Kawasaki ki-61 "Tony"
CFS2 / FS2004/ FS2002
Price 17.00 usd / 14.00 euro

- GMAX MODEL
- CFS2 AI MODEL
- 30 texture sets
- new highly detailed model
- Stunning dynamic virtual cockpit, complete with standard Fs2004 features
- New fully animated vintage JAPANESE Pilot
- specular reflectivity (dinamic shine)
- New custom Fs2004 Effects with wingtip vortices, vapor contrails, and machine guns
- 2D panel with gauges
- 2D panel pop-ups for GPS, radio and throttle lever
- engine sounds
- 1 airport scenery
- 2 flightplans
- Canopy animation
- Multiresolution
- landing light
- Shock absorber movement
- All appropriate Fs2004 features and animations included
- 2 detailed pdf documents with history, performances and tutorial

The Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien ("Swallow") fighter represented a major departure for Japanese aircraft design in World War II.

While other Japanese fighters were designed with air-cooled radials and were optimized for maneuverability, the Ki-61 used a liquid-cooled in-line engine and was designed for speed and power. In fact, the Ki-61 was so different from other Japanese fighters that when the type was first encountered in combat over New Guinea in June 1943, the Allies thought it wasn't a Japanese design at all.
 

At first they believed it was a copy of the German Messerschmitt Me-109, then suspected it was a copy of the Italian Macchi C.202 Foglore or similar Italian fighter. For this reason they gave it the code-name "Antonio", or "Tony", though by the summer of 1943 the Allies were convinced the Ki-61 was in fact a Japanese design.

In March 1938, Kawasaki signed an agreement with Daimler-Benz of Germany for manufacturing rights to the liquid-cooled inline engines then under development by the German firm. In April 1940, a Kawasaki engineering team visited Daimler-Benz in Stuttgart to obtain plans and samples of the DB-601A engine, then being used in the Bf-109.

 

The Japanese Army also had unpleasant experiences in air combat against Soviet Polikarpov I-16 fighters during the beating the Japanese took from the USSR in a border clash over Manchuria in the summer of 1939. This experience suggested that the single-minded focus on agility above all that characterized Japanese fighter design doctrine might need to yield to a focus on speed and improved armor protection and firepower.
 

In February 1940, the IJA initiated work with Kawasaki on two single-seat fighters based on the DB-601A derivative engine: a heavy interceptor, designated the "Ki-60", and a general-purpose fighter, designated the "Ki-61". Kawasaki decided to build the Ki-60 first, and the design team, under Kawasaki chief designer Takeo Doi and his deputy Shin Owada, constructed three prototypes of the interceptor in 1941.

The Ha-40 engine was not available at that time, so the three aircraft were powered by sample DB-601A engines obtained from Germany. The Ki-60 was a low-wing monoplane, with plenty of power and heavy armament by Japanese standards. The first and second prototypes had two 12.7 millimeter (0.50 caliber) Ho-103 machine guns mounted on the nose in front of the pilot and two 20 millimeter Mauser MG-151 cannons, one mounted in each wing, for a total of four guns. The third prototype had four 12.7 millimeter guns.

Flight tests began in March 1941 and showed that the Ki-60 was too unmaneuverable and didn't meet its speed and climb requirements. Various tweaks to improve the aircraft failed, and so the Ki-60 was abandoned. The experience was valuable, however. Design work on the Ki-61, whose development had been proceeding in parallel with the Ki-60 since December 1940, incorporated new features derived from the lessons learned by the Ki-60 program

The first prototype was rolled out in early December 1941, and its performance proved excellent. Eleven more prototypes were delivered to the IJA for intensive trials. The Ki-61 was pitted against other Japanese fighters, as well as against the Messerschmitt Bf-109E-3, of which two had been bought by the IJA from the Germans, and the Curtiss P-40E, several of which had fallen into Japanese hands after the capture of the Dutch East Indies. .

 

While test pilots were a little skeptical of the new aircraft at first, pilots with combat experience appreciated the Ki-61's self-sealing fuel tanks, heavier armor and armament, and fast diving speed. The air combat tests showed the Ki-61 to be faster than all its adversaries, and easily out-maneuvered all of them except the Japanese Nakajima Ki-43 ("Oscar").

 

The Hien entered combat in the spring of 1943 in the New Guinea war zone, covering New Guinea, the Admiralty Islands, New Britain, and New Ireland. The new Japanese fighter caused some pain and consternation among Allied pilots, particularly when they found out the hard way that they could no longer go into a dive and escape as they had from lighter Japanese fighters. 5th Air Force Commander General George Kenney found his P-40 Warhawks completely outclassed, and begged for more P-38 Lightnings to counter the threat of the new enemy fighter.

The Ki-61 demonstrated only a few teething problems in field use, such as a tendency towards engine overheating during ground running under tropical conditions. However, despite the heavier armament, it still didn't have the punch to easily knock rugged and well-armed Allied bombers out of the sky. Once the Ho-5 cannon became available, Kawasaki designers then reversed the arrangement of the guns, putting the 20 millimeter cannon in the nose and the 12.7 millimeter guns in the wings. While they were making these modifications, they also made a few changes to streamline manufacturing and simplify field maintenance. This new variant was designated the "Ki-61-I KAIc" (where "KAI" was for "kaizo", or "modified") was 19 centimeters (7.5 inches) longer than its predecessors, and also featured a detachable rear section; a fixed tailwheel instead of the earlier retractable tailwheel; stronger wings; and stores pylons outboard of the main landing gear, allowing it to carry two 250 kilogram (550 pound) bombs.

The Ki-61-I KAIc went into production in January 1944 and ultimately replaced production of all earlier models in August 1944. A few "Ki-61-I KAId" bomber interceptors were also built in late 1944. These aircraft featured two 12.7 millimeter guns in the fuselage and a 30 millimeter Ho-105 cannon in each wing. Total production of all subvariants of the Ki-61-I was 2,654, with the Ki-61-I KAIc accounting for over half that number.