TYPE: Interceptor fighter

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Nakajima Ha-45-21 radial engine, rated at 1,990 hp

PERFORMANCE: 385 mph at 21.325 ft

COMMENT: Although the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate was one of the most successful Japanese aircraft a modified version seemed to be necessary due to the increasingly critical light alloy supply situation as the war progressed. In late 1943 Tachikawa Hikoki K.K. were entrusted by the Ministry of Munitions with the task of designing an all-wood version of the Ki-84. Work on three airframes, designated Ki-106, began in autumn 1944, but various factors delayed the programme and the first of these prototypes was not to be completed and flown until July 1945. The Ki-106 was heavier than the standard Ki-84 what exerted an adverse effect on maneuverability and climb rate, but maximum level speed was virtually unchanged. The end of the war brought the Ki-106 project to a halt. (Ref.: 1., 6.)