Kawasaki Ki-61

Kawasaki Ki-61
Land	Japan
Rolle	Jagerfly
Første flytur	Desember 1941
Antall bygget	3075

Den Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (飛燕, «flygende svale») er et japansk jagerfly fra andre verdenskrig som ble brukt av den keiserlige japanske hærens flytjeneste. Den japanske hærbetegnelsen var «Army Type 3 Fighter» (三式戦闘機). Alliert etterretning trodde først at Ki-61 var Messerschmitt Bf 109 og senere en italiensk Macchi C.202, noe som førte til at de allierte rapporterte navnet "Tony", tildelt av USAs krigsdepartement. Det var det eneste masseproduserte japanske jagerflyet i krigen som brukte en væskekjølt inline V-motor. Over 3,000 Ki-61 ble produsert. De første prototypene kom i aksjon over Yokohama under Doolittle-raidet den 18 april 1942, og fortsatte å fly kampoppdrag gjennom hele krigen.

Kilde: Kawasaki Ki-61 på Wiki

Kawasaki Ki-61
Fotografer	Unknow
Lokalisering	Unknow
Bilder	301

Ki-61 Hien 01

Ki-61 Hien 02

Ki-61 Hien 03

Ki-61 Hien 04

Ki-61 Hien 05

Ki-61 Hien 06

Ki-61 Hien 07

Ki-61 Hien 08

Ki-61 Hien 09

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General Characteristics

The Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (Flying Swallow) was a fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service during World War II. It was designated the “Army Type 3 Fighter” and was notable for being the only mass-produced Japanese fighter of the war to utilize a liquid-cooled inverted V-12 engine, a design unique among its contemporaries which predominantly used air-cooled radial engines. Allied forces initially misidentified the Ki-61 as a German or Italian fighter, assigning it the reporting name “Tony.” Its liquid-cooled engine, relatively high speed, and robust construction (including self-sealing fuel tanks and armor protection) set it apart from other Japanese fighters optimized for pure maneuverability.

Property	Typical Value (Ki-61-I Kai Hei)
Rolle	Single-Seat Fighter / Interceptor
National Origin	Japan
Produsenten	Kawasaki Kokuki Kogyo K.K.
First Flight	Desember 1941
Service Entry	1943
No. Built	Over 3,000 (all variants)
Mannskapet	1 (Pilot)
Lengde	8.94 m (29 ft 4 in)
Vingespenn	12.00 m (39 ft 4 in)
Max Takeoff Weight	3,470 kg (7,650 lb)

Powerplant and Performance

Engine: 1 x Kawasaki Ha-40 (Army Type 2) inverted V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine (a license-built version of the German Daimler-Benz DB 601A).
Power Output (Ha-40): 877 kW (1,175 hp).
Power Output (Later Ha-140 in Ki-61-II): 1,119 kW (1,500 hp) (though Ha-140 had reliability issues).
Maximum Speed (Ki-61-I at 5,000 m): Approx. 580 km/h (360 mph).
Maximum Speed (Ki-61-II at 6,000 m): Approx. 610 km/h (379 mph).
Service Ceiling: 10,000 m (32,810 ft) (Ki-61-I).
Time to 5,000 m: Approx. 7.0 minutes.

Armament and Variants

Armament Varied Significantly by Sub-Variant:
- Ki-61-I-Ko/Otsu: Early versions typically carried two 12.7 mm Ho-103 machine guns in the fuselage and two 7.7 mm (or later 12.7 mm) machine guns in the wings.
- Ki-61-I Kai Hei: Equipped with two 12.7 mm Ho-103 machine guns in the fuselage and two imported German 20 mm Mauser MG 151 cannons in the wings.
- Ki-61-I Kai Tei/Ki-61-II KAI: Later versions standardized on the Japanese 20 mm Ho-5 cannon (two in the nose, two in the wings) for a significant firepower increase.
External Stores: Could carry two drop tanks (e.g., 200 L) or two 250 kg (550 lb) bombs on wing racks.
Key Development: When the problematic Ha-140 liquid-cooled engine was no longer available due to factory destruction, Kawasaki adapted the airframe to use the reliable Mitsubishi Ha-112 radial engine, creating the highly successful Ki-100 fighter.