 Nyorera kupfuurira kweiyi ndima - D3A1 yakatanga kuona basa rekurwa munaNovember 1939, mwedzi mumwe pamberi pekugamuchirwa kwayo zviri pamutemo seMvura Type 99 yekudonha bhomba. Nakajima akatumira mienzaniso inoverengeka ku14th Air group inoshanda paHaikou pachitsuwa cheHainan muSouth China. Aya maD3A1 aitungamirirwa naLieutenant Sadamu Takahashi uye akatsigira Imperial Japanese Army mukutora Nanning, iyo yaive nechinangwa chekugadzirisa zvinopihwa zvinobva kuFrench Indochina. Pashure pokubatwa kweNanning, vakaramba vachishandiswa munharaunda yacho muna 1940. Muna May 1940, 12th Air Group yakava boka rechipiri romutsara wokutanga rakagadzirirwa neD3A1 dive bombers itsva. Ivo vakatanga kutora chikamu mukutora Yichang uye vakaita anti-kutumira mashandiro paRwizi Yangtze, kumadokero kweYichang, kuitira kuti vadimbure zvinopihwa zveChinese zvinobva kuChongqing. Muna September, D3A1 kubva ku12th Air Group yakatanga kubhururuka mishoni pamusoro peChongqing, iro rakanga riri guta guru reChina panguva iyoyo. Mushure mokupinda muIndochina mumatsutso a1940, 14th Air Group yakashanda muHanoi uye yakabhururuka mishoni kurwisa Kunming neBurma Road. 