The Kawasaki Ki-100 was a late war radial engined development of the Kawasaki Ki-61.
History[]
The idea of adjusting the airframe to take a radial engine was initially suggested during September 1944 by Major Isaku Imagawa, the commander of the IJAAF's Air Evaluation Department, due to increasing problems with the original in-line engine.
275 Ki-100s were modified from Ki-61s as an emergency measure to accept a 14-cylinder Mitsubishi Ha-112-II radial engine in place of the original Kawasaki Ha-40 inverted V-12 inline engine which resulted in one of the best interceptors used by the Army during the war. It combined excellent power and maneuverability,[4] and from the first operational missions in March 1945 until the end of the war, it performed better than most IJAAF fighters[5] against both United States Army Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers and North American P-51 Mustang fighters as well as U.S. Navy Grumman F6F Hellcat carrier fighters.[5]
A newly built variant, the Ki-100-Ib, was produced with a cut down rear fuselage during the last months of the war which equipped five home defence sentai. High-altitude performance was further improved with the final variant, the Ki-100-II, however only three of these were produced before the war ended and this final variant never saw operational service.
The sole surviving example, Kawasaki Ki-100-1b s/n 8476M, was captured at Tân Sơn Nhứt Airfield, Saigon, in August 1945 in airworthy condition, having only recently been delivered. However it was damaged there on 26 Nov 1945 during a wheels-up landing, after the undercarriage failed to lower for an attempted landing at Biên Hòa airfield, 15 miles away; it was being ferried there by a Japanese pilot for flight tests. The oil cooler, propeller, and tailwheel were repaired but not returned to complete airworthy condition; it was later shipped to the United Kingdom along with three other Japanese aircraft including a Mitsubishi A6M Zero (Zeke) fuselage, a Mitsubishi Ki-46 (Dinah) and a Nippon Kokusai Ki-86 (Cyprus).[6] After years of being in storage in various locations, and being misidentified as a Nakajima Ki-43 (Oscar), it was restored and is now on display at the RAF Museum in Cosford, United Kingdom.[7]
Notes[]
References[]
- ↑ Warbird Resorce Group Ki-100
- ↑ Francillon, René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam, 2nd edition, 1979. ISBN 0-370-30251-6., p.134
- ↑ The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage (David Lednicer)
- ↑ Ethell, Jeffrey L. Aircraft of World War II. Glasgow, Collins Jane's, 1995. ISBN 0-00-470849-0., p.83
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Picarella, Giuseppe. "Database: Kawasaki Ki-100. Article, scale drawings and cutaway." Aeroplane, Volume 33, No 11, Issue No 391, November 2005. London: IPC Media Ltd.
- ↑ Individual history Kawasaki Ki-100-1b BAPC.83/8476M Museum accession number 85/AF/68 (Andrew Simpson)
- ↑ Wikipedia entry