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Kawasaki Ki-88 (川崎 キ88)
The Kawasaki Ki-88 is a Japanese unfinished prototype fighter aircraft. In October 1943, when the prototype was ready for assembly, the project was discontinued. That’s it for the beginning, now a suggestion.
History
In August 1942, the Japanese military realized that a powerful air defense fighter was needed (at that time, the Ki-45 Kai was an escort or attack aircraft). The Japanese army ordered the Kawasaki plant to build a fast fighter using the experience from the work on the Ki-64 (at that time the Ki-64 was in the prototype construction phase). The main inrzynier of the project was Takeo Doi, the best kawasaki inrzynier. During the design work, in order to facilitate the future production of the aircraft, it was decided to use components from other aircraft (the cabin was based on the fuselage of the Ki-64, and the wings were derived from the Ki-61-II (not the Ki-61-II Kai from the game)). The aircraft was structurally very similar to the Bell P-39, which was a well-known Japanese (the Japanese encountered the P-39 over Guadalcanal. Japanese intelligence also knew about it), but there is no evidence that Takeo Doi copied the solutions from the P-39 (the Japanese did not capture any P-39). In June 1943, the design work was completed, and soon after the mock-up of the aircraft. At that time, the construction of 2 prototypes and 10 additional prototypes was planned. Work on the prototype went very smoothly. By September 1943, the wings and fuselage of the Ki-88 were to be installed, but the Japanese army evaluated the project during the construction of the prototype. The commanders of the Japanese army noted that the Ki-88 would be a complex design, with many innovations, and after evaluating the performance, it was noted that the quality would not be drastically better than other Japanese designs. Therefore, in October 1943, the Ki-88 project was ordered to be discontinued and the focus was on the more promising Ki-61-II (this aircraft turned out to be an unsuccessful design and only the Ki-61-II Kai turned out to be successful). It is not known what happened to the unfinished prototype of the Ki-88, but it was probably destroyed in American air raids.
Construction description
The Kawasaki Ki-88 is a low-wing air defense fighter with a retractable landing gear. The plane is of metal construction. The Kawasaki Ha-140 engine with a take-off power of 1,103 kW (1,500 hp) is located behind the cockpit, which drives a three-bladed propeller with a diameter of 3,200 mm through an extended propeller shaft. The aircraft is equipped with a 37mm Ho-203 cannon in the propeller axis and two Ho-5 cannons in the lower part of the nose.
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 10,20 m
- Wingspan: 12,40 m
- Height: 4 m or 4,15 m
- Wing area: 25,0 m2
- Empty weight: 2 950 kg
- Gross weight: 3 900 kg
- Maximum Take-off Weight: ?
- Powerplant: 1 x Kawasaki Ha-140 liquid-cooled two-cylinder inverted engine with take-off power of 1,103 kW (1,500 hp)
- Propellers: Three-bladed metal propeller with a diameter of 3,200 mm
Performance
- Maximum speed: 600 km/h or 620 km/h
- Cruising speed: 457 km/h (?)
- Range: 1 200 km
- Maximum Range: ?
- Service ceiling: 11 000 m
- Climb Rate: ?
- Rate of climb: 6,50 min to 5000 m
Armament
- 1 x Ho-203 37mm cannon passing through the propeller shaft
- 2 x Ho-5 20mm cannons in the lower part of the nose
Special thanks
Summary
The Kawasaki Ki-88 is an interesting aircraft for Japan in War Thunder. This heavy interceptor would make a great fighter with powerful firepower and high speed. This aircraft can perfectly complement Japanese interceptors (Ki-45 Kai, Ki-102, Ki-108) or be an ideal event or Premium aircraft. 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88 (航空機) - Wikipedia
Kawasaki Ki-88 fighter project | Secret Projects Forum
Kawasaki Ki-88 | Plane-Encyclopedia
Japanese Aircraft of WWII: Kawasaki Ki-88
帝國陸軍の航空機
Опытный истребитель 川崎 キ88 (Kawasaki Ki-88). Япония - Альтернативная История
Book sources
- The Xplanes of Imperial Japanese Army and Navy 1924-45 page 98-99
The Xplanes of Imperial Japanese Army and Navy 1924-45 | PDF - Japanese Secret Projects Experimental Aircraft of the IJA & IJN 1939-1945, page 12-13
Thank you for reading the suggestion, see you in the next one. Good luck pilots
