FACTOIDS & TRIVIA

Along with the Mitsubishi Ki-30, the Kawasaki Ki-32 Type 98 (allied code name "Mary") was developed for the Imperial Japanese Army to replace the Kawasaki Ki-3 light bomber. Like the Ki-30, the Ki-32 was a modern monoplane with stressed-skin construction with skirted, fixed landing gear and tailwheel. However, it had the added benefit of an internal bomb bay allowing for a slighty higher bombload compared to the Ki-30. In addition, it was one of the few Japanese aircraft to use a V-12 engine (Japanese designers at that time favored air-cooled radial engines). In this case, the engine was a licensed copy of the BMW VI V-12 and, in my opinion, made for an ugly looking plane. The Ki-32 was used mainly as a ground attack aircraft in northern and central China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It also saw action in the undeclared 1939 border conflict between Japan and the Soviet Union known as the Battle of Bhalkhyn Gol or the Nomonhan Incident depending on the belligerent perspective. It was last used in combat during the Battle of Hong Kong in 1941. The Ki-32 had cooling problems with the V-12 engine and overall, the Ki-30 was a better performing aircraft. When Japan entered WW II, the Ki-32 was withdrawn from front-line service and used as a trainer aircraft. Kawasaki produced 854 Ki-32s. There are 90 seconds of archival footage of the Ki-32 that gives a sense of how the plane was used (no death, terror or destruction is shown): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ-WxRUJh98

KAWASAKI Ki-32 Type 98 "Mary"

 

 

 Class: Light Bomber

 Crew: 2

 Engine: Kawasaki Ha-9-IIb 12-cylinder, in-line (850 hp)

 Max Speed: 263 mph at 12,900 ft

 Climb Rate: 1,500 ft/min

 Service Ceiling: 29,265 ft

 Range: 1,220 miles

 Armament: 1 x .303 inch machine gun (flexible mount rear-firing)
                       1 x .303 inch machine gun (port wing mount)
                       990 lb bombload

 

  Model Scale:  1:100



















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