Kawasaki Ki-28

Ki-28
The sole prototype of the Kawasaki Ki-28
Role Experimental Fighter Aircraft
Manufacturer Kawasaki Kōkūki Kōgyō K.K.
Designer Takeo Doi
First flight 1936
Primary user Imperial Japanese Army Air Service
Number built 1

The Kawasaki Ki-28 (キ28, Ki-Nijuhachi), World War II Allied reporting name "Bob",[1] was an experimental fighter aircraft designed for the Imperial Japanese Army and meant as a replacement for the Kawasaki Ki-10. It flew in 1936 but was never produced for actual use, as the Army chose the Nakajima Ki-27.

Design & Development

The Ki-28 was initially produced by Kawasaki Kōkūki Kōgyō K.K. in response to Japanese Army specifications for a fighter to replace the existing Kawasaki Ki-10. In mid-1935, Kawasaki, Mitsubishi, and Nakajima were instructed to build competitive prototypes. The Kawasaki design was based on its earlier but unsuccessful Ki-5. It was a low-wing cantilever monoplane of all-metal construction, except for fabric-covered control surfaces, with a conventional tail unit, fixed tailskid landing gear, and powered by a 596 kW (800 hp) Kawasaki Ha 9-II-Ko liquid-cooled inline V12 engine.[2]

Service trials proved that the Kawasaki Ki-28 was the fastest of the three contenders, but the Nakajima Ki-27 was by far the most maneuverable and had the lowest wing-loading. On this basis, the Ki-27 was selected by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force.[3] Despite losing to the Ki-27, the Ki-28 provided Kawasaki with valuable experience, which would later help with development of the Kawasaki Ki-60 and Kawasaki Ki-61 fighters.[2]

Mistakenly believing the Ki-28 to have entered production in Japan as the Army Type 97 Fighter, the Allies assigned it the reporting name "Bob" during World War II.[1]

Operators

Military operators

 Japan

Specifications

Data from Famous Aircraft of the World, no.76: Japanese Army Experimental Fighters (1),[4] Japanese Aircraft, 1910-1941[5]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 7.9 m (25 ft 11 in)
  • Wingspan: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
  • Height: 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)
  • Wing area: 19 m2 (200 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 1,420 kg (3,131 lb)
  • Gross weight: 1,760 kg (3,880 lb)
  • Powerplant: × Kawasaki Ha9-II-Ko V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 597 kW (801 hp)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller, 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in) diameter

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 485 km/h (301 mph, 262 kn)
  • Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,000 ft)
  • Time to altitude: 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) in 5 minutes 10 seconds
  • Wing loading: 92.6 kg/m2 (19.0 lb/sq ft)
  • Power/mass: 0.33 kW/kg (0.20 hp/lb)

Armament

See also

Related lists

References

  1. ^ a b Francillon 1979, p. 566.
  2. ^ a b Mikesh & Abe 1990, p. 157.
  3. ^ Wieliczko & Szeremeta 2004, pp. 17–19.
  4. ^ FAOW 1976, p. 2.
  5. ^ Mikesh & Abe 1990, p. 158.

Bibliography

  • Francillon, René J. (1979). Japanese aircraft of the Pacific War (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-30251-6.
  • Mikesh, Robert C.; Abe, Shorzoe (1990). Japanese Aircraft 1910-1941. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-563-2.
  • "Japanese Army Experimental Fighters (1)". Famous Aircraft of the World. No. 76. Tokyo, Japan: Bunrin-Do Co. August 1976.
  • Wieliczko, Leszek A.; Szeremeta, Zygmunt (2004). Nakajima Ki 27 Nate (in Polish and English). Lublin, Poland: Kagero. ISBN 83-89088-51-7.
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