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26-451: The design and development of the Ki-44 differed greatly from that of other Japanese fighters of the time, incorporating speed and rate-of-climb in preference to maneuverability. This was a result of a need for a heavy fighter aircraft that followed a more offensive doctrine and the Ki-44 is often classified as an Air Defence Fighter. Its development ran almost in parallel to its predecessor,

52-553: A Ho-301 40 mm autocannon. While this was a relatively high-caliber weapon, it used caseless ammunition with a low muzzle velocity and short range, which was effective only in close attacks. Some of these aircraft were used against USAAF bombers by a special Shinten Seiku Tai ( air superiority unit), comprising at least four aircraft, that was part of 47th Sentai , based at Narimasu airfield in Tokyo. Pilots from such units attempted to shoot down B-29s and, once their ammunition

78-399: A climb or ascent is the operation of increasing the altitude of an aircraft . It is also the logical phase of a typical flight (the climb phase or climbout ) following takeoff and preceding the cruise . During the climb phase there is an increase in altitude to a predetermined level. The opposite of a climb is a descent . A steady climb is carried out by using excess thrust ,

104-517: A hikōdan (air brigade ). In the later stages of World War II, the IJAAS abolished chūtai and divided its sentai into hikōtai (flying units) and seibitai (maintenance units). A sentai commander ( sentaichō ) was generally a lieutenant colonel . In the IJNAS, a sentai was a larger unit: a Kōkūtai was the equivalent of an IJAAS sentai . Several sentai made up a kantai (air fleet). In

130-569: A function of such rates. For example, a normal climb of 20 meters per km (120 feet per nautical mile) might be assumed during the development of a navigational procedure or while defining airspace limits in airport terminal areas. Sentai In Japanese , sentai ( 戦隊 ) is a military unit and may be literally translated as " squadron ", " task force ", " division (of ships) ", " group " or " wing ". The terms " regiment " and " flotilla ", while sometimes used as translations of sentai , are also used to refer to larger formations. The term

156-402: A maximum speed of 600 km/h (370 mph) at 4,000 m (13,130 ft), to be attained in five minutes. A set of Ki-43-like "butterfly" combat flaps was fitted for improved maneuverability. Armament consisted of a pair of 7.7 mm (.303 in) and a pair of 12.7 mm (.50 in) machine guns . The engine selected for the new interceptor was Nakajima's Ha-41 (a development of

182-408: A regular basis. In some jurisdictions and under some conditions, normal climbs are defined by regulations or procedures, and are used to develop airway systems, airspaces , and instrument procedures . Normal climbs are simply standardized climb rates achievable by most aircraft under most conditions that are used as conservative guidelines when developing procedures or structures that are partially

208-421: Is the period during which the aircraft climbs to a predetermined cruising altitude after take-off. The climb phase immediately follows take-off and precedes the cruise phase of the flight. Although a single climb phase is typical, multiple climb phases may alternate with cruise phases, particularly for very long flights in which altitude is increased as the weight of fuel aboard decreases (see step climb ). As

234-658: The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" and Nakajima Ki-43 "Hayabusa"). However, the Sakae was only 27.8L in displacement and 1,000 hp, while the Ha-41 was 37.5L and made 1,260 hp (1,440 in the later Ha-109 version). In any case, since the Sakae wasn't powerful enough, the only alternative available was the Mitsubishi Kinsei, which was slightly smaller than the Ha-41 in diameter, five liters smaller in displacement, and

260-467: The Nakajima Ha-5 ) 14-cylinder double-row radial , originally intended for bomber aircraft. Although the Ha-41 was not the ideal choice due to its large-diameter cross section, the design team was able to marry this engine to a much smaller fuselage with a narrow cross section. At 1,260 mm in diameter, the Ha-41 was 126 mm larger in diameter than the 1,144 mm Nakajima Sakae (used in

286-652: The People's Liberation Army obtained aircraft formerly belonging to 22 and 85 Sentai , which had disbanded in Chosen . Some of these aircraft were reportedly flown by Japanese veterans. Within the Republic of China Air Force 18th Squadron (12th Fighter Group) was equipped with Ki-44s formerly of 9th Sentai , which had disbanded in Nanking, and 29th Sentai , which had disbanded at Formosa and they saw action in . Following

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312-480: The IJNAS, a Sentaichō was usually a naval captain . Sentai in the Japanese Navy were prescribed by the document Naval military command No. 10, Kantairei ( 艦隊令 ) dated 30 November 1914. Paraphrased, they were defined as follows: The Super Sentai Series ( スーパー戦隊シリーズ , Sūpā Sentai Shirīzu ) is a franchise of Japanese tokusatsu television dramas produced by Toei and TV Asahi that uses

338-529: The Ki-43 and Ki-27 . With an all-metal structure, the Ki-44 was metal-skinned except for the control surfaces, which were fabric covered. Relatively small wings gave the aircraft a high wing loading and consequently a high landing speed, which many pilots disliked. The first Ki-44 prototype flew in August 1940 and the initial test flights were generally encouraging, with handling considered acceptable considering

364-639: The Ki-44 during the early part of the war were stationed in China , Burma , the Philippines and Korea . Later in the war, the type saw action in an air defense role over the home islands – mainly around Japan's large industrial cities. 47 Chutai , after it was transferred to air defense roles in Japan, was expanded to become 47 Sentai . The Ki-44-II Otsu (also known as the Ki-44-IIb) could be armed with

390-456: The Ki-44 was terminated in late 1944 in favour of the more advanced Nakajima Ki-84 , and when the war ended, only three sentai units were still equipped with them. No examples survive today. Nakajima began development of the Ki-44 in 1940 as a pure interceptor with emphasis being placed on airspeed and rate of climb rather than maneuverability, a departure from the usual Japanese standards. The Japanese Army Air Force specification called for

416-400: The amount by which the thrust from the power plant exceeds the drag on the aircraft. The aircraft will climb steadily until the excess thrust falls to zero. Excess thrust might fall to zero as a result of the pilot's deliberate action in control of the output of the engines, or as the engines' response to reducing air density. The climb phase , also known as climb-out or initial climb ,

442-401: The climb progresses, the rate of climb decreases as thrust reduces due to reducing air density. A gradual climb improves forward visibility over the nose of the aircraft. Aircraft also climb when flying in a zone of rising air, but since such zones are unpredictable and inconveniently located, and since most are poorly adapted to passive climbs of this type, only gliders attempt such climbs on

468-662: The high wing loading. Problems encountered included a high landing speed and poor forward visibility during taxiing due to the large radial engine. A second pre-production batch of 40 aircraft were ordered, which featured four 12.7mm machine guns, a relocated air cooler and main gear doors. The Nakajima Ki-44 at one point equipped 12 sentai (" groups / wings ") of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force: 9, 22, 23, 29, 47, 59, 64, 70, 85, 87, 104 and 246 Sentai . The Manchukuo Air Force also operated some Ki-44s. Pre-production Ki-44 aircraft and two of

494-408: The lighter and nimbler Nakajima Ki-43 , and yet the two aircraft differed. The Ki-44 had a higher landing speed but was less maneuverable. These were concerns for pilots who would compare it to the Ki-43 or Ki-27 which were far more agile and responsive. As a result, the Ki-44 was first restricted to pilots with at least 1000 hours of flying time due to its tricky handling characteristics. However, it

520-578: The prototypes were turned over to the Army for service trials on 15 September 1941. The type commenced operations when nine aircraft were received by an experimental unit, 47th Chutai " Kawasemi Buntai " ("Kingfisher Flight , 47th Squadron"), commanded by Major Toshio Sakagawa at Saigon , Indochina in December 1941. The Ki-44 also saw significant action with 87th Sentai in the air defense role, while based at Palembang , Sumatra . Other units equipped with

546-821: The retreat of the Nationalists the People's Liberation Army Air Force (formed in 1949) used the Ki-44 until the early 1950s. No complete surviving examples of the Ki-44 exist today. However, a wing center section is preserved at the Northwestern Polytechnical University Aviation Museum, at Xi'an in China. Total production: 1,227 Data from Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Climb (aeronautics) In aviation ,

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572-629: Was expended, to ram them – effectively a suicide attack. While the concept appeared straightforward, ramming a B-29 at high altitudes was difficult to achieve in practice. By the end of the war, Ki-44 variants were being replaced by the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate , which was regarded as vastly superior – in aspects other than maintenance and reliability. During 1946–49, both sides in the Chinese Revolution operated Ki-44s surrendered or abandoned by Japanese units. Air units of

598-717: Was later found that younger pilots who had not been instilled with the extensive aerobatic training of earlier cadres could manage the aircraft perfectly well, so the restriction was removed. Nonetheless, the Ki-44 was the fastest climbing Japanese fighter at the time. It was the Imperial Japanese Army's only interceptor type when the USAAF's B-29 Superfortresses began bombing the Japanese mainland in June 1944. While there were performance restrictions at high altitude, it

624-417: Was less powerful. Unfortunately, this was already in demand for many other aircraft, so the Ha-41 was chosen as the best powerplant. In order to achieve its design goals, the wing area was relatively small leading to a high wing loading and a comparatively high landing speed that could be daunting to the average Japanese pilot, who was more used to aircraft with a low wing loading like the Ki-44's predecessors,

650-430: Was superior to the Ki-43 in that it was capable of matching Allied aircraft in climbs and dives, giving pilots more flexibility in combat and greater pilot confidence than the Ki-43; the basic armament of four 12.7mm machine guns or two 12.7mm guns and two 20 mm cannons (or, in a few aircraft, two Ho-301 40mm cannons of limited range) was far more powerful than the older Ki-43's two 12.7mm machine guns. Production of

676-493: Was used during World War II by the military of the Empire of Japan for Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) and Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) military aviation units equivalent to a group or wing in other air forces. However, the term had slightly different meanings in the IJAAS and the IJNAS. An IJAAS Sentai was made up of two to four squadrons ( chūtai ). In the IJAAS, two or more Sentai comprised

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