FACTOIDS & TRIVIA

The Ki-61 Hein (allied code name "Tony") was designed in late 1939 as a front-line fighter for the Imperial Japanese Army. It was the only the Japanese fighter to use a liquid-cooled V-12 engine during World War II. In fact, the engine was a licensed-built copy of the Daimler-Benz DB 601A that was used in German and Italian fighter aircraft. The inverted V-12 creates a particular fuselage shape so the Ki-61 closely resembled the German and Italian designs. When the Ki-61 was first encountered by allied pilots, they often thought the Japanese were using Messerschmitt or Macchi aircraft! The Ki-61 was fast and it was more agile than any other Japanese fighter, except for the Ki-43 Hayabusa "Oscar". Its biggest drawback, as with the German and Italian V-12 fighters, was lack of range. To compensate, Kawasaki added two hard-point wing mounts that could be used for external 53-gallon fuel tanks (more range!) or bombs (fighter-bomber!). The earliest Ki-61's (Ki-61-I) were fitted with a pair of .303 inch machine guns in the wings and a pair of 20 mm in the fuselage. The .303 guns were quickly replaced with .50 inch machine guns to increase firepower in the Ki-61-I-Hei and Ki-61-I-Tei. The Ki-43 was introduced for combat in early 1943 and its pilots appreciated the self-sealing fuel tanks, heavier armor, agility and dive speed. Allied pilots had to change their tactics with the Ki-61. While allied fighters could easily dive away from the lightweight Ki-43 and A6M Zero, the Ki-61 could dive with, and thus shoot down, allied fighters trying to "run away". Kawasaki produced 2,654 Ki-61-I aircraft before the war ended. 

KAWASAKI Ki-61-I Hien "Tony"

 

 

 Class: Fighter

 Crew: 1

 Engine: Kawasaki Ha-40 V-12 (1,159 hp)

 Max Speed: 360 mph at 16,000 ft

 Climb Rate:  2,990 ft/min

 Service Ceiling: 38,100 ft

 Range: 360 miles

 Armament:  2 x .50 inch machine gun (fuselage mount)

                        2 x 20 mm cannon (wing mount)

                        2 x 550 lb bombs

                   

 

  Model Scale:  1:87




















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