| Nakajima KI-43 Hayabusa.
Allied Codename ~ Oscar... |
Ever keen to
assist the community, Bumpy Green received the following email requesting
some help:-
Hi
I was trying to access the chat line in Bumpy Green to ask for help!
The help I need is finding a colour scheme for a Nakajima Ki 43 'Oscar'
I have started the process of building. I have a picture of the tail section
of this particular colour scheme on one of these aircraft which is in
a dark blue, similar to the typical blue F4u Corsair colour.
Can you suggest where I might find information on this colour scheme please?
Arthur |
Well we couldn't turn down an opportunity
to help out so the BGMA Investigator, (me) set out to find out about this
unusual aircraft.
Always
a good place to start a search for anything is Google search
- www.google.com
Search engine with a host of features:- Access to 3 billion
web based articles, over 150 million searches performed each
day, 700 million archived usenet documents dating back 20
years, Google directory featuring structured listings &
translation of foreign language pages.
The premier online search centre. Check it out today.
Having fed the name Nakajima Ki 43 into the Google search it
returned 3,780 results. Obviously there is a lot of
information out there about this aircraft.
The Nakajima
Ki 43 Hayabusa (meaning Peregrine Falcon, which is one of the worlds fastest
predators. These birds have been clocked in a dive at over 180mph / 290 kmh)
Used primarily by the Japanese Army Air Force. Often mistaken and misidentified
during the early Pacific war years as the Mitsubishi A6M Reisen (Zero) which
was used by the Japanese Imperial Navy.
The first prototype emerged in January 1939 but several design flaws such
as poor manoeuvrabilitly & rear visibility meant full production did not
begin until April 1941. The first service aircraft were delivered & deployed
in China during October 1941 shortly before attack on the United States Naval
base at Pearl Harbour. 3 distinct variants were built between 1941 & 1945
Specification of Ki-43-I:
One Army Type 99 (Nakajima Ha-25) fourteen cylinder air-cooled radial
rated at 980 hp for takeoff and 970 hp at 11,555 feet driving a two-bladed
propeller.
Performance: Maximum speed 308 mph at 13,125 feet, climb to 16,405 feet in
5 minutes 30 seconds. Service ceiling 38,500 feet. Maximum range 745 miles.
Weights: 3483 pounds empty, 4515 pounds loaded, 5695 pounds maximum. Dimensions:
wingspan 37 feet 6 5/16 inches, length 38 feet 11 3/4 inches, height 10 feet
8 3/4 inches, wing area 236.81 square feet. Armament: Two 7.7 mm Type 89 machine
guns in the engine cowling. Two 33-pound bombs could be carried underwing.
Two 44-imp-gall drop tanks could be carried.
A total of 716 Ki-43-I production aircraft were built
between April of 1941 and February of 1943.
Specification of Ki-43-II:
One Army Type 1 (Nakajima Ha-115) fourteen cylinder air-cooled radial
rated at 1150 hp for takeoff and 980 hp at 18,375 feet driving a three-bladed
propeller.
Performance: Maximum speed 329 mph at 13,125 feet, climb to 16,405 feet in
5 minutes 49 seconds. Service ceiling 36,750 feet. Normal range 1095 miles.
Maximum range 1990 miles.
Weights: 4211 pounds empty, 5710 pounds loaded, 6450 pounds maximum. Dimensions:
wingspan 35 feet 6 3/4 inches, length 29 feet 3 5/16 inches, height 10 feet
8 3/4 inches, wing area 230.34 square feet. Armament: Two 12.7-mm Type 1 machine
guns in the engine cowling. Two 66-pound or 551-pound bombs could be carried
underwing. Two 44-imp-gall drop tanks could be carried.
A total of 2500 Ki-43-IIs were built by the Nakajima
parent plant at Ota.
Specification of Ki-43-III:
One Army Type 1 (Nakajima Ha-115-II) fourteen cylinder air-cooled radial
rated at 1300 hp for takeoff and 1230 hp at 9185 feet driving a three-bladed
propeller.
Performance: Maximum speed 358 mph at 21,920 feet. Climb to 16,405 feet in
5 minutes 19 seconds. Service ceiling 37,400 feet. Normal range 1320 miles.
Maximum range 1990 miles.
Weights: 4233 pounds empty, 5644 pounds loaded, 6746 pounds maximum. Dimensions:
wingspan 35 feet 6 3/4 inches, length 29 feet 3 5/16 inches, height 10 feet
8 3/4 inches, wing area 230.34 square feet. Armament: Two 12.7-mm Type 1 machine
guns in the engine cowling. Two 66-pound or 551-pound bombs could be carried
underwing. Two 44-imp-gall drop tanks could be carried.
After the war, a few Hayabusas left in the East Indies by the withdrawing
Japanese forces were salvaged by the Indonesian People's Security Force and
used in 1946 in fighting against the Dutch. A few Hayabusas were also confiscated
by the French upon their return to Indo-China and were flown by pilots of
the French Groupes de Chasse I/7 and II/7 against insurgents. These were replaced
by Spitfire IXs shipped from France.
Here
are a some of the historical pictures found whilst
researching data for this article. Not many had descriptions.
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| A Nakajima Ki-43-I of the 50th
Sentai in Burma. |
A Ki-43 IIB of the 25th Sentai
late 1943 |
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And as we say in aeromodelling, no
plane is
complete without a good pilot. |
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| Capt.Yukio Kubo with his Ki-43 II
May 1943 |
A not so good condition Ki-43 II |
Some of the books
we came across.
Schiffer Books
NAKAJIMA Ki-43 HAYABUSA in Japanese Army Air Force RTAF-CAF-IPSF
Service
Richard M. Bueschel
Great Models
AJ Press ajp48 Nakajima Ki.43 Oscar
( J-PRESS AIRCRAFT MONOGRAPHS - POLISH TEXT )
There are very few Ki 43s left in the
world and even fewer are in a condition to display with only
a couple known to be flight worthy.
The prints below offer a wide range of
schemes, not all had descriptions of squadrons &
locations etc.
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Nakajima Ki-43-Ic of
HQ Chutai, 64th Sentai,
Northern Thailand in March 1942 |
Nakajima Ki-43
"Hayabusa" of the 64th Sentai |
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| Rare French scheme
from just after WW II |
Another non Japanese
paint job |
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The
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Ki-43-IIb is one
of the last remaining OSCARs.
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During the late 1950s,
it was displayed at a New Mexico Air National Guard
base.
After the Smithsonian acquired the aeroplane in
December 1959, the Experimental Aircraft Association
(EAA)
Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, borrowed the fighter,
restored the exterior and placed it on exhibit. |
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| A restored Ki.43-I at
the "WarBirds over Wanaka" airshow, Spring
1996. |
The same plane again & the same show but this time from
1998
| What else
did we find out... |
Hayabusa,
means Peregrine Falcon.
Peregrine Falcon is the common name: the scientific name is
Falco peregrinus. The name means "wandering
falcon".
Peregrines are a species of the order Falconiformes, family
Falconidae which includes 39 species of falcons.
The peregrine is related to the Merlin & the Kestrel
This image really catches the eye and checking out the web
address on the picture was even more interesting.
Is
the only word to describe this monster.
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The Suzuki GXS-1300-R
Hayabusa. At 200+mph this is the fastest production
motorcycle in the world.
The faint hearted need not apply......... |
According to the web site this came from, the picture is for real. 345 km/h
or for us Imperialists ~ 214 mph.
Well, we hope this helped you out with your colour scheme Arthur, and anyone
else who decided to have a read found it useful or at least interesting. Comments
invited as always. We look forward to seeing the progress of the model and
would love to feature it in the 'Your Stories' section once it is completed.
webmaster@bumpygreen.co.uk
This article would not
have been possible without the following people & places
on the World Wide Web.
Article by John Kent from Bumpy Green Model Aerodrome
19th January 2002
