Kawasaki Ki-61 – Foto's &Video's

De Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (飛燕, "vliegende zwaluw") is een Japans gevechtsvliegtuig uit de Tweede Wereldoorlog dat wordt gebruikt door de Imperial Japanese Army Air Service. De japanse legerbenoeming was "Army Type 3 Fighter" (戦闘機 %). De geallieerde inlichtingendienst geloofde aanvankelijk dat Ki-61's Messerschmitt Bf 109's waren en later een Italiaanse Macchi C.202, wat leidde tot de geallieerde rapportagenaam "Tony", toegewezen door het Amerikaanse ministerie van Oorlog. Het was de enige in massa geproduceerde Japanse jager van de oorlog die een vloeistofgekoelde inline V-motor gebruikte. Er werden meer dan 3.000 Ki-61's geproduceerd. De eerste prototypes zagen actie boven Yokohama tijdens de Doolittle Raid op 18 april 1942 en bleven gevechtsmissies vliegen tijdens de oorlog.

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The Kawasaki Ki-61 was a Japanese fighter aircraft that served in World War II. It was the only Japanese fighter to use a liquid-cooled inline engine, which was a licensed copy of the German Daimler-Benz DB 601. The Ki-61 was designed by Takeo Doi and Shin Owada, who were inspired by the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Heinkel He 100. The Ki-61 had a sleek and streamlined fuselage, with a semi-monocoque structure and a supercharger air intake on the left side. The Ki-61 was armed with four 12.7 mm Ho-103 machine guns or two machine guns and two 20 mm Mauser MG 151 cannons. It could also carry two 250 kg bombs externally.
The Ki-61 was nicknamed “Hien” (flying swallow) by the Japanese and “Tony” by the Allies, who initially mistook it for an Italian Macchi C.202. The Ki-61 was a versatile and agile fighter that performed well at low to medium altitudes. It was used mainly for air superiority missions, but also for interception, escort, ground attack and kamikaze roles. The Ki-61 was produced in several variants, with over 3,000 units built. It saw action in various fronts, such as China, Burma, New Guinea and Japan. It was one of the most successful and widely used Japanese fighters of the war.