Tachikawa Ki-94

Ki-94

National origin: Japan
Manufacturer: Tachikawa Aircraft Company Ltd
Status: Prototype
Number built: 2

The term Tachikawa Ki-94 refers to two designs of the Tachikawa Hikoki K.K. aircraft factory.

Design and development

Picture - A full-scale wooden mock-up of the Ki-94-I.

The first was a twin-boom monoplane with two 1,641 kW (2,200 hp) Mitsubishi Ha-211 18 cylinder engines, driving two 4-blade propellors in a push-pull configuration. The very heavy armament that should have been mounted on the aircraft (two 37 mm/1.46 in and two 30 mm/1.18 in cannons, should have been enough to make short work of most US heavy bombers of the era. Notwithstanding the outstanding prospective performance, which however was judged as "unduly optimistic" by the technical department of the Japanese Army Air Force, this design was judged too complex by the technical department and the design was discarded.

Picture - The first prototype of the Ki-94-II under constraction.

The second Ki-94 design, made by a team under Tatsuo Hasegawa, chief designer of the aircraft and responsible for the used airfoil, was a more conventional single-seat, piston-engine monoplane fighter, developed for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force along the same requirements as the Nakajima Ki-87, which had been the Army's fall-back design for the original Ki-94. Intended to counter B-29 raids, it was optimized for high-altitude interception with a pressurized cockpit and heavy armament.

This design was approved by the Koku Hombu, and the aircraft was designated Ki-94-II (the scrapped earlier Ki-94 design was named the Ki-94-I). An order was placed for one static test airframe, three prototypes, and eighteen pre-production aircraft. Only 2 prototypes were built in the event; the first was equipped with a single Nakajima Ha-44 engine, driving a 4-blade propeller because the 6-blade one was not ready. The second prototype was to be fitted with a 6-blade propeller. The war's end however stopped the construction of the second prototype and also found the first prototype still being readied for its maiden flight; the Ki-94-II never taking to the air.

Specifications (Ki-94-II (estimated performance))

Data from Famous Aircraft of the World, first series, no.76: Japanese Army Experimental Fighters (1); Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 14 m (45 ft 11 in)
Height: 4.65 m (15 ft 3 in)
Wing area: 28 m² (301.388 ft²)
Airfoil: TH airfoil
Empty weight: 4,637 kg (10,337 lb)
Loaded weight: 6.450 kg (14.220 lb)
Powerplant: 1x— Nakajima Ha-44 12 18-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 1,835 kW (2,461 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 712 km/h (385 kn, 443 mph)
Cruise speed: 440 km/h (237 kn, 273 mph)
Range: 2,100 km (1,305 mi)
Service ceiling: 14,680 m (48,170 ft)
Wing loading: 230.4 kg/m² (47.2 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 0.28 kW/kg (0.17 hp/lb)
Climb to 5,000 m (16,400 ft): 5 min 9 sec;
Climb to 10,000 m (32,800 ft): 17 min 38 sec;
Climb to 13,000 m (42,640 ft): 21 min 03 sec

Armament

Guns: 2 x— 30 mm (1.18 in) Ho-155 cannons and 2 x— 20 mm Ho-5 cannons in wings,
Bombs: 2 x— 250 kg (551 lb) bombs

Comparable aircraft

Focke-Wulf Ta 152H
Republic P-47N Thunderbolt
Nakajima Ki-87
Davis Manta Fighter
Mansyu Ki-98

Bibliography

Francillon, Ph.D., René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1970. ISBN 0-370-00033-1 (2nd edition 1979, ISBN 0-370-30251-6).
Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War, Volume Three: Fighters. London: Macdonald, 1961 (Seventh impression 1973). ISBN 0-356-01447-9.
Unknown Author Famous Aircraft of the World, first series, no.76: Japanese Army Experimental Fighters (1). Japan: Bunrin-Do Co. Ltd., August 1976.

Tachikawa Ki-94 Pictures

Living Warbirds: The best warbirds DVD series.

Source: WikiPedia