Nakajima Ki-44

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakajima_Ki-44

The Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki (Zhong Kui) was a single-engine fighter aircraft used
by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in World War II. The type first flew in
August 1940 and entered service in 1942. The Allied reporting name was "Tojo";
the Japanese Army designation was "Army Type 2 Single-Seat Fighter".

It was less maneuverable than its predecessor, the nimble Ki-43, and pilots
disliked its poor visibility on the ground, its higher landing speed, and severe
restrictions on maneuvering. Nonetheless, as a combat aircraft the Ki-44 was
clearly superior overall to the Ki-43. As an interceptor it could match Allied
types in climbs and dives, giving pilots more flexibility in combat and greater
pilot confidence than the Ki-43. Moreover, the basic armament of four 12.7mm
machine guns or two 12.7mm guns and two 20 mm cannons (or, in a few aircraft,
two Ho-301 40 mm cannons of limited range) was far superior to the older Ki-43's
two 12.7mm machine guns. These characteristics made the fighter, despite
performance restrictions at altitude, a useful B-29 Superfortress interceptor
and one of the Japanese High Command priorities during the last year of war.
However, like most Japanese aircraft flown in the last part of the war, the low
availability of properly trained pilots made them easy targets for experienced,
aggressive, and well trained Allied pilots flying superior aircraft.

Nakajima began development of the Ki-44 in 1940 as a pure interceptor with
emphasis being placed on airspeed and rate of climb rather than maneuverability.
The Japanese Army Air Force specification called for a maximum speed of 600 km/h
(370 mph) at 4,000 m (13,130 ft), to be attained in five minutes. A set of
Ki-43-like "butterfly" combat flaps was fitted for improved maneuverability.
Armament consisted of a pair of 7.7 mm (.303 in) and a pair of 12.7 mm (.50 in)
machine guns.

The engine selected for the new interceptor was Nakajima's Ha-41 (a development
of the Nakajima Ha-5) 14-cylinder double-row radial, originally intended for
bomber aircraft. Although the Ha-41 was not the ideal choice due to its
large-diameter cross section, the design team was able to marry this engine to a
much smaller fuselage with a narrow cross section. At 1,260 mm in diameter, the
Ha-41 was 126 mm larger in diameter than the 1,144 mm Nakajima Sakae (used in
the Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" and Nakajima Ki-43 "Hayabusa"). However, the Sakae was
only 27.8L in displacement and 1,000 hp, while the Ha-41 was 37.5L and made
1,260 hp (1,440 in the later Ha-109 version). In any case, since the Sakae
wasn't powerful enough, the only alternative available was the Mitsubishi
Kinsei, which was slightly smaller than the Ha-41 in diameter, five liters
smaller in displacement, and was less powerful. Unfortunately, this was already
in demand for many other aircraft, so the Ha-41 was chosen as the best
powerplant. In order to achieve its design goals, the wing area was relatively
small leading to a high wing loading and a comparatively high landing speed that
could be daunting to the average Japanese pilot, who was more used to aircraft
with a low wing loading like the Ki-44s predecessors, the Ki-43 and Ki-27.


Role
Fighter aircraft

Manufacturer
Nakajima Aircraft Company

Designer
Yasushi Koyama

First flight
August 1940

Introduction
1942

Retired
1945

Primary user
Imperial Japanese Army Air Force

Produced
1940–1944

Number built
1,225

The Nakajima Ki-44 at one point equipped 12 sentai ("groups/wings") of the
Imperial Japanese Army Air Force: 9, 22, 23, 29, 47, 59, 64, 70, 85, 87, 104 and
246 Sentai. The Manchukuo Air Force also operated some Ki-44s.

Pre-production Ki-44 aircraft and two of the prototypes were turned over to the
Army for service trials on 15 September 1941. The type commenced operations when
nine aircraft were received by an experimental unit, 47th Chutai "Kawasemi
Buntai" ("Kingfisher Flight, 47th Squadron"), commanded by Major Toshio Sakagawa
at Saigon, Indochina in December 1941.

The Ki-44 also saw significant action with 87th Sentai in the air defense role,
while based at Palembang, Sumatra. Other units equipped with the Ki-44 during
the early part of the war were stationed in China, Burma, The Philippines and
Korea.

Later in the war, the type saw action in an air defense role over the home
islands – mainly around Japan's large industrial cities. 47 Chutai, after it was
transferred to air defense roles in Japan, was expanded to become 47 Sentai.

The Ki-44-II Otsu (also known as the Ki-44-IIb) could be armed with a Ho-301 40
mm autocannon. While this was a relatively high-caliber weapon, it used caseless
ammunition with a low muzzle velocity and short range, which was effective only
in close attacks. Some of these aircraft were used against USAAF bombers by a
special Shinten Seiku Tai (air superiority unit), comprising at least four
aircraft, that was part of 47th Sentai, based at Narimasu airfield in Tokyo.
Pilots from such units attempted to shoot down B-29s and, once their ammunition
was expended, to ram them – effectively a suicide attack. While the concept
appeared straightforward, ramming a B-29 at high altitudes was difficult to
achieve in practice.

By the end of the war, Ki-44 variants were being replaced by the Nakajima Ki-84
Hayate, which was regarded as vastly superior – in aspects other than
maintenance and reliability.

Specifications (Ki-44-II Otsu)

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 8.84 m (29 ft 0 in)
Wingspan: 9.45 m (31 ft 0 in)
Height: 3.25 m (10 ft 8 in)
Wing area: 15 m2 (160 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: NN-2 mod. (14.8%) ; tip: NN-2 mod. (9%)--
Empty weight: 2,106 kg (4,643 lb)
Gross weight: 2,764 kg (6,094 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 2,993 kg (6,598 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Nakajima Ha109 (Army Type 2 1,450hp Air Cooled Radial / unified
- Nakajima Ha-34) 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 1,133 kW (1,519
hp) for take-off
1,070 kW (1,440 hp) at 2,150 m (7,050 ft)980 kW (1,320 hp) at 5,250 m (17,220
ft)Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed metal propeller

Performance
Maximum speed: 605 km/h (376 mph, 327 kn) at 5,200 m (17,060 ft)
Cruise speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn) at 4,000 m (13,123 ft)
Stall speed: 150 km/h (93 mph, 81 kn)
Range: 1,200 km (750 mi, 650 nmi)
Ferry range: 1,600 km (990 mi, 860 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,200 m (36,700 ft)
Time to altitude: 5,000 m (16,404 ft) in 4 minutes 17 seconds
Wing loading: 184 kg/m2 (38 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass: 0.38 kW/kg (0.23 hp/lb)

Armament

Guns: 2x fixed, forward-firing, synchronised 12.7 mm (0.500 in) Type 1 machine
guns + 2x wing mounted 12.7 mm (0.500 in) Type 1 machine guns
Optional provision for two 40 mm (1.575 in) Ho-301 cannon in the wings, firing
caseless ammunition.Hardpoints: 2 with a capacity of 2x 130 l (34 US gal; 29 imp
gal) drop tanks,




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