Kawasaki Ki-45 Kai Ko Night fighter "Nick"

Grzegames · February 21, 2026, 2:58pm

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Kawasaki Ki-45 Kai Ko Night fighter (川崎キ45改甲 “ 丁裝備機 ” 夜戰型)
The Kawasaki Ki-45 Kai Ko Night Fighter is a Japanese fighter developed in 1943 at the Rabaul base in response to night bombings. Based on it, the Kawasaki Ki-45 Kai Tei was developed. It is not exactly known how many modified Ki-45 Kai Ko were produced, but at least 20.
History
In April 1943, the 13th Sentai (Aviation Squadron) was sent to New Guinea, consisting of two squadrons of Kawasaki Ki-45 fighters and one squadron of Nakajima Ki-43 fighters. The 13th Sentai was intended to support the Japanese army and navy in this region (especially over Guadalcanal and Rabaul) against Allied air raids. In July 1943, the 5th Sentai, equipped exclusively with Kawasaki Ki-45 Kai Ko fighters, joined the 13th Sentai. During combat, it was found that the Ki-45 was excellent for intercepting American B-17 and B-24 bombers, but it performed poorly in dogfights with fighter planes, suffering heavy losses against P-38 fighters. Additionally, in 1943, the Americans changed their tactics and began nighttime raids on Japanese military installations (having started doing this on a smaller scale in 1941 and 1942). Therefore, they took inspiration from the field modification of the Nakajima J1N1 (J1N1-C Kai) aircraft into a night fighter. Regionally, the Air Force command of the army decided to modify the Ki-45 Kai Ko into a night fighter. In field workshops (probably at the Rabalau base), a pair of Ki-45 fighters were modified. The modification involved removing the upper fuel tank in the fuselage, and in the resulting space, two Ho-103 12.7mm machine guns were installed at an angle of 32 degrees upward. The modified Ki-45 Kai Ko night fighters were assigned to the 5th and 13th Sentai, where they proved successful (similarly to the previous prototype of the Nakajima J1N1-S aircraft), and the Japanese army decided to begin serial production of similarly armed Ki-45s under the designation Kawasaki Ki-45 Kai Tei. Later, Ki-45 Kai Ko were modified based on the Ki-45 Kai Ko night fighter model and participated in combat. The modified Ki-45 Kai Ko could be armed with either two Ho-103 12.7mm machine guns or two Ho-5 20mm cannons in a Schräge Musik arrangement. It is not certain exactly how many Ki-45 Kai Ko night fighters were produced, but at least over 20.

Photo of Kawasaki Ki-45 Kai Ko Night Fighter

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Art of the Kawasaki Ki-45 Kai Ko Night Fighter

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Construction description
The Kawasaki Ki-45 Kai Ko Night Fighter is almost identical to the Kawasaki Ki-45 Kai Ko. The only difference is the removal of the upper fuel tank in the fuselage and the installation of two Ho-103 12.7mm machine guns or two Ho-5 20mm cannons at an angle of 32 degrees upwards (but this suggestion focuses on the version with the Ho-103).

Technical sketches

Comparison of the Ki-45 Kai Ko Night Fighter with other Ki-45 variants

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Length: 10,60 m
Wingspan: 15,02 m
Height: 3,70 m
Wing area: 32,03 m2
Empty weight: 3695 kg (?)
Gross weight: 5276 kg (?)
Maximum Take-off Weight: ?
Powerplant: 2 x Mitsubishi Ha-102, air-cooled two-star fourteen-cylinder engine with a take-off power of 772 kW (1,080 hp)
Propellers: Three-bladed propellers with a diameter of 2 950 mm

Performance

Maximum speed: 547 km/h
Cruising speed: 380 km/h
Range: 1500 km
Maximum Range: 2260 km
Service ceiling: 10730 m
Climb Rate: 12,3 m/s
Rate of climb: 6,28 min to 4645 m

Armament

Guns:

2 × Ho-103 machine guns 12.7 mm in the nose (250 rounds per machine gun)
2 x Ho-103 machine guns 12.7 mm mounted at the rear at 32 degrees
1 x Ho-3 20mm cannon on the belly (100 rounds)
1 x Type 98 7.7mm Mobile Machine Gun in rear gunner position (1050 rounds)

Bombs:

2 x Type 2 No. 6 No. 21 “TA-DAN (under the fuselage)
2 x 50 kg bombs (?) (under the fuselage)
2 x 100 kg bombs (?) (under the fuselage)
2 x 250 Kg bombs (?) (under the fuselage)

Rocket:

4 x rocket Ro-3 (?)
4 x rocket Ro-5 (?)

Fuel dump tanks:

2 x 200 L dump tanks under wings

Armor

Self-sealing fuel tanks
16mm armor plate behind the pilot’s seat
16mm armor plate for the pilot

Special thanks

Summary
The Kawasaki Ki-45 Kai Ko Night Fighter is an interesting fighter for Japan in War Thunder. This aircraft would be an interesting interceptor fighter, capable of attacking enemy bombers from below by surprise. The Kawasaki Ki-45 Kai Ko Night Fighter could be added as a plane in the tech tree, as a premium, an event, or even as a modification for the regular Ki-45 Kai Ko. I encourage you to discuss in the comments and to share your own knowledge on this subject.
Finally, I apologize for the linguistic and logical errors because unfortunately English is not my main language and I had to use google translator.

Internet sources

二式複座戦闘機 - Wikipedia
Kawasaki Ki 45 Torjú [Nick] : Kawasaki
Kawasaki Ki 45 KAIa Torjú [Nick] : Kawasaki
Kawasaki Ki-45-KAI-Ko “Toryu”, (“Dragon Killer”, “Nick”), 5th Sentai, 1st Chutai, (Hasegawa) | ModelPlanes.de
Уголок неба ¦ Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu

Book sources