hello, what is the difference between Ki-43 I and II? I ask because both planes have the same BR in realistic battles, and according to the stat card, I ask why I should fly the Ki-43 I if there is a Ki-43 II on the same BR.
Their Specific excess power (power divided by weight) is slightly different:
from: War Thunder Aircraft Performance Calculator
Ki-43-I seems to have slightly better engine at 3 kilometer altitude, while Ki-43-II experiences a performance drop from 2-4KM that looks supiciously like supercharger drops. Looking at the OLD wiki:
Varying IAS seems to more strongly impact Ki-43-I - higher IAS extends good engine performance at higher altitudes more significantly than for Ki-43-II
Spoiler
200 IAS
400 IAS
Ki-43-I
Ki-43-II
Looks like a big difference between the two aircraft is that Ki-43-II is outfitted with a supercharger to improve high altitude performance.
In terms of armament (taken from new wiki)
Ki-43-I:
Spoilered because it has 3 options
Ki-43-II:
Unfortunately, for our final data piece - Maneuvering Energy diagrams - I could not find any from a cursory google search. Catwerfer has only produced experimental data for aircraft around 4.0.
As for why Ki-43-I over Ki-43-II?
Ki-43-I seems to have SLIGHTLY better engine performance between 2-4km altitude range. Ki-43-II does far better above 4km - making it better for bomber interception. However, Ki-43-I is foldered with Ki-43-II and the “I” variant comes first. To obtain Ki-43-II, you must research Ki-43-I. From a progression PoV, researching a foldered vehicle (the “II”) costs less RP allowing for faster progression to rank 2 by unlocking the required number of aircraft.
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Ki-43-1 has longer wings and better flaps, making it much better at dogfighting. Ki-43-II has a slightly more powerful engine and is faster.
The -II has some weird rudder behavior in RB where despite the rudder being really good, the instructor won’t actually use it much so shooting other aircraft is much harder than the -I.
Just use the Ki-43-1. It doesn’t disappoint in the slightest.
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Another difference for the Ki-43 I is the weapons options.
2 7.7’s, 1 7.7, and a 12.7 or 2 12.7’s. I do the 2nd one: a single 7.7mm Machine Gun and a 12.7.
I would like to add some things:
The Ki-43-I is lighter than the Ki-43-II (source: data sheets).
I find the roll to be faster on the II, but it also over-rolls if you are not careful.
The II has a slightly higher top speed, most of the time (source).
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I have to confirm the rudder problems you are talking about. I tried one battle with the Ki-43 II and I don’t want to fly it again. Aiming with Ki-43 II is impossible if you are flying at 400kph, maybe even less, so I’ll try the Ki-43 I and see if the rudder is a little better, more usable.
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