kawasaki ki-45

The Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu (屠龍, "Dragon Slayer") was a two-seat, twin-engined fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. The army gave it the designation "Type 2 two-seat fighter"; the Allied codename was Nick.

Background

In response to the rapid emergence in Europe of twin-engine heavy fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf 110, the army ordered development of a twin-engine, two-seat fighter in 1937, and assigned the proposal by Kawasaki Shipbuilding the designation of Ki-38. This only went as far as a mock up, but by December of that year, the army ordered a working prototype as the Ki-45, which first flew in January 1939. Results from the test flights, however, did not meet the army's expectations. The Ha-20 Otsu engine was underpowered and failure-prone, while the airframe suffered from nacelle stall. The Ki-45 did not enter use, but the army, insistent on having a working twin-engine fighter, ordered Kawasaki to continue development. Kawasaki responded by replacing the engines with the proven Nakajima Ha-25. Flight tests were promising. In October 1940, the army ordered continued improvements such as switching to 805 kW (1,080 hp) Mitsubishi Ha-102 engines, and using the wings from the Ki-48 light bomber. This craft, designated Ki-45 Kai, was complete in September 1941 and was officially adopted for use by the army in February 1942 as the "Type 2 two-seat fighter".

Combat History

The Ki-45 was initially used as a long-range bomber escort. The 84th Independent Flight Wing used them in June 1942 in attacks on Guilin, where they encountered, but were no match for, P-40 Tomahawks flown by the Flying Tigers. In September of the same year, they met P-40s over Hanoi with similar results. It became clear that the Ki-45 could not hold its own against single-engine fighters in aerial combat. It was subsequently deployed in several theaters in the roles of interception, ground and ship attack, and fleet defense. Its greatest strength turned out to be as an anti-bomber interceptor. In New Guinea, the JAAF used the aircraft in an anti-ship role, as the Ki-45 was heavily armed with one 37mm and two 20mm cannons and could carry two 250 kg (551 lb) bombs on hardpoints under the wings. 1,675 Ki-45s of all versions were produced during the war. The first production type (Ko) was armed with two 12.7 mm cannon in the nose, a single 20 mm in the belly, and a movable 7.92 in the rear cabin, and this was followed with the Otsu with the lower 20 mm cannon replaced by a 37 mm tank gun, to counter B-17 bombers. While the firepower was devastating, manual reloading meant that only two rounds could be fired per minute. The next type (Hei) restored the 20 mm cannon, and this time placed an automatic 37 mm gun in the nose. A later addition was twin obliquely-firing 20 mm cannon behind the cockpit and removal of the underside 20 mm guns. Soon after entering service, the Ki-45 was assigned to home defense, and several were dispatched against the Doolittle raid, though they did not see action. The craft's heavy armament proved to be effective against the B-29 raids which started in June 1944. However, its performance was insufficient to counter B-29s flying at 10,000 meters. Modifications such as reduction of fuel and ordnance were attempted to raise performance to little avail, and in the end aircraft were used in ramming attacks. In 1945, the forward and upward-firing guns showed some results against with the commencement of night time bombing raids, but the lack of radar was a considerable handicap. By the spring of 1945, the advent of American carrier-based fighters and Iwo Jima-based P-51s escorting B-29s over the skies of Japan brought the Ki-45's career to an end.

Specifications (Ki-45 Kai)

General Characteristics

Crew: two
Length: 11.00 m (36 ft 1 in)
Wingspan: 15.02 m (49 ft 4 in)
Height: 3.70 m (12 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 32.0 m² (344 ft²)
Empty: 4,000 kg (8,820 lb)
Loaded: 5,500 kg (12,125 lb)
Maximum takeoff: kg ( lb)
Powerplant: 2x Mitsubishi Ha-102 14-cylinder radials, 727 kW (975 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 540 km/h (336 mph)
Range: 2,000 km (1,243 miles)
Service ceiling: 10,000 m (32,800 ft)
Rate of climb: 700 m/min (2,300 ft/min)
Wing loading: 171.9 kg/m² (35 lb/ft²)
Power/Mass: 0.26 kW/kg (0.16 hp/lb)

Armament

(ko) : 1x 20 mm, 2x 12.7 mm, 2x 7.92 mm
(hei) : 1x 37 mm, 1x 20 mm, 1x 7.92 mm
(cho) : 1x 37 mm, 2x 20 mm