Kawasaki KI-100-1b

Sometimes a crude lash up can create a truly great fighting aircraft. The Kawasaki Ki-100 was one such example, with many aviation historians suggesting that this desperate shot gun marriage of surplus Ki-61-II airframes with the Mitsubishi Ha-112-II radial engine to be the best Japanese fighter of WWII.

Late in 1944 it was suggested, due to the unavailability of the liquid cooled Ha-140 liquid cooled V12 engines intended as it's powerplant, the Ki-61-II might be powered by the Mitsubishi Ha-112 radial engine. The engine was available, reliable and relatively small. After studying the engine mounting on a Focke Wulf 190, development work produced a fighter now called Ki-100 which first flew in February 1945. Early test flights revealed that the new fighter was outstanding with hugely improved handling and manoeuvrability compared to the Ki-61, due to a lower wing loading as the new radial Ha-112 was 700lb lighter than the liquid cooled Ha-140.

Deliveries began in March 1945 and the Ki-100 established itself as a match for any allied aircraft until the end of WW2, on one occasion a Ki-100 unit destroying 14 US Navy Hellcats without loss. A new build version the Ki-100-1b which featured a cut down rear fuselage entered production in May 1945. Today one example of the KI-100 survives at the RAF museum Cosford.

Performance

A top speed of 360 mph at 19,600 ft
Weight: 7707 lb's fully loaded
Powerplant: One Mitsubishi Ha-112 fourteen cylinder radial of 1500 hp
Armament: Two 20mm cannon in the nose and two 12.7mm machine guns in the wings.