“rebuildable, collectible, suit museum” Kawasaki 1942 Here is a second world war Japanese KI 61 Hien.
Item specifics
| Used |
| “rebuildable, collectible, suit museum” |
| Make: | Kawasaki | Model Year: | 1942 |
The aircraft is fairly complete, it mainly consists of the fuselage, the cockpit still contains the instrument panel and other parts, the wings and undercarriage are there along with its original engine and propeller and other bits not pictured.
The KI-61 first saw action on the 18th of April 1942 during the Doolittle B-25 raid on Tokyo that was launched from the USS Hornet, during the raid some KI-61"s were sent up to attack the attacking B-25"s before they escaped to China.
After this the KI-61 continued to fly combat missions for Japan all over the Pacific, China, Burma, India and Russia until Japan surrendered in 1945 after the Atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The KI-61 was powered by a 1200HP Kawasaki HA-40 inverted V-12 engine which was a copy of the German Daimler-Benz DB-601 engine that powered the famous BF-109E fighter in Europe.
Armed with two 20mm cannons and two .50 cal machine guns and combined with a higher top speed, lower weight and superior maneuverability than front line American fighters of the time such as the P-40E and F4F Wildcat, the KI-61 inflicted serious losses on US and allied air forces in the pacific, so much so that General George Kenney [Allied air forces commander in the Southwest Pacific] begged for more P-38 Lightnings to counter the threat of the new enemy fighter.
The Ki-61 was also utilised in Okinawa and as an interceptor during US bombing raids over Japanese home islands, including against Boeing B-29 Superfortresses. A number of Ki-61s were also used in Tokkotai (kamikaze) missions launched toward the end of the war.
It is believed that this aircraft was based with the 68th Sentai in Rabaul, New guinea before being damaged in combat, the aircraft belly landed under partial power after being shot up by US fighters, as a last resort most pilots and personnel where used as ground infantry after losing their aircraft and the unit was virtually wiped out with few survivors.
General characteristics
Length: 8.94 m (29 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 12.00 m (39 ft 4 in)
Height: 3.70 m (12 ft 2 in)
Empty weight: 2,630 kg (5,800 lb)
Loaded weight: 3,470 kg (7,650 lb)
Engine: 1 × Kawasaki Ha-40 liquid-cooled inverted V12 engine, 864 kW (1,175 PS, 1,159 hp)
Maximum speed: 580 km/h (360 mph) at 5,000 m (16,405 ft)
Range: 580 km (360 mi)
Service ceiling: 11,600 m (38,100 ft)
Rate of climb: 15.2 m/s (2,983 ft/min)
Wing loading: 173.5 kg/m² (35.5 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 0.25 kW/kg (0.15 hp/lb)
Time to altitude: 7.0 min to 5,000 m (16,405 ft)
2× 20 mm Ho-5 cannon, 120 rpg each
2× 12.7 mm (0.50 in) Ho-103 machine guns, 250 rpg each
2× 250 kg (551 lb) bombs
This is a very rare opportunity for the serious collector, restorer or museum, so please only serious offers, this will be offered here one time only.
I will load the aircraft into a 40" container and ship it to any port world wide from Sydney Australia.
Cash or bank transfer only, no p-pal!
Current date: 2016-03-14