Land and carrier kokutai used different compositions

The numbering system can make a kokutai look like a squadron, but its composition depended heavily on where it served. Land-based kokutai were often standardized around a particular role, whereas a carrier kokutai mixed the aircraft types needed by its ship and could be known by the carrier's name. The comparison is a type-specific bombing wing beside a mixed carrier air wing. In Japanese orders of battle, organizations at the same formal level may therefore contain very different aircraft and perform different tasks.