Ki-34 "Thora", Japanese Transport Aircraft

Photograph of AT-2 "Thora"

U.S. National Archives. Via Francillon (1979)

Nakajima Ki-34 "Thora"

Specifications:

Crew

Passengers

Dimensions

65'0" by 50'3" by 13'7"
19.92m by 15.3m by 4.15m

Wing area

530 square feet
49.2 square meters

Weight

7716-11,574 lbs
3500-5250 kg

Maximum speed

224 mph at 11,025 feet
360 km/h at 3360 meters

Cruise speed

193 mph
310 km/h

Rate of climb

25 feet per second
7.5 meters per second

Ceiling

22,965 feet
7000 meters

Powerplant

2 780 hp (582 kW) Nakajima Ha-1b nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engines driving variable-pitch two-bladed propellers.

Range

745 miles
1200 km

Production

A total of 351 aircraft were produced:

	Nakajima (Ota):
		1 prototype 32 AT-2 civilian production aircraft (1937-1940) 19 Ki-34 and L1N1 production aircraft (1937-1940)
	Tachikawa (Tachikawa):
		299 Ki-34 and L1N1 production aircraft (1939-1942)

The Ki-34 "Thora" was originally designed as the AT-2 civilian transport, based on such Western designs as the DC-2. It featured all-metal construction and fabric control surfaces. Performance was excellent and the design showed good stability. The Army liked the design and ordered production as communication and paratroop transport aircraft, starting in 1937. A small number were used by the Japanese Navy, which designated the aircraft as the L1N1.

References

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