The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia: Ki-44 "Tojo", Japanese
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The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia | |
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NakajimaKi-44-IIb Shoki ("Devil-Queller") “Tojo”
| Crew | 1 |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 31’ by 28’9” by 10’8”9.45m by 8.785m by 3.25m |
| Wing area | 161 square feet15 square meters |
| Weights | 4643-6598 lbs2106-2993 kg |
| Maximum speed | 376 mph at 17,060 feet605 km/h at 5200 meters |
| Cruise speed | 249 mph at 13,125 feet401 km/h at 4000 meters |
| Climb rate | 64 feet per second19.5 meters per second |
| Service ceiling | 36,745 feet11,200 meters |
| Power plant | One 1520 hp (1133 hp) Nakajima Ha-10914-cylinder two-row radial engine driving a constant speed three bladed metal propeller. |
| Armament | Four 12.7mm Type 1 machine guns, two in fuselage and two in wings |
| External stores | Two 28.6 gallon (108 liter) drop tanks |
| Range | 805 miles (1296 km) normal1056 miles (1700 km) maximum |
| Production | 1233 from May 1942 at Nakajima Hikoki K.K.: |
| 10 | |
| 40 | |
| 8 | |
| 1167 | |
| Variants | The Ia used a 1260hp Nakajima Ha-41engine and was armed with 7.7mm Type 89 in the fuselage. The II added wing racks for two 100kg bombs. The IIc replaced the wing 12.7mm with 40mm Ho-301 low-velocity cannon firing at 400 rpm, which were replaced by 20mm Ho-5 cannon in the III. |
"Tojo" was one of the few Japanese fighters to emphasize speed and climb rate over maneuverability, making it the mainstay of Japanese interceptor defenses when the American strategic bombing campaign got under way. It had a poor view on takeoff and poor control, so that it killed a number of inexperiencedpilots. However, it could climb and dive as well as most of its enemies. The wing loading was unusually high for a Japanese aircraft, which was partially compensated with butterfly combat flaps. Thearmor and self-sealing fuel tanks proved inadequate against the heavy machine guns of Alliedfighters.
The design dated to January 1940, when the Japanese Army asked Nakajima to design an interceptor to complement theKi-43 "Oscar". The design team, led by Koyama Yasushi, designed the new aircraft around the Ha-41 engine, which was more powerful than the Ha-25that was becoming standard on fighters. The team were able to meet the challenge of matching this rather large engine, originally designed forbombers, to a narrow fuselage, and the aircraft had a large fuselage side area and horizontal tail surfaces well forward of the rudder to improve its qualities as a gun platform. The first prototype flew in August 1940, and after modifications to reduce drag, nine service prototypes were deployed to 47 Squadronin China for field testing just before war broke out in the Pacific. A small production run began in January 1942, but the inability of these aircraft to intercept the Army's own high-altitude reconnaissance aircraftlet the Army to insist on further design work, and the definitive Ki-44-IIb did not begin production before November 1942.
Although "Tojo" was disliked by veteran pilots for its high landing speed and relatively poor maneuverability, younger pilots learned to make good use of its climb and dive speed. The -IIc was probably the most successful interceptor of B-29s, though some of its kills were achieved by deliberate ramming. However, the aircraft began to be replaced by the Ki-84 "Frank" in late 1944.
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