The first prototype flew in January 1937 and was ordered into production soon afterwards with the full designation Type 97 Carrier Attack Bomber (kyū-nana-shiki kanjō kōgeki-ki or kankō for short 九七式艦上攻撃機).
Prvi prototip je poletio u siječnju 1937. godine i ubrzo nakon toga je naručena proizvodnja istoga pod novim nazivom Type 97 Carrier Attack Bomber (kanjō kōgekiki ili skraćeno kankō 九七式艦上攻撃機).