Ki-61 “Tony”, Japanese Fighter

Kawasaki Ki-61-Ib Hien ("Swallow") “Tony”

Specifications:

The Ki-61 Hien (Swallow) was fast and maneuverable, and it was the first Japanese Army aircraft equipped with self-sealing fuel tanks and armor. It also had a good dive rate, which made it an unpleasant surprise to Allied pilots in New Guinea who were accustomed to shaking Japanese fighters off their tails with a steep turning dive. It would have been a good aircraft in which to practice hit-and-run tactics against the Allies, but the Japanese seem never to have made the jump in tactics. As it was, "Tony" was the only Japanese fighter in service during the mid-war years that was a decent match for the second-generation Allied fighters.

"Tony" was about the only fighter with a liquid-cooled engine that the Japanese Army produced, and it was often mistaken for a German or Italian fighter by Allied airmen.  Indeed, the Allied code name "Tony" was selected on the belief that the aircraft had Italian origins. In fact, the Ha-40 engine used by the aircraft was essentially the German DB-601A built under license. Many of the early production aircraft also used a German electrically-fired 20mm cannon, but ammunition was limited and the German gun was replaced with the Japanese Ho-5.

The Japanese had acquired manufacturing rights to the DB-601A in April 1940 and manufacture of the Japanese version began in July 1941. A specification for aircraft built around the new engine had already been issued, in February 1940, when Kawasaki was instructed to develop both light and heavy fighter designs. The light fighter was given priority after December 1940, and the design team, led by Doi Takeo and Owada Shin, completed a prototype a year later. Preparations had already begun by then for quantity production, which commenced in August 1942.

The operational history of the "Tony" illustrates the weaknesses of the Japanese aircraft industry and of Japanese logistics. The aircraft was difficult to produce, averaging just 50 planes a month in the crucial mid-1943 time period. Many of these failed inspection and had to be returned to the factory for repair. Those already deployed to the Southwest Pacific and needing an engine change had to go clear back to Clark Field.

The Ki-61-II was designed specifically for improved high-altitude performance, but the Ha-140 engine had serious teething problems and only 99 production aircraft were completed. The destruction of the Akashi engine works by a B-29 Superfortress raid on 19 January 1945 left 275 Ki-61-II airframes without engines. These aircraft were modified to use the Ha-112 engine and became the prototypes and first production run of the Ki-100.

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References

Bergerud (2000)

Francillon (1979)

The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2009, 2014 by Kent G. Budge. Index

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