Ki-88
The mock-up of the Kawasaki Ki-88 in 1943.
Role Fighter aircraft
Manufacturer Kawasaki Kōkūki Kōgyō K.K.
Primary user Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (intended)
Number built None

The Kawasaki Ki-88 was a proposed Japanese World War II fighter aircraft intended for use by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. Its anticipated performance was disappointing, and only a mock-up was completed.[1]

Design and development

Faced with delays in development of the Kawasaki Ki-64 fighter, the Imperial Japanese Army was open in 1942 to alternative fighter designs that might reach combat units more quickly.[2] Kawasaki proposed the Ki-88, a design inspired by the Bell P-39 Airacobra fighter then in service with the United States Army Air Forces.[1]

Kawasaki began design work on the Ki-88 in August 1942. The Ki-88 was to have a 1,117-kW (1,500-hp) Kawasaki Ha-140 engine behind its cockpit, driving a tractor propeller through an extension shaft. It was to mount a 37-mm cannon in its propeller shaft and two 20-mm cannon in its lower nose.[1]

When design work had progressed far enough to allow it, Kawasaki built a full-scale mock-up of the Ki-88, which bore a strong resemblance to the P-39. After inspection of the mockup, the Japanese calculated a maximum speed for the aircraft of 600 km/h (373 mph) at an altitude of 6,000 m (19,685 feet). This was only slightly faster than the Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien fighter, which already was in production. As a result, Kawasaki discontinued design work on the Ki-88 less than a year after beginning it.[1]

Specifications

Data from Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War[1]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 10.2 m (33 ft 6 in)
  • Wingspan: 12.4 m (40 ft 8 in)
  • Height: 4.15 m (13 ft 7 in)
  • Gross weight: 3,900 kg (8,598 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Kawasaki Ha-140 18-cyl. liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,120 kW (1,500 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 600 km/h (370 mph, 320 kn) at 6,000 m (19,685 ft)
  • Range: 1,200 km (750 mi, 650 nmi)

Armament

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Francillon, Rene J. (1979). Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 483. ISBN 0-87021-313-X.
  2. ↑ "en.valka.cz Kawasaki Ki-88". Archived from the original on 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2020-02-14.

Bibliography

  • Francillon, Rene J. (1979). Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 483. ISBN 0-87021-313-X.
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