Nakajima Ki-44-IIc 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: 3

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	337	351	364	377	377@ 17060'	168 mph	0:56	2:36	5:25
kph	542	565	585	606	607@ 5200m	270 kph

Historical Statistics

Service Date: February 1943

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

Secondary Guns: 2 x Ho-103 12.7 mm machine guns with 250 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: 377 mph (607 kph) at 17,060 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

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 Shoki (Devil-Queller), 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 7.7mm 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 was introduced with four 12.7 mm Ho-103 guns. Even with this armament, it was not powerful enough against the B-29s to bring them down reliably. 20 mm cannons were requested by the pilots, but in the end were not used in the -II series.

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