Kawasaki Ki-48-IIa Lily

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Kawasaki Ki-48-IIa (九九式双発軽爆撃機二型 甲)
The Kawasaki Ki-48-IIa bomber was created to improve the rapidly aging Ki-48-I bomber. Bombers in the Ki-48-II version (IIa ,IIb ,IIc) were built in general either 1408 or 1420. The Ki-48-II version was produced from 1942 to October 1943.

History
During the fight in China in the autumn of 1940 and at the beginning of 1941, the Ki-48 aircraft proved to be very vulnerable to attacks by modern fighters that the Allies delivered to China. Therefore, it was decided to improve the Ki-48 aircraft. From the introduction of the Ki-48-I, work was underway on the Ki-48-II aircraft, which was to be equipped with the Ha-115 engine, so it was decided to install additional armor and self-sealing fuel tanks. Due to problems with the Ha-115 engine, the prototype was not ready until February 1942. The aircraft was hastily accepted into service, so not all planned modifications were applied. It was not possible to install air brakes, with which the Japanese engineers had a problem. Due to the haste, the defensive armament was not reinforced. Production of the Ki-48-IIa version lasted from 1942 to October 1943. This aircraft was quickly replaced in production by the Ki-48-IIb and Ki-48-IIc aircraft.

Photos of the Ki-48-IIa

OIP (1)
1327267872_Ki-48IIa
1327267872_Ki-48-IIA
jpc21


R
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R (2)

Structure description
Differences between the Ki-48-I and the Ki-48-IIa:

  • The fuselage has been lengthened by 150 mm
  • The Ha-115 engine was installed instead of the Ha-25 engine
  • The aircraft was equipped with self-sealing fuel tanks
  • The aircraft was equipped with steel plates 6.5 - 16.5 mm thick, which were to protect the crew (their arrangement is the same as in the Ki-48-II otsu, which is in the game)
  • Thanks to more powerful engines, the maximum load could be a maximum of 800 kg
Technical sketches

R (1)
Kawasaki_Ki-48II_3D_view

General characteristics

  • Wingspan: 17.46 m
  • Length: 12,75 m
  • Height: 3.8 m
  • Wing area: 40m2
  • Empty weight: 4,470 kg
  • Takeoff weight: 6,410 kg
  • Maximum weight take-off: 6,705 kg
  • Powerplant: 2 x air-cooled two-star fourteen-cylinder Nakajima Ha-115 engine with a take-off power of 1,130 hp
  • Propellers: three-bladed propellers with variable pitch and a diameter of 2.9 m
  • Crew: 4 people

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 511 km/h
  • Cruising speed: 395 km/h
  • Range: 2050 km
  • Maximum Range: 2400 km
  • Service Ceiling: 10,400 m
  • Rate of climb: 10.25 m/s
  • Time to Climb: 8,25 min to 5000 m

Armament

  1. Fixed armament
  • 1 x Te-4 machine guns (in the nose)( 408 reinforcements in 6 magazines of 68 rounds)
  • 1 x Te-4 machine guns (under hull) (612 rounds in 9 magazines of 68 rounds)
  • 1 x Type 89 “Special” Machine Gun (upper turret) (900 rounds in 10 magazines of 90 rounds)
    OR
  • 1 x 7.92 mm Type 1 machine gun ( turrets in the dorsal)
  • 2 x 7.92 mm Type 98 machine gun ( turrets in the nose ,under the fuselage)
  1. Bomb Load
  • Standard 400 kg
  • Maximum 800 kg
Rifle firing range

Zrzut ekranu 2024-06-09 192046

Shooting positions


ki_48_224


Armour

  • armor plates 6.5mm, 12.5mm and 16.5mm thick
Arrangement of armor plates

Zrzut ekranu 2024-06-09 192332

Special thanks to the user

Summary
The Kawasaki Ki-48-IIa would be a very interesting aircraft for Japan in War Thunder. This aircraft would be very similar to the Ki-48-II otsu, which is a premium aircraft. The Ki-48-IIa version provides a larger bomb load and better defensive armament (front gunner), but does not have a guided missile. It would be a very useful low-age bomber. 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.

Possible camouflages




kawasaki_ki-48
p1

Internet sources

九九式双発軽爆撃機 - Wikipedia
Kawasaki Ki-48 - Wikipedia
Kawasaki Ki 48-IIa Sókei [Lily] : Kawasaki (valka.cz)
Kawasaki Ki-48 LILY - light bomber (aviastar.org)
Kawasaki Ki 48 Lily (freeola.com)
Уголок неба ¦ Kawasaki Ki-48 (airwar.ru)
Japanese Aircraft of WWII: Kawasaki Ki-48
Kawasaki Ki-48 Sokei (Lily) Fast-Bomber / Dive Bomber Aircraft (militaryfactory.com)
Kawasaki Ki-48 Sokei Light bomber (airpages.ru)
Kawasaki Ki-48 Sokei (Lily): Photos, History, Specification
Kawasaki Ki-48 - Japan - War Thunder - Official Forum

Book sources
5 Likes

The second photo in Shooting positions is a Te-4 machine gun. So it appears to be a photo of Ki-48-I.

I can’t find a photo of the under the fuselage equipped with the Type 98 flexible machine gun, but the picture in the manual remains.
https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/8815754/1/517

The Ki-48-IIa had the same armament as the Ki-48-I, then the guns were replaced with better Type 98 ones. I cannot correct your suggestion at the moment, but your comments will be incorporated into it. You did a great job.

1 Like

Once again, at least one variant of this much produced plane is needed in the tech tree, without being a premium or an event vehicle. +1

The armament should be Type 98 and Type 1 7.92mm machine guns.

Spoiler

Source: The Ki48-II-Otsu lacks some issues - #12 by ibaraki_Kasen

Source: Mechanism of Military Aircraft No. 2: Type 3 "Hien" & Type 5 Army Fighter/Type 99 Light Bomber : Maru Mechanic - 雑誌「丸」編集部編 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

In my opinion, the best option for this aircraft would be the Ki-48 II Otsu (b) variant. This variant is practically identical to the current mother-ship aircraft, but with complete production armament and equipment, which would be quite easy to add.

The Ki-48 II Hei (c) variant with the flexible 12.7mm is also very solid.

It is difficult for me to confirm the armament, because many sources claim that the Ki-48-IIa was armed the same as the Ki-48-I. But, for example, at some point there was a change of armament from Te-4 to Type 98 machine guns