POWER PLANT: One Nakajima Ha-35 radial engine, rated at 1,150 hp
PERFORMANCE: 342 mph at 9,185 ft
COMMENT: In January 1945, the Japanese Army instructed Nakajima to build a specially designed suicide attack aircraft. This was to be easy to build, maintain and fly, and provision had to be made in its design to carry a single bomb. Power was to be supplied by any air-cooled radial engine with a rating of 800 to 1,300 hp. Maximum speed was specified at 211 mph with the undercarriage in position and 320 mph after jettisoning.
The first prototype was completed in March 1945 and flight tests began immediately. As could be expected from such a crash program, the results were disappointing and several modifications were required before handing the aircraft to pilots with limited experience. Provision was made on the 104 production aircraft for two solid-fuel rockets under each wing to boost the aircraft’s speed in its final dive. None of these aircraft became operational before the war ended. (Ref 1.)
TYPE: Twin-engined heavy fighter and ground attack aircraft
ACCOMMODATION: Crew of two
POWE PLANT: Two Mitsubishi Ha-214 radials, rated at 2,400 hp each
PERFORMANCE: 388 mph at 27,230 ft
COMMENT: The Rikugun Ki-93 was the last heavy fighter and ground-attack aircraft built in Japan during WW II and was the only design of the Rikugun Kogugijutsu Kenkyujo (Army Aerotechnical Research Institute) to be flown. Powered by two 2,400 hp Mitsubishi Ha-214 air-cooled radials driving six-blade propellers, the aircraft was designed specially to carry large caliber cannon in its under-fuselage gondola. Thus the Ki-93 was designed to perform as a high-altitude heavy bomber destroyer as well as a low-altitude anti-shipping aircraft. In its bomber destroyer form (Ki-93-Ia ) the aircraft carried offensive armament comprising one 57 mm Ho-401 cannon and two 20 mm Ho-5 cannon, while for the anti-shipping missions its offensive armament comprised one 75 mm Type 88 cannon and two 250 kg bombs (Ki-93-Ib).
Production of the Ki-93 was entrusted to the Dai-Ichi Rikugun Kokusho (First Army Air Arsenal) at Tachikawa and the first prototype was completed and flown in April 1945. A second prototype, the Ki-93-Ib in ground attack configuration, was completed but not flown before the end of the hostilities. (Ref.: 1)
POWER PLANT: Nakajima Ha-45 engine, rated at 1,990hp
PERFORMANCE: 392 mph at 20,080 ft
COMMENT: In June 1943 some of the first Nakajima Ki-84-Ia Hayate of a service trials batch of 83 machines were handed over to the Tachikawa Army Air Arsenal for service tests. During flight trials the Ki-84 reached a top speed of 388 mph, climbed to 16,405 ft in 6 min 26 sec and reached a service ceiling of 40,680 ft, thus demonstrating the best performance of any Japanese aircraft suitable for immediate production. A second pre-production batch of 42 Ki-84s was built in April 1944 and in the following months more and more aircraft were delivered to several Sentai. In combat it became obvious that the Ki-84 was a formidable foe , comparing favourably with the best Allied fighters. (Ref.: 1)
POWER PLANT: One Nakajima Ha-45 engine, rated at 1,999 hp
PERFORMANCE: 392 mph at 20,080 ft
COMMENT: Undoubtedly the best Japanese fighter aircraft to see large-scale operation during the last years of war in the Pacific Area, was well protected, well armed, fast and manoeuvrable. The Ki-43 Hayabusas were just starting to fire their guns in anger when Nakajima was instructed to design their replacement. The specification called for an all-purpose, long-range fighter with high speed and capable of operating at combat rating for 1.5 hours. Design work was initiated in early 1942 and in March 1943 the first prototype was completed. Flight test began in April 1043 and after success under operational conditions the mass production of the aircraft war started as Army Type 4 Fighter Model 1A Hayate, or Ki-84-Ia. A total of 3,514 Ki-84s and derivatives were built, of which were 3,288 Ki-84-I and Nakajima Ki-84-II production aircraft as well as 3 Tachikawa Ki-106 prototypes, a wooden version of the Ki-84 Hayate. (Ref.: 1)
POWER PLANT: Mitsubishi Ha-104 radial engine, rated at 1,900 hp
PERFORMANCE: 360 mph at 19,685 ft
COMMENT: The Kawasaki Ki-119 was a design for a single-engine light bomber that would have been used in the defense of the Japanese homeland. Earlier Japanese bombers had been designed to operate over long distances, either in China or over the Pacific, but by the start of 1945 it was clear that the Japanese army might soon be fighting on home soil. This meant that a short range single-engine bomber would be possible, saving on the limited supply of both engines and trained air crew.
In March 1945 the Army Air Force issued Kawasaki with orders to produce a single seat bomber that could carry 1,764lb of bombs to targets 373 miles from its base, armed with two 20mm cannon and powered by one 1,900 hp Army Type 4 radial engine. Unlike many new aircraft being developed in Japan in 1945 the Ki-119 was not designed to be used in suicide attacks.
Takeo Doi and his team produced a design and a mock-up in three months. The fuselage was based on that of the Kawasaki Ki 100 radial-engine fighter. The aircraft was made as easy to fly as possible – a wide track undercarriage with good shock absorbers was chose to make the aircraft easy to handle on the ground, and large wings with a high aspect-ratio were designed, to make it easy to handle in the air. The aircraft was designed to carry three different sets of armament. In its basic light bomber role it was to be armed with two 20mm cannon and one 1,764lb bomb. It could also serve as a fighter escort, with no bombers but two extra 20mm cannons, or as a dive bomber with two 551lb bombs.
The impressively rapid development of the Ki-119 came to a halt in June 1945 when the detailed drawings were destroyed when American air raids damaged Kawasaki’s factory at Kagamigahara. This pushed back the expected delivery date for the prototype from September until November, with production expected in time for the new aircraft to take part in the fighting of 1946. The unexpectedly sudden end to the war meant that the prototype was never completed (Ref.: 24).
Kawasaki Ki-119
Kawasaki Ki-119
Kawasaki Ki-119
Kawasaki Ki-119
Kawasaki Ki-119
Kawasaki Ki-119
Kawasaki Ki-119
Kawasaki Ki-119
Kawasaki Ki-119
Kawasaki Ki-119
Kawasaki Ki-119
Kawasaki Ki-119
Kawasaki Ki-119
Scale 1:72 aircraft models of World War II
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