Nakajima Ki-43

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakajima_Ki-43

The Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa (?, "Peregrine Falcon", "Army Type 1 Fighter"
(?????)) was a single-engine land-based tactical fighter used by the Imperial
Japanese Army Air Force in World War II.

The Allied reporting name was "Oscar", but it was often called the "Army Zero"
by American pilots because it bore a certain resemblance to the Mitsubishi A6M
Zero, the Imperial Japanese Navy's counterpart to the Ki-43. Both aircraft had
generally similar layout and lines, and also used essentially the same Nakajima
Sakae radial engine, with similar round cowlings and bubble-type canopies (the
Oscar's being distinctly smaller and having much less framing than the A6M).
While relatively easy for a trained eye to tell apart with the "finer" lines of
the Ki-43's fuselage — especially towards the tail — and more tapered wing
planform; in the heat of battle, given the brief glimpses and distraction of
combat, Allied aviators frequently made mistakes in enemy aircraft
identification in the heat of a dogfight, reportedly having fought "Zeros" in
areas where there were no Navy fighters.

Like the Mitsubishi-produced A6M Zero, the radial-engined Ki-43 was light and
easy to fly and became legendary for its combat performance in East Asia in the
early years of the war. It could outmaneuver any opponent, but did not have
armor or self-sealing tanks, and its armament was poor until its final version,
which was produced as late as 1945. Allied pilots often reported that the nimble
Ki-43s were difficult targets but burned easily or broke apart with few hits. In
spite of its drawbacks, the Ki-43 shot down more Allied aircraft than any other
Japanese fighter and almost all the JAAF's aces achieved most of their kills in
it.

Total production amounted to 5,919 aircraft. Many of these were used during the
last months of the war for kamikaze missions against the American fleet.

Prototypes for the Ki-43-II flew in February 1942. The Ha-25 engine was upgraded
with the 2-stage supercharger, thus becoming the more powerful Nakajima Ha-115
engine, which was installed in a longer-chord cowling. The new engine turned a
three-bladed propeller. The wing structure, which had suffered failures in the
Ki-43-I, was strengthened and equipped with racks for drop tanks or bombs. The
Ki-43-II was also fitted with 13 mm armor plate for the pilot's head and back,
and the aircraft's fuel tanks were coated in rubber to form a crude self-sealing
tank. This was later replaced by a 3-layer rubber bladder, 8mm core
construction; with 2mm oil-proof lamination. The bladder proved to be highly
resistant against 7.7mm bullets, but was not as effective against larger
calibers. The pilot also enjoyed a slightly taller canopy and a reflector
gunsight in place of the earlier telescopic gunsight. Nakajima commenced
production of the Ki-43-II at its Ota factory in November 1942. Production was
also started at the Tachikawa Hikoki KK and the 1st Army Air Arsenal (Tachikawa
Dai-Ichi Rikugun Kokusho), also at Tachikawa. Although Tachikawa Hikoki
successfully managed to enter into large-scale production of the Ki-43, the 1st
Army Air Arsenal was less successful – hampered by a shortage of skilled
workers, it was ordered to stop production after 49 Ki-43s were built. Nakajima
eventually ceased production in mid-1944 in favor of the Ki-84 Hayate, but the
Tachikawa Hikoki continued to produce the Ki-43.

Tachikawa also produced the Ki-43-III, which utilized the more powerful Nakajima
Army Type 1 Ha-115-II engine. Maximum speed increased to 576 km/h (358 mph).
Tachikawa produced 2124 Ki-43-II and -III aircraft between April 1944 and the
end of the war. Total production of all versions amounted to 5,919 aircraft.


Role
Fighter aircraft

Manufacturer
Nakajima Aircraft Company

Designer
Hideo Itokawa

First flight
Early January 1939

Introduction
October 1941

Retired

1945 (Japan)
1952 (China)


Primary users
Imperial Japanese Army Air Force

Royal Thai Air Force
Manchukuo Air Force


Produced
1939–1945

Number built
5,919

The Ki-43 was the most widely used Army fighter, and equipped 30 sentai
FR,(flight regiment) and 12 chutais IS,(independent squadrons). The first unit
equipped with the Ki 43-I was the 59th FR at Hankow Airfield, during June–August
1941 and began operational sorties over Hengyang on 29 October 1941. The second
unit to re-equip with the new Aircraft was the 64th FR, from August to November
1941.

The first version, Ki-43-I, entered service in 1941, the Ki-43-II in December
1942, the Ki-43-II-Kai in June 1943, and the Ki-43-IIIa in summer 1944. The
aircraft fought in China, Burma, the Malay Peninsula, New Guinea, the
Philippines, South Pacific islands and the Japanese home islands.

Like the Zero, the Ki-43 initially enjoyed air superiority in the skies of
Malaya, Netherlands East Indies, Burma and New Guinea. This was partly due to
the better performance of the Oscar and partly due to the relatively small
numbers of combat-ready Allied fighters, mostly the Curtiss P-36 Hawk, Curtiss
P-40, Brewster Buffalo, Hawker Hurricane and Curtiss-Wright CW-21 in Asia and
the Pacific during the first months of the war. As the war progressed, however,
the fighter suffered from the same weaknesses as the slower, fixed-gear Ki-27
"Nate" predecessor to the Oscar, and the more advanced naval A6M Zero; light
armor and less-than-effective self-sealing fuel tanks, which caused high
casualties in combat. Its armament of two machine guns also proved inadequate
against the more heavily armored Allied aircraft. As newer Allied aircraft were
introduced, such as the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, Lockheed P-38 Lightning,
North American P-51 Mustang, Vought F4U Corsair, Grumman F6F Hellcat and
late-model Supermarine Spitfire/Seafire, the Japanese were forced into a
defensive war and most aircraft were flown by inexperienced pilots. However,
even near the end, the Oscar's excellent maneuverability could still gain
advantage over rash Allied pilots.

Hayabusas were well liked in the JAAF because of the pleasant flight
characteristics and excellent maneuverability, and almost all JAAF fighter aces
claimed victories with Hayabusa in some part of their career. At the end of the
war, most Hayabusa units received Ki-84 Hayate "Frank" fighters, but some units
flew the Hayabusa to the end of the war. The top-scoring Hayabusa pilot was
Sergeant Satoshi Anabuki with 39 confirmed victories, almost all scored with the
Ki-43.

Specifications (Ki-43-IIb)

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 8.92 m (29 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 10.84 m (35 ft 7 in)
Height: 3.27 m (10 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 21.4 m2 (230 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: NN-12 mod. (18%); tip: NN-12 mod. (8%)
Empty weight: 1,910 kg (4,211 lb)
Gross weight: 2,590 kg (5,710 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 2,925 kg (6,449 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Nakajima Ha-33 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 970
kW (1,300 hp) for take-off
895 kW (1,200 hp) at 3,000 m (9,843 ft)820 kW (1,100 hp) at 6,200 m (20,341
ft)Propellers: 3-bladed metal constant-speed propeller

Performance
Maximum speed: 530 km/h (330 mph, 290 kn) at 4,000 m (13,123 ft)
Cruise speed: 440 km/h (270 mph, 240 kn)
Range: 1,760 km (1,090 mi, 950 nmi)
Ferry range: 3,200 km (2,000 mi, 1,700 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,200 m (36,700 ft)
Time to altitude: 5,000 m (16,404 ft) in 5 minutes 49 seconds
Wing loading: 121 kg/m2 (25 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass: 0.33 kW/kg (0.20 hp/lb)

Armament

Guns:
Ki-43-Ia: 2x 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 89 machine guns
Ki-43-Ib: 1x 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 89 machine gun + 1x 12.7 mm (0.500 in) Type
1 machine gun (Ho-103)
Ki-43-Ic, IIa, IIb, II Kai and IIIa: 2x 12.7 mm (0.500 in) Type 1 machine guns
(Ho-103) in the forward fuselage with 270 rpg
Ki-43-IIIb: 2x 20 mm (0.787 in) Ho-5 cannon

Bombs:
Ki-43-I: 2 × 15 kg (33 lb) bombs
Ki-43-II and III: 2 × 30 kg (66 lb) bombs or 2 × 250 kg (550 lb) bombs
optional - 2x 200 l (53 US gal; 44 imp gal) drop-tanks (all versions)



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