Nakajima Ki-44-IIc-37 Type 2 Single Seat Fighter Shoki (Tojo)

From The Air Combat Wiki

Contents 1 Fighter Ace Screenshots 2 Fighter Ace Ratings 3 Fighter Ace Performance 4 Historical Statistics 5 Strengths 6 Weaknesses 7 History 8 Sources 9 See Also

Fighter Ace Screenshots

Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ
Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ

Fighter Ace Ratings

Durability: 3

Speed: 7

Maneuverability: 6

Firepower: 6

Climb Rate: 8

Ground Attack: 5

Fighter Ace Performance

Top Speeds						Climb Rates
	Sea Level	4921' 1500m	9843' 3000m	19685' 6000m	Best Speed	Best IAS	to 1000m	to 3000m	to 6000m
mph	333	348	360	371	372@ 17060'	171 mph	1:01	2:52	6:03
kph	536	560	579	597	599@ 5200m	275 kph

Historical Statistics

Service Date: May 1943

Primary Guns: 2 x Ho-103 Type 3 12.7 mm machine guns with 250 rpg in cowl

Secondary Guns: 2 x Ho-203 37 mm cannons with 25 rpg in wings

Ordnance: 2x 110 lb (50 kg) or 2x 220 lb (100 kg) bombs or 2x 317 lb (144 kg) drop tanks

Engine(s): 1x Nakajima Ha.109 radial rated for 1,520 hp at sea level

Int Fuel Capacity: 802 lbs (364 kg)

Ext Fuel Capacity: 415 lbs (188 kg)

Maximum Speeds: 372 mph (599 kph) at 17,050x ft (5,200 m)

Ceiling: 36,745 ft (11,200 m)

Loaded Weight: 6,110 lbs (2,770 kg)

Wing Area: 161.5 sq ft (15.0 sq m)

Wing Loading: 37.8 lbs/sq ft (184.7 kg/sq m)

Strengths

Firepower: Equipped with a pair of 37 mm cannon in the wings, the Ki-44-IIc-37 can inflict serious damage on enemy bombers and tanks.

Climb Rate The Ki-44 is able to reach an altitude of 5000m in less than 5 minutes making it the fastest climbing plane in the Japanese inventory.

Weaknesses

Maneuverability: With wing loading higher than contemporary US Navy fighters, the Ki-44 pilot is best advised to use energy fighting tactics except when dealing with the heavier and faster late-war designs.

History

Faced with an increase in B-29 raids from China and the Marianas, the Japanese Army issued specifications for a high-speed, high-altitude fighter capable of intercepting the American bombers. Unlike other design specifications issued by the Japanese armed forces, this one emphasized speed and climb rate over all other considerations.

Nakajima decided to base the new design around their own Ha-41 engine, a large fourteen-cylinder engine used primarily on bombers. The new design featured a streamlined cowl and a broad fuselage side and large tail fin to provide for a more stable gun platform.

Performance trials of the new design proved disappointing. The plane failed to meet the required speed and time to altitude trials and along with difficulties in the Ki-43 project, Nakajima was in trouble. Back in the factory numerous changes were made to the cowl in an effort to improve streamlining and coax some more speed out of the design. After installing a new firewall for improved cooling, five cooling vents on the side of the cowl were able to be covered over and with the reduced drag, the Ki-44 was able to exceed the performance requirements specified by the Army.

By September 1942 all trials and tests had been completed satisfactorily and the Army accepted the plane into service. The initial version, which had been in production since January and known as the Ki-44-Ia, was fitted with a pair of 7.7 mm machine guns in the cowl and a 12.7 mm machine gun in each wing. The next variant, the Ki-44-Ib, had the 7.7 mm guns replaced by 12.7 mm models for a total of four 12.7 mm guns.

Despite being the fastest fighter in either Army or Navy service, the plane was incapable of catching up with the Army's Ki-46 reconnaissance plane. Nakajima responded by installing a more powerful engine, the Ha-109, which had the same dimensions as the Ha-41 and thus required no changes to the airframe. Production of this version, known as the Ki-44-IIa, commenced in August 1942 with armament similar to the -Ia variant. Few -IIa's were built with production shifting almost immediately to the Ki-44-IIb, which was armed with only a pair of 12.7 mm machine guns in the cowl and no guns in wings.

The Ki-44-IIc Shoki (Devil-Queller) was introduced with four 12.7 mm Ho-103 guns. Even with this armament, it was not enough powerful against the B-29s. 20 mm cannons were requested by the pilots, but in the end were not used in the -II series.

A small number of -IIb variants used the unique Ho-301 40 mm cannon in the wings. This gun was unique in that it used caseless ammunition, the propellant charge being contained in the projectile itself. However, the muzzle velocity was so low that the weapon only had an effective range of 150 meters, making it virtually useless against the heavily defended American bombers.

A small number of -IIc's were converted to use the 37 mm Ho-203 cannon in the wings. This high velocity weapon had a range of 1,000 meters and fired a high explosive projectile weighing almost half a kilogram. Each cannon was fed by a belt containing only 25 rounds, but it could fire only about 2 rounds per second, so pilots had to be sure of their aim.

Sources

Francillon, Rene J.; Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War; Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD; 1979.

Green, William; Warplanes of the Second World War, Fighters, Volume Three; Hanover House, Garden City, NY; 1960.

Famous Airplanes of the World, No. 16, Army Type 2 Fighter "Shoki"; Bunrindo, Tokyo, Japan; 1989.

Military Magazine "Maru" Editorial Desk; Mechanism of Military Aircraft, No. 12, "Hayabusa" / "Shoki" / Type 97 Fighter; Kojinsha, Tokyo, Japan; 2000.

Nozawa, Tadashi; Encyclopedia of Japanese Aircraft 1900-1945, Vol.5, Nakajima Aircrafts; Shuppan-Kyodo Publishers, Tokyo, Japan; 1983.

See Also

Nakajima Hikoki K.K.

Aircraft Manufacturers During World War II

Japanese Aircraft Designation System

Fighter Ace Planes Inventory