Tachikawa Ki-36
| Ki-36 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | Two-seat Army Co-operation Aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Tachikawa Aircraft Company Ltd |
| First flight | 20 April 1938 |
| Primary users | Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Royal Thai Air Force |
| Produced | 1938-1944 |
| Number built | 1,334 |
| Variants | Tachikawa Ki-55 |
TheTachikawa Ki-36(namedIdain Allied reporting code) was aJapanesearmy co-operation aircraftofWorld War II.It was a two-seat, low-wing monoplane with a singlepiston engineand fixed,tailwheel-typeundercarriage.
Design and development
[edit]The prototype, fitted with a 450 hp (336 kW) Hitachi Army Type 98 Ha-13 engine, first flew on 20 April 1938. Having outperformed theMitsubishi Ki-35in comparative trials, the Ki-36 was designated the Army Type 98 Direct Co-operation Aircraft and ordered into production in November 1938. Production ended in January 1944 after a total of 1,334 Ki-36 had been built (Tachikawa862 andKawasaki472).[1]
Operational history
[edit]The Ki-36 first saw action inChinawhere it saw success. Later, in thePacific,it proved excessively vulnerable to opposingfighters.It was thereafter redeployed to the safer theater of China. Towards the end of the war, the Ki-36 was employed as akamikazeaircraft with a bomb of 500-kg (1,102-lb) fitted externally.[2]
Variants
[edit]- Ki-55:Two-seat advanced trainer version.
- Ki-72: An evolved version with a 600-hp (447-kW) Hitachi Ha-38 engine and retractable undercarriage. Not built.
Operators
[edit]
- Chinese Communist Air Forceoperated two captured aircraft postwar as trainers until their retirement in early 1950s.
Specifications (Ki-36)
[edit]Data fromJapanese Aircraft of the Pacific War,[2]and The Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II[3]
General characteristics
- Crew:2
- Length:8 m (26 ft 3 in)
- Wingspan:11.8 m (38 ft 9 in)
- Height:3.64 m (11 ft 11 in)
- Wing area:20 m2(220 sq ft)
- Airfoil:root:NACA 23014;tip:NACA 23006[4]
- Empty weight:1,247 kg (2,749 lb)
- Gross weight:1,660 kg (3,660 lb)
- Powerplant:1 ×Hitachi Ha13a(Army Type 98 450hp Air Cooled Radial) 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 380 kW (510 hp) for take-off
- 350 kW (470 hp) at 1,700 m (5,600 ft)
Performance
- Maximum speed:348 km/h (216 mph, 188 kn)
- Cruise speed:235 km/h (146 mph, 127 kn)
- Range:1,235 km (767 mi, 667 nmi)
- Service ceiling:8,150 m (26,740 ft)
- Time to altitude:3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 6 minutes 39 seconds
- Wing loading:83 kg/m2(17 lb/sq ft)
- Power/mass:0.23 kW/kg (0.14 hp/lb)
Armament
- Guns:one fixed, forward-firing 7.7 mm (0.303 in)Type 89 machine gun,one flexible 7.7 mm (0.303 in)Type 89 machine gunin the rear cockpit.
- Bombs:up to 350 kg (772 lb) external bombload
See also
[edit]Related development
Related lists
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^Francillon 1979,p. 254.
- ^abFrancillon 1979,p. 253.
- ^Mondey 1996,p. 246.
- ^Lednicer, David."The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage".m-selig.ae.illinois.edu.Retrieved16 April2019.
Bibliography
[edit]- Francillon, René J. (1979).Japanese aircraft of the Pacific War.London: Putnam.ISBN0-370-30251-6.OCLC6124909.(new edition 1987 by Putnam Aeronautical Books,ISBN0-85177-801-1.)
- Mondey, David (1996).Axis aircraft of World War II.London: Chancellor Press.ISBN1-85152-966-7.OCLC46705109.
- Soumille, Jean-Claude (September 1999). "Les avions japonais aux coleurs françaises" [Japanese Aircraft in French Colors].Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et Son Histoire(in French) (78): 6–17.ISSN1243-8650.
External links
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