Kawasaki Ki-61
| Kawasaki Ki-61 "Hien" |
| Description |
| Role |
Land-based fighter |
| Crew |
1 |
| First Flight |
|
| Entered Service |
1942 |
| Manufacturer |
Kawasaki |
| Dimensions |
| Length |
8.75 m |
28 ft 8 in |
| Wingspan |
12.00 m |
39 ft 4 in |
| Height |
3.9 m |
12 ft 10 in |
| Wing area |
20.0 m² |
215 ft² |
| Weights |
| Empty |
2,238 kg |
4,934 lb |
| Loaded |
2,950 kg |
6,500 lb |
| Maximum takeoff |
kg |
lb |
| Powerplant |
| Engine |
Kawasaki
Ha-40 |
| Power |
875 kW |
1175 hp |
| Performance |
| Maximum speed |
591 km/h |
367 mi/h |
| Combat range |
1,100 km |
680 mi |
| Ferry range |
km |
mi |
| Service ceiling |
11,600 m |
38,100 ft |
| Rate of climb |
m/s |
ft/min |
| Wing loading |
kg/m² |
lb/ft² |
| Power/Mass |
kW/kg |
hp/lb |
| Armament |
| Guns |
4 × 12.7 mm machine guns |
| Bombs |
2 × 250 kg bombs |
The Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien
(飛燕, "flying swallow") was a World War II fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. The allied code name was "Tony", given by Allied pilots
who initially thought it was a derivative of an Italian Macchi. The Japanese Army
designation was "Type 3 Fighter" (三式戦闘機).
Influenced by the design of the Messerschmitt Me 109 and
Heinkel He 100, the Ki-61 was the only Japanese fighter powered by a
liquid-cooled engine. The engine was a development of the Daimler-Benz DB 601, and early versions were armed with German MG 151 machine guns.
Towards the end of the war, the engines were in short supply due to unreliable manufacture, and assembled airframes were
fitted with Ha-112 radial engines, significantly improving performance. The resulting aircraft was
designated Ki-100.
External links
- [1] (http://www.vectorsite.net/avhien.html) Vectorsite article (public
domain)
-This article has been brought to you by BambooWeb and Wikipedia-
