- Yes
- No
Kawasaki Ki-60.03 (川崎 キ60)
The Kawasaki Ki-60.03 is the third and last prototype of the Ki-60 fighter. It was the lightest and fastest of all Ki-60 prototypes. It was built in the summer of 1941.
History
In mid-1941, after unsuccessful tests of the Ki-60.01 and Ki-60.03 aircraft, the designers tried to save the Ki-60 aircraft project for the last time. They decided to create the lightest version of the Ki-60 aircraft, which was to meet the design requirements. For this purpose, the MG151/20 cannons were replaced with Ho-103 machine guns, the wing area was increased (the same as in the Ki-60.02) and all unnecessary parts were removed (including the reduction of fuel tanks). The Ki-60.03 aircraft after these changes had a take-off weight of 2600 kg, which is 290 kg less than the Ki-60.01. During flight tests, it turned out that the maximum speed increased only to 570 km/h, which was far from the planned 600 km/h. The wing load also decreased to 160.49 kg/m2 (Ki-60.01 = 181.76 kg/m2, Ki-60.02 = 169.80 kg/m2), which improved the maneuverability of the aircraft. However, at the end of 1941, the Japanese Army Air Command rejected the Ki-60 design in favor of the more Japanese Ki-44 (more maneuverable with a long range). After that, all three Ki-60 prototypes were sent to the Independent Squadron of 47 Squadron, where two of them crashed, and one survived until the end of the war, but it is not known which prototype it was.
Ki-60.03 with the rest of the Ki-60s
Construction description
The Ki-60.03 aircraft is very similar to the Ki-60.02, but there are a few differences between them, which I will describe here.
- Replaced 20 mm MG151/20 cannons in the wings with 12.7 mm Ho-103 machine guns
- Reduced the weight of the aircraft by 150 kg
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 8,4 m
- Wingspan: 10,5 m
- Height: 2,75 m
- Wing area: 15,9 m2
- Empty weight: 2,000 kg
- Gross weight: 2,600 kg
- Powerplant: 1 × Daimler-Benz DB 601A V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston engine, 875 kW (1,173 hp) for take off
- Propellers: 3-bladed Constant-speed propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 570 km/h
- Range: ?
- Service Ceiling: 9780 m
- Time to Climb: 6,0 min to 5000 m
Armament
- 2 x 12.7 mm Ho-103 machine guns in the nose
- 2 x 12.7 mm Ho-103 machine guns in the wings
Special thanks
Summary
The Kawasaki Ki-60.03 is a very interesting aircraft for Japan in War Thunder. This aircraft was very heavily armed for its time, and quite fast by Japanese standards. All Ki-60s look more Western (heavy armament and poor maneuverability) than Japanese. The Ki-60.03 aircraft will be an interesting fighter that will be comparable to the Ki-61-I otsu. 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
キ60 (航空機) - Wikipedia
Kawasaki Ki-60 - Wikipedia
Уголок неба ¦ Kawasaki Ki-60
Japanese Aircraft of WWII: Kawasaki Ki-60
Kawasaki Ki-60 Fighter
Kawasaki Ki-60 Single-Seat, Single-Engine Interceptor / Fighter Aircraft
Kawasaki Ki-60: Photos, History, Specification
Kawasaki Ki-60 - Japan - War Thunder - Official Forum
Kawasaki Ki-60 - fighter
Kawasaki Ki.60 Info
https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_kawasaki_ki-60.html
Book sources
Thank you for reading the suggestion, see you in the next one. Good luck pilots
