Ki-43 OH Boy!

[richard m schwab]

I have found the the worst plane in DOW. Over the last year i have collected three 144 scale Ki-43`s. These were produced by ARII and others the same kit different names on the box. I built them and finished them in three different paint schemes. I flew one last week for the first time. Despite having two good
firing passes on enemy planes i did little damage and was blown from the sky. I tried it again it again with the same exact results.
Has anyone else encountered this plane?

[krolik]

What were you flying it against?

[Pooh]

I've played the plane in check your 6 but not in WoW. Besides having wimpy guns and no armor what's not to like about them?

BTW: They have the only flying KI-43 at the Tillamook air Museum (its a replica patterned off some wrecks found a few years ago). Its a pretty plane but looks kinda of flimsy sitting next to and a FM-2 and a Corsair.

Pooh

[richard m schwab]

I was flying against a P-40 and a P-39. The hitting power of the Oscar is bad a single 12.7 and a 7.7 are not good. Try one!

[richard m schwab]

Yeah Pooh the Oscar is light. It is hard to imagine a report of a Oscar pilot shooting down a B-24 and shooting it`s P-38 escorts. He survived but his plane was a wreck. I found link where i read this.


http://www.j-aircraft.com/research/stories/anabuki1.html

[Oberst Hajj]

What maneuver deck does it use?

[AlgyLacey]

I have found the the worst plane in DOW. Over the last year i have collected three 144 scale Ki-43`s. These were produced by ARII and others the same kit different names on the box. I built them and finished them in three different paint schemes. I flew one last week for the first time. Despite having two good
firing passes on enemy planes i did little damage and was blown from the sky. I tried it again it again with the same exact results.
Has anyone else encountered this plane?

At least it's a fighter! Try a Fairey Battle.:eek:

[richard m schwab]

Col. it uses the C deck same as Zero, which was fine. That is not the problem, that is the lack of firepower. Even the best armed Ki-43 had two 12.7`s

AlgyLacey you have me there. I found it listed under light bombers and armed as bad as the Oscar. With the note it was obsolete before the war started. Like most 1930`s designs it sounded good t the time it was started.

[Oberst Hajj]

Ok, I don't have any of the WWII cards, so I don't even know off hand if it is an official plane or not yet. lol

[HardRock]

It's amazing how many countries thought a plane with a couple of machine guns was a good idea. Most dropped that fairly quickly or got conquered.

[Carl_Brisgamer]

The Ki43 was the result of experience over China where the JAAF placed greater faith in manouvreability over armament and armour. Initially they came up against I-15s and I-16s, which also lacked firepower and armour, and proved very effective. By 1941 they were obselescent, but the JAAF had nothing else.

This is probably why Andrea selected the Ki-61 for the WW2 Set III miniatures, the Ki-43 is just not competitive against later P-40s and P-39s.

[richard m schwab]

Col the Ki-43 is an official DOW plane was in the original game. I tried to collect models for all planes to allow people to fly any plane in the set. The other posts on this plane by HardRock and Carl reinforce what i have said. The Ki-44 was more heavily armed as was the Ki-61!

Rich

[nachinus]

I am currently playing Pacific Fighters simulator in an early war campaign over Singapore and Mallacca Strait, figthing against Ki-43 and indeed they are a wimpsy plane. They catch fire very easily (as many jap fighters did) and ther really, really lack firepower, even compared with the weakest allied weapon loadout. If the sim is close to reality, then the DoW card is right. :)

[richard m schwab]

The Ki-43 was built light to maneuver and have good range not hit hard. The biggest thing was pilot quality compared to their opponents. They flew against planes deemed fit only for export and were successful. When they meet trained pilots in good planes faults became obvious. That is what IJA wanted and at the same time they worked on the Ki-44. Which was not maneuverable enough for them and given the back burner.
Rich

[Carl_Brisgamer]

The Ki-43 was built light to maneuver and have good range not hit hard. The biggest thing was pilot quality compared to their opponents. They flew against planes deemed fit only for export and were successful. When they meet trained pilots in good planes faults became obvious. That is what IJA wanted and at the same time they worked on the Ki-44. Which was not maneuverable enough for them and given the back burner.
Rich

Rich,

Your post may have identified a fix. The Japanese Naval and Army Air Force fighter pilot cadre in 1941 was very experienced after years of combat in China, and had produced a great many aces. In 1941 and for most of 1942 these JAAF veterans had the edge over the less inexperienced allied pilots flying Brewster Buffaloes, Fokker D.XXIs, and Hawker Hurricanes.

To give the No.1 pilot in a pair of Ki43's an ace skill or three (1d6 - 1-3 one skill, 4-5 two skills, 6 - three skills?) to reflect this historical fact may be an effective equaliser.

Cheers,

Carl.

[richard m schwab]

Carl That might work i will solo one and see if it helps. They put the Ki-43 to give the game a second Japanese plane. The odd thing is i have seen no response which says any one else has flown one!

Rich

[Carl_Brisgamer]

Carl That might work i will solo one and see if it helps. They put the Ki-43 to give the game a second Japanese plane. The odd thing is i have seen no response which says any one else has flown one!

Rich

My own WoW playing time is a little limited at the moment, but I will be flying the Oscar when our Pacific campaign starts. Any Japanese aircraft is a challenge - no armour and undergunned (except the Zero).

Cheers,

Carl.

[richard m schwab]

Carl Talk about gaming. We have cats so i can start a game and always help finishing it.
If you think Japanese fighters are bad. The learning game i did two weeks ago
a single P-39 badly shot up one Sally wounding two crewmen. then damaged two other Sally`s and that was in a five or six turns. They hit him in return but nothing like the damage they took.
If you get the chance fly a Tony!
Rich

[kaufschtick]

I have found the the worst plane in DOW. Over the last year i have collected three 144 scale Ki-43`s. These were produced by ARII and others the same kit different names on the box. I built them and finished them in three different paint schemes. I flew one last week for the first time. Despite having two good
firing passes on enemy planes i did little damage and was blown from the sky. I tried it again it again with the same exact results.
Has anyone else encountered this plane?

Good ole' Oscar, yeah, that plane is a stinker in the game. I think they must have taped two BB guns to it for armament!:D

What we used to do with the Oscar was to use them in a 3 vs 2 game, and sometimes 4 vs 2.

[check6]

the oscar is also a real stinker in the IL2 flight sim, i tried a campaign with them, and sat behind a buffalo pouring lead into it for what seemed to be hours, and didn't seem to even disturb it. does the oscar have a better rate of climb in game? if it has no advantage, pile on more to even it out, which is what i will do with spits and 109s, 3 spits for every 2 109s, the 109s get ace skills.

[richard m schwab]

Yes this is a well debated and much maligned plane, it deserves this!

Rich

[Uomoruy]

In my opinion, I think, as some have already mentioned, the K-43 is a plane to supplement the A6M and the Ki-61. You can always do Ki-44 cards to fight alongside the Ki-43