User blog comment:Leader1623/Best singled engined bombers of WWII/@comment-27015223-20151105221401/@comment-12494172-20151106002122

Rth. There is something called skin thickness which is vital to a dive bomber for it to survive it's own dive. The B7A2 can mount both if provided. A zero is the best turn fighting carrier based monoplane from the 2nd world war. It does not take skill for the Zero to out turn a hellcat. Now coming back to skin thickness, the B7A2, being a mix between a dive bomber and a torpedo bomber, has quite naturally good skin thickness to survive flak like all late war Japanese aircraft. Oddly enough it was quite maneuverable and BESTED A ZERO in a DOGFIGHT, presumably without it's dumb munitions load out.

Simple logic: more speed --> greater skin thickness

High dive speed --> greater skin thickness

Dive bomber dives --> requires greater skin thickness and structural durability against G forces and flak

The late war aircraft of Japan were more maneuverable, slower and ranged from marginally less, to equal to more durable than opposing American aircraft.

But they are not dedicated aircraft for those roles and likewise suffer in combat capability versus aircraft designed for that particular role.