Nakajima Ki-49

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakajima_Ki-49

The Nakajima Ki-49 Donryu (?? ?-49 ??) "Storm Dragon" was a twin-engine Japanese
bomber aircraft of World War II. Despite its official designation as Army Type
100 Heavy Bomber, the requirements of the Ki-49 – to operate unescorted, with
heavy defensive armament and armor – restricted it to a small bomb load,
initially 1,000 kg (2,200 lb).

A mid-wing, cantilever monoplane of all-metal construction, the Ki-49 was one of
the first Japanese aircraft fitted with a retractable tailwheel. During World
War II, it was known to the Allies by the reporting name "Helen".

The Ki-49 was designed to replace the Mitsubishi Ki-21 ("Sally"), which entered
service with the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in 1938. Learning from service
trials of the Ki-21, the Army realized that however advanced it may have been at
the time of its introduction, its new Mitsubishi bomber would in due course be
unable to operate without fighter escorts. As a result, the Japanese Army
stipulated that its replacement should have the speed and defensive weaponry to
enable it to operate independently.

The prototype first flew in August 1939 and the development programme continued
through three prototypes and seven pre-production aircraft. This first prototype
was powered by a pair of 708 kW (950 hp) Nakajima Ha-5 KA-I radial engines, but
the next two had the 932 kW (1,250 hp) Nakajima Ha-41 engines that were intended
for the production version. Seven more prototypes were built, and these
completed the test programme for the aircraft. Eventually in March 1941, the
Donryu went into production as the Army Type 100 Heavy Bomber Model 1.


Role
Heavy bomber

Manufacturer
Nakajima Aircraft Company

Designer
Yasushi Koyama

First flight
August 1939

Introduction
1941

Retired
1945

Primary user
IJA Air Force

Produced
1941-1944

Number built
819

Going operational from autumn 1941, the Ki-49 first saw service in China. After
the outbreak of the Pacific War it was also active in the New Guinea area and in
raids on Australia. Like the prototype, these early versions were armed with
five 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine guns and one 20 mm cannon. Combat experience in
China and New Guinea showed the Donryu to be underpowered, with bomb capacity
and speed suffering as a result. Thus, in the spring of 1942 an up-engined
version was produced, fitted with more powerful Ha-109 engines, and this became
the production Army Type 100 Heavy Bomber Model 2 or Ki-49-IIa. The Model 2 also
introduced improved armor and self-sealing fuel tanks and was followed by the
Ki-49-IIb in which 12.7mm (0.5 in) Ho-103 machine guns replaced three of the 7.7
mm (0.303 in) Type 89 machine guns.

In spite of these improvements however, losses continued to mount as the
quantity and quality of fighter opposition rose. An attempt was made to stop the
rot in early 1943 by further up-engining the type. This petered out, however,
owing to development difficulties with the 1,805 kW (2,420 hp) Nakajima Ha-117
engines and the Ki-49-III never entered production with only six prototypes ever
being built.

In the face of its increasing vulnerability to opposing fighter aircraft while
performing its intended role, the Ki-49 was used in other roles towards the end
of the Pacific War, including ASW patrol, troop transport and, ultimately, as
kamikaze.

After 819 aircraft had been completed, production ended in December 1944

Specifications (Ki-49-IIa)

General characteristics
Crew: 8
Length: 16.5 m (54 ft 1.5 in)
Wingspan: 20.42 m (67 ft 0 in)
Height: 4.25 m (13 ft 11.25 in)
Wing area: 69.05 m² (743.27 ft²)
Empty weight: 6,530 kg (14,396 lb)
Loaded weight: 10,680 kg (23,545 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 11,400 kg (25,133 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Nakajima Ha-109 14-cylinder radial engine, 1,119 kW (1,500 hp)
each

Performance
Maximum speed: 492 km/h (266 kn, 306 mph)
Cruise speed: 350 km/h (189 kn, 217 mph)
Range: 2,950 km (1,594 nmi, 1,833 mi)
Service ceiling: 9,300 m (30,510 ft)
Wing loading: 3.6 kg/m² (7.8 lb/ft²)

Armament

Guns: 1× 20 mm Ho-1 cannon in the rear cockpit and 5 × 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 89
machine guns (one nose, two waist, one ventral, and one tail).
Bombs: 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) bombload




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