- Yes
- No
- Early production
- Late production
- No
Mitsubishi Ki-30 ( 九七式軽爆撃機)
The Mitsubishi Ki-30 is a Japanese light bomber that served in the Japanese Air Force from 1938 to 1942, about 700 aircraft of this type were built.
History
In 1936, the Japanese Air Force Command (Koku Hombu) decided that there was an urgent need to replace the obsolete Ki-2 and Ki-3 aircraft. Koku Hombu prepared guidelines for the new light bomber, and they were as follows:
- The aircraft should reach 450 km/h at 3000m
- It should be reached to an altitude of 3000m in 8 minutes
- The armament was to consist of at least 2 7.7mm rifles (at least one for attack on ground targets and one for self-defense in a movable mount) and a bomb load between 300 and 450 kg
- With a full load, it should reach 300 km/h
- The flight range was to be 750 km
- Possibility of attack from a dive flight
Several companies were invited to participate in the competition: Tachikawa (Ki-29), Nakajima (Ki-31), Mitsubishi (Ki-30) and Kawasaki (Ki-32). However, at the very beginning, the Tachikawa and Nakajima factories withdrew from the competition. In the final competition, the Kawasaki Ki-32 and Mitsubishi Ki-30 took part. The Ki-30 project was entrusted to young engineers named Kawano, Ohki and Mizuno, and the project was supervised by Colonel Komamura of Koku Hombu.During the design work, some things in the design were changed, such as the abandonment of the retractable landing gear in favor of a lighter fixed landing gear.The first prototype was ready to fly in February 1937. On February 28, 1937, the aircraft took off for the first time from Kagamigahara under the control of test pilot Yamaguchi. Although the aircraft was completed two months late and was heavier than expected, the controllability and flight characteristics were found to be very satisfactory. The prototype managed to achieve a flight speed of 423 km/h at an altitude of 4000 meters, which met the requirements of the army. Due to the delay and higher weight than expected in the aircraft, no air brakes are installed, so the aircraft can only attack ground targets from a light dive flight.The Japanese army ordered 16 pre-series Ki-30 aircraft by January 1938 for testing, during which a few things were changed from the prototype, such as the removal of the fairing from the outer part of the wheel. In March 1938, the Ki-30 was accepted into service under the name “Type 97 Light Bomber”
Further history
The first combat actions of the Ki-30 were in China in 1938, where the aircraft turned out to be a very reliable machine. This aircraft, together with the Ki-21, provided very useful support to the Japanese army fighting against the Chinese. Ki-30 aircraft took part in the fight against the Russians during the fighting near the Khalkhin Gol River. However, in early 1941, the Ki-30 aircraft became vulnerable to attacks by the more modern P-40 aircraft that were used by the Chinese.This led to the need to change the Ki-30 to make them less vulnerable to enemy attacks. It was decided to strengthen the armament and use the same engine, but with more power. New rifles were installed in new and old Ki-30 aircraft: Type 89 defensive rifle replaced with Te-4 rifle or Type 98 rifle. The new engine was the Ha-5 Kai engine, which had 100 hp more. Ki-30 aircraft were last used in the Philippines and Burma in early 1942. Then the Ki-30 aircraft began to be withdrawn from line units for training purposes. In 1945, a small number of Ki-30s took part in kamikaze missions against American ships near Okinawa.
Ki-30 Art
Film about Ki-30
Foreign use of the Ki-30
The main foreign user of the Ki-30 was Thailand, which had 24 of these machines. They were used from 1940 to the end of the 1940s, and during their service they took part in battles with the French, as well as with the Chinese after 1941.
Thai Ki-30
The next user was China, which used captured Ki-30 aircraft until 1950.
A few Ki-30 planes were used by Indonesia, but I was not able to find photos of these machines.
Construction description
The Mitsubishi Ki-30 aircraft was a medium-wing aircraft with a metal structure, with the exception of the ailerons and rudders, which were covered with canvas. Landing gear – fixed, in a classic layout, with aerodynamically profiled fairings on the wheels. The bombs were placed in the bomb bay inside the fuselage (after the wing spar) or attached under the wings, outside of the landing gear. At the beginning of production, the aircraft was powered by the Ha5-Kai engine with a power of 850 HP, and then the Ha5-Kai engine with a power of 950 HP.
Armament
Early production
The Ki-30 aircraft was armed with a Type 89 wing rifle with a supply of 200 rounds, it is mounted in the left wing. For self-defense, the Type 98 rifle is mounted on a movable handle, which has a supply of 576 rounds of ammunition.The bomb bay assumed the suspension of the following sets of bombs: 20x15-kg, 6x50-kg; 3x100 kg or one 250 kg bomb. In addition, two more 100 kg or four 50 kg bombs could be hung on the underwing nodes.However, the maximum load must not be more than 450 kg.
Late production
In late production, in order to improve self-defense capabilities, the Type 89 rifle was replaced with either the Type 98 or Te-4 rifle.
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 10.35 m (33 ft 11 in)
- Wingspan: 14.55 m (47 ft 9 in)
- Height: 3.65 m (12 ft 0 in)
- Wing area: 30.58 m2 (329.2 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 2,230 kg (4,916 lb)
- Gross weight: 3,320 kg (7,319 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Nakajima Ha5-Kai Air-cooled radial 14-cylinder engine 850HP or Nakajima Ha5-Kai 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 708 kW (949 hp)
- Propellers: 3-bladed variable-pitch propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 423 km/h (263 mph) or 432 km/h (268.4 mph)
- Cruise speed: 380 km/h (240 mph, 210 kn)
- Range: 1,700 km (1,100 mi, 920 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 8,570 m (28,120 ft)
- Rate of climb: 8.33 m/s (1,640 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 108.6 kg/m2 (22.2 lb/sq ft)
Armament
Early variant
- 1x 7.7mm Type89 fixed machine gun firing forward (200 rounds per rifle)
- 1x Type 89 7.7mm mobile machine gun (576 rounds)
- 450 kg bombs (bomb bay: 20 x 15kg, 6 x 50kg, 3 x 100kg, 1 x 250kg)(Under the wings: 2 x 100 kg, 4 x 50kg)
Bomb loading 50 kg
Late variant
- 1x 7.7mm Type89 fixed machine gun firing forward (200 rounds per rifle)
- 1x Type 98 or Te-4 7.7mm mobile machine gun
- 450 kg bombs (bomb bay: 20 x 15kg, 6 x 50kg, 3 x 100kg, 1 x 250kg)(Under the wings: 2 x 100 kg, 4 x 50kg)
Summary
The Mitsubishi Ki-30 would be a very interesting aircraft for Japan in War Thunder. It is perfect for the tab with an aircraft from the same competition, i.e. the Ki-32. Thanks to the large bomb load, it is ideal for low Br. The plane also has its drawbacks, such as poor defensive armament and medium speed. 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
九七式軽爆撃機 - Wikipedia
Mitsubishi Ki-30 - Wikipedia
【キ30】九七式軽爆撃機/三菱 | 大日本帝国軍 主要兵器 (japanese-warship.com)
Mitsubishi Ki-30 / 三菱 キ30 九七式轻爆击机 : Mitsubishi (armedconflicts.com)
Уголок неба ¦ Mitsubishi Ki-30 (airwar.ru)
Mitsubishi Ki-30 ANN - light bomber (aviastar.org)
Mitsubishi Ki-30 (Ann) Lekki bombowiec / samolot szkolno-treningowy / samolot szturmowy (militaryfactory.com)
Mitsubishi Ki-30 - Japan - War Thunder - Official Forum
Ki-30 Light Bomber | World War II Database (ww2db.com)
RTAF Ki.30 (wings-aviation.ch)
Mitsubishi Ki-30 “Ann” [Bombardero Ligero] - La Segunda Guerra Mundial
Mitsubishi Ki-30 (e-monsite.com)
九七式単発軽爆撃機 | 日本陸海軍機入門 (nobody.jp)
Book sources
- Air War Over Khalkhin Gol - The Nomonhan Incident page: 103
Air War Over Khalkhin Gol - The Nomonhan Incident | PDF (scribd.com) - Japanese Aircraft of Wolrld War II : 1937-1945 ,Thomas Newdick, Edition 2 2017, page 17