than any other Axis aircraft, among their most famous victims would be the HMS Hermes (the first carrier sunk by aircraft) and the USS Yorktown and USS Hornet. Highly maneuverable to the point that it was even an effective dogfighter after dropping its bombs, the D3A would also be credited with an 80-82% hit rate in the early Pacific campaigns, not bad at all for an aircraft considered outdated by its rivals but success would dwindle considerably once the Allies had achieved air supriority and skilled pilots became scarce. Like most other Japanese aircraft, the 'Val' ended up being used for kamikaze strikes during the final year of conflict.

Based on a number of Heinkel designs, the first D3A prototype flew in August 1936 and entered production one year later as the D3A1 with an improved Mitsubishi Kinsei 43 or 44 engine. The D3A2 featured increased fuel capacity and an upgraded Kinsei 54 engine and would account for the grand majority of production units thanks to a manufacturing run which lasted until 1944. Converted two-seat trainer versions were designated D3A1-K and D3A2-K which corresponded to their combat variants.