Maximum Firepower - upcoming Kawasaki Ki-61

[Marechallannes]

Wonder what kind of armament those Ki-61 had?

Cannons, but what caliber?


Kawasaki Ki-61-IB Nakano

long range: A+C half range: B+C+C

Kawasaki Ki-61-IB Kobayashi

long range: A+D half range: B+D+D

Kawasaki Ki-61-IB Ichikawa

long range: B half range: B+B


Kobayashis plane seems to be a real "Bomber-Killer".:eek:


But the series number should be wrong. Did the IB-versions have such different weapons?

[csadn]

Wonder what kind of armament those Ki-61 had?

From Rene Franchillon's _Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War_:

Ki-61-Ia: 2x 12.7mm MG (Ho-103) fuselage; 1x 7.7mm MG (Type 89) ea. wing

Ki-61-Ib: 4x 12.7mm MG (Ho-103); 2x fuselage, 1x ea. wing

Ki-61-Ia and Ib variant: 2x 12.7mm MG (Ho-103) fuselage; 1x 20mm cannon (MG151/20) ea. wing

Ki-61-I KAIc, -II, and -II KAIa: 2x 20mm cannon (Ho-5) fuselage; 1x 12.7mm MG (Ho-103) ea. wing

Ki-61-I KAId: 2x 12.7mm MG (Ho-103) fuselage; 1x 30mm cannon (Ho-105) ea. wing

Ki-61-II KAIb: 4x 20mm MG (Ho-5); 2x fuselage, 1x ea. wing

External stores: 2x 200-litre droptanks; -I KAI and -II KAI: 2x 250kg bombs vice drop tanks

Looking at the damage profiles: Kobayashi's might be the -I variant with the pair of wing-mount Mausers; Nakano's a mislabeled -I KAIc, and Ichikawa's a standard -Ib.

[flyingryno]

My Jane's says the same thing. "it had relatively poor serviceability record due to the engine", although proved popular with its pilots. High morale with a weapon greatly improves the actual results.

[Marechallannes]

Kawasaki Ki-61-IB Kobayashi
long range: A+D half range: B+D+D

Think this is a late armament 1944 - 1945 to intercept the heavy USAF bombers waves from Iwo Jima Guam, the Mariana Islands and Okinawa. Like some Messerschmitt BF 109 with gunpods.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-662-6659-37%2C_Flugzeug_Messerschmitt_Me_109.jpg

Hope we get the original series nubers for the different KI-61 types.

Think Kobayashis plane is a Ki-61-I-KAId with a 30mm cannon.

[csadn]

What are the full names of the pilots, that one might look up their respective service records?

[richard m schwab]

In games where the KI-61 or KI-100 were used the KI`s were highly appreciated! The KI-61 suffered from lack of support parts. Units would receive KI-61`s in remote areas where any mechanical problem would ground them. The KI-61 was used over Japan to defend against the B-29 with effect as long as they lasted!


Rich

[Marechallannes]

What are the full names of the pilots, that one might look up their respective service records?

Searched Wiki - found this:

Major Teruhiko Kobayshi of the 244th Sentai ...credited by some with a dozen victories mostly due to conventional attacks against B-29s.



Sergeant Matsumi Nakano ...earned a medal for ramming a Superfortress. :eek:



Captain Chuichi Ichikawa of the 244th ...nine B-29s plus one F6F destroyed, six B-29s damaged.



Think the guys from WoW/WoG get their informations from this page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki_Ki-61

[Ravenlord]

At the japanese Army and navy airforces kill-claimes where not credited to the pilot, they where added to the units tally. It is difficult to say how much victorys each pilot had.


Sho-sa Tehruhiko Kobayashi painted victory markings on each plane he flew (12 on one of the planes), it is not know if this figures are the victorys of the plane itself or of the hole unit. After Kobayashis dead (after the war) his widow claimes 12 victorys for him but historians found out that he has scored three B-29 and two F6F hellcat. He was the youngest sentai-leader of the JAAF at the age of 23 years.

Go-cho Matsumi Nakano at december 3rd made two ramming attacks on B-29 formations but failed, after a turn he attacks a B 29 from behind an get so near to the enemy plane that he "prop-scythed" the horizontal stabilizer of the bomber. He crashlanded his plane in a rice field.
The B-29 was eventualy brought down by a couple of army and navy fighters. The eventual tally of Nakano is not kown.

Tai-i Chuichi Ichikawa flew at New Guinea, after beeing severely burned when shoot down he was sent back to japan.
At the home devence he achieved a final tally of nine B-29 (plus 6 damaged) and a single F6F Hellcat.

Generaly it could be said, that it was nearly impossible for a single japanese pilot to bring down a B-29 allone, except trough ramming. But some B-29 survived even a ramming attack.

source: Aces of the rising sung / Henry Sakaida, B-29 Hunters of the JAAF / Henry Sakaida, Koji Takaki

Matthias

[richard m schwab]

Osprey has a great book on defending against the B-29 raids! B-29 HUNTERS OF THE JAAF OSPREY AVIATION ELITE - 5. the armament carried by the late war Japanese fighters were not the equal of the B-29. In it was photo of a KI-61 written off after a successful ramming attack and placed on display in store! Some Japanese pilots survived one ramming a smart one did not try for a second!


rich

[Ravenlord]

Sho-i Toru Shinoiya survived a ramming attack on a B-29 an won the Bukosho, his plane is at one of those pictures. He later died when he lead a siucide-attack on the US-Fleet in 1945.

Matthias

[Kaiser]

Kawasaki Ki-61-IB Kobayashi
long range: A+D half range: B+D+D

Think this is a late armament 1944 - 1945 to intercept the heavy USAF bombers waves from Iwo Jima Guam, the Mariana Islands and Okinawa. Like some Messerschmitt BF 109 with gunpods.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-662-6659-37%2C_Flugzeug_Messerschmitt_Me_109.jpg

Hope we get the original series nubers for the different KI-61 types.

Think Kobayashis plane is a Ki-61-I-KAId with a 30mm cannon.

If the plane really was equipped with such gunpods then it would beonly good against bombers. Every fighter would simply outmanouver the Ki-61.
That was the same problem the gunpod equipped Messerschmitt Bf109G had.

[Marechallannes]

I'agree...

(Haven't hearded about Japanese gunpods for the KI-61 and KI-100 - but) that's the point:

Overpowered - slow fighter planes to hit the allied heavy bombers.

They were no match for the escorting P51's.

[csadn]

(Haven't hearded about Japanese gunpods for the KI-61 and KI-100 - but)

The Ki-61 didn't have gun pods -- the guns were internal to the wing. The real problem with the Ki-61 was that inline engine -- the Japanese never managed to build an inline which worked properly, which is why pretty-much-every acft. they built was radial-powered (far simpler to design, build, and maintain). Coupled to this was the ever-increasing weight of the unit -- 6,504 lbs. for the Ia, up to 8,333 for the II models -- which combined with the engine's inadequacy to ruin the unit's performance.

[Marechallannes]

Checked the Ares Website...

Kawasaki Ki-61-I-KAIc Kobayshi will be in the WoG Starter Set.

http://www.aresgames.eu/games/ww2-wings-of-glory-line/ww2-wings-of-glory-starter-set

Firepower for the axis.:guns: