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Mitsubishi Ki-20 ( 九二式重爆撃機)
The Ki-20 was the largest aircraft introduced into service by the Japanese Empire, it is larger than the B-29 and has a powerful bomb load. Only 6 copies were made, the production of which lasted from 1931 to 1935 and was never used in combat. They served from 1932 to 1945, five were destroyed or scrapped, and the last one was scrapped after the war.
History
The Japanese army in the late 1920s considered the possibility of war with the United States, part of this war was to be an invasion of the Philippines. The Japanese command knew about the heavily fortified island of Corregidor, so they needed a powerful bomber that could bomb the island from bases in Taiwan. In addition, Japanese intelligence reported that the USSR was building a large TB-4 bomber, so there was an additional need to introduce a similar aircraft.The Army command ordered the Mitsubishi plant to construct a new heavy bomber with a huge range. The Japanese industry of that time did not have the experience or technology to build such powerful aircraft. Therefore, it was decided to purchase the aircraft from abroad and convert it accordingly for their own purposes. The greatest attention of Mitsubishi engineers was drawn by the German Junkers G.38 (or more precisely, the Junkers K.51 heavy bomber, which was its modification). In 1928, Japan purchased licenses to produce the G.38, and Junkers engineers were invited to help. The Japanese army made sure to maintain complete secrecy over the production and development of the future Ki-20 aircraft. For the production of the first two Ki-20 aircraft, parts from Germany were ordered, while the remaining 4 were mainly used locally produced elements. Work on the first prototype lasted until 1931. Then, in the same year, tests were carried out at Kakamigahara Airport.Although, for example, landing an airplane was not the easiest, the plane was accepted into service and serial production began, lasting until 1935. An additional 5 aircraft were produced until 1935, when the aircraft was considered obsolete and production was discontinued. Until 1940, the aircraft was secret and did not have an official Kitai number, which was only assigned in 1940. During World War 2, planes were used only for propaganda purposes. 5 out of 6 machines were destroyed during the war, and the last one was scrapped after the war.
Structure description
The Ki-20 was a low-flying medium-wing aircraft with an all-metal structure with a working covering made of corrugated sheet. Fixed landing gear with two main wheel assemblies, two wheels one behind the other and a single tail wheel.The tail is made of two horizontal stabilizers connected by three vertical stabilizers. The power unit consisted of four 12-cylinder Junkers L 88 in-line engines (the first four machines, the fifth and sixth received Junkers Jumo 204 engines) placed on the leading edge of the wing, driving four-bladed wooden propellers. The crew of the aircraft consisted of ten people, the commander of the machine, two pilots, a bombardier, a radio operator, a chief engineer and four mechanics responsible for controlling the operation of each engine. Their positions were located in the wings of the aircraft, the thickness of their profile reached 2 meters.
Comparison with other aircraft
Armament
The Ki-20 could carry a maximum of 5000 kg of bombs (normally 2000 kg), and as the machine did not have a bomb bay, the bombs were suspended on external hooks under the fuselage and under the external engines. On the top of the fuselage there is a 20 mm Oerlikon type L (type 94) cannon operated by a radio operator or chief engineer. On the bow there was an open position of twin Type 89 7.7 mm machine guns operated by a bombardier. In the nacelles located on the trailing edge of the wing, on the extension of the outer pair of engines, there were another two double machine gun mounts manned by flight mechanics. Under the external engines there were single shooting positions of Type 89 7.7 mm rifles retractable from the wings.
General characteristics
- Crew: 10
- Length: 23.2 m (76 ft 1 in)
- Wingspan: 44 m (144 ft 4 in)
- Height: 7 m (23 ft 0 in)
- Wing area: 294 m2 (3,160 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 14,912 kg (32,875 lb)
- Gross weight: 25,448 kg (56,103 lb)
- Powerplant:
- 4 x (Units 1 - 4) Yu Type 1 (Junkers L88) liquid-cooled V12 engine (normal power 800 hp)
- 4 x (Units 5 and 6) Yu Jumo Type 4 (Junkers Jumo 204) Liquid-cooled in-line 12-cylinder diesel engine (normal power 720 hp)
- Propellers: 4-bladed wooden fixed-pitch propellers
Performance
- Maximum speed: 200 km/h (120 mph, 110 mi)
- Range: 2,000 km
- Wing loading: 86.6 kg/m2 (17.7 lb/sq ft)
- Power/mass: 0.094 kW/kg (0.057 hp/lb)
Armament
- Armament:
- 3 x Type 89 7.7 mm rotary machine gun (twin) (configurations: nose × 1, upper × 1 from the left wing, upper right wing ×1)
- 2 x Type unknown 7.7 mm rotary machine gun (single mount) (position: 1 × left wing, 1 × right wing from below)
- 1 x Type 94 20mm Rotary Cannon (Single) × (positioned: 1 × rear of hull center)
- Bombs:
- Maximum: 5,000 kg
- 36 x 50 kg (wing), total 1,800 kg
- 8 x 100 kg (body) + 36 x 50 kg (wing), total 2,600 kg
- 4 x 200 kg (body) + 36 x 50 kg (wing), total 2,600 kg
- 4 x 250 kg (body) + 36 x 50 kg (wing), total 2,800 kg
- 4 x 500 kg (body) + 36 x 50 kg (wing), total 3,800 kg
- 8 x 100 kg (body) + 28 x 100 kg (wing), total 3,600 kg
- 4 x 200 kg (body) + 28 x 100 kg (wing), total 3,600 kg
- 4 x 250 kg (body) + 28 x 100 kg (wing), total 3,800 kg
- 4 x 500 kg (body) + 28 x 100 kg (wing), total 4,800 kg
- 8 x 100 kg (body) + 12 x 200 kg (wing), total 3,200 kg
- 8 x 100 kg (body) + 12 x 250 kg (wing), total 3,800 kg
- 4 x 200 kg (body) + 12 x 200 kg (wing), total 3,200 kg
- 4 x 250 kg (body) + 12 x 200 kg (wing), total 3,400 kg
- 4 x 500 kg (body) + 12 x 200 kg (wing), total 4,400 kg
- 4 x 200 kg (body) + 12 x 250 kg (wing), total 3,800 kg
- 4 x 250 kg (body) + 12 x 250 kg (wing), total 4,000 kg
- 4 x 500 kg (body) + 12 x 250 kg (wing), total 5,000 kg
- 4 x 500 kg (body) + 4 x 500 kg (wing), total 4,000 kg
Summary
The Ki-20 was a very interesting aircraft for Japan in War Thunder. Although it is huge and slow, its payload will allow it to destroy many bases in one flight. It resembles the French F.222.2, which is quite a nice plane. In my opinion, it would be a very nice plane. 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
九二式重爆撃機 - Wikipedia
Mitsubishi Ki-20 - Wikipedia
Mitsubishi Ki-20: a bomber variant of the Junkers G 38 | Secret Projects Forum
Junkers/Mitsubishi Ki-20 (Type 92 Heavy Bomber): the Giant - Passed for Consideration - War Thunder - Official Forum
The Ki-20; Mitsubishi’s Monstrous White Elephant - Forgotten Aircraft - Military Matters
Mitsubishi Ki-20 (Army Type 92) Four-Engined Long-Range Heavy Bomber Aircraft (militaryfactory.com)
Mitsubishi Ki-20 (Army Type 92): Photos, History, Specification (tvd.im)
【幻の兵器】日本軍最初で最後の四発重爆「九二式重爆撃機」 (2016年5月16日) - エキサイトニュース (excite.co.jp)
Mitsubishi Ki 20 : Mitsubishi (valka.cz)
Уголок неба ¦ Mitsubishi Ki-20 (airwar.ru)
