The Mitsubishi Ki-51 (Army designation "Type 99 Assault Plane"; Allied reporting name "Sonia") was a light bomber/dive bomber in service with the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. It first flew in mid-1939. Initially deployed against Chinese forces, it proved to be too slow to hold up against the fighter aircraft of the other Allied powers. However, it performed a useful ground-attack role in the China-Burma-India theater, notably from airfields too rough for many other aircraft. As the war drew to a close, the Japanese began using them in kamikaze attacks. Total production was around 2,385 units.

Ki-51
Mitsubishi Ki-51
Role Light bomber/dive bomber
Manufacturer Mitsubishi Jukogyo KK
First flight mid-1939
Primary user Imperial Japanese Army Air Service
Number built 2,385[1]

On the day Hiroshima was destroyed by an atomic bomb, a single Ki-51 was responsible for the last Japanese sinking of a US warship, sinking USS Bullhead (SS-332) with all hands.

Charles Lindbergh, flying a P-38 Lightning, shot down a Ki-51.[2]

Variants edit

  • Prototypes: two built
  • Service trials: 11 built
  • Ki-51: 2,372 built (Manufacturers: Mitsubishi (1,462), Tachikawa Army Air Arsenal (913)) until March 1944
  • Ki-51A: reconnaissance version.
  • Ki-51B: assault version with armor and bomb racks to carry 200 kg (441 lb) of bombs. It could also be fitted with an aerial camera.
  • Mansyu Ki-71: three prototypes built by Mansyu with retractable landing gear, did not enter production.[3]

Operators edit

  Japan
  Indonesia
  China
  • Communist Chinese (captured): The last 4 of around 100 Ki-51s were retired in 1953.
  Republic of China
  Democratic People's Republic of Korea
  • Following independence, transferred from the Soviet Union.
  Republic of Korea
  • Used by South Korean Airforce during Korean War

Specifications (Ki-51) edit

 
3-view drawing of the Mitsubishi Ki-51

Data from Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War[4]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 9.21 m (30 ft 3 in)
  • Wingspan: 12.1 m (39 ft 8 in)
  • Height: 2.73 m (8 ft 11 in)
  • Wing area: 24 m2 (260 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 1,873 kg (4,129 lb)
  • Gross weight: 2,798 kg (6,169 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 2,920 kg (6,437 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Mitsubishi Ha-26-II 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 710 kW (950 hp)
  • Propellers: 3-bladed variable-pitch propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 424 km/h (263 mph, 229 kn) at 3,000 m (9,800 ft)
  • Range: 1,060 km (660 mi, 570 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 8,270 m (27,130 ft)
  • Time to altitude: 5,000 m (16,000 ft) in 9 minutes 55 seconds
  • Wing loading: 117 kg/m2 (24 lb/sq ft)
  • Power/mass: 0.24 kW/kg (0.15 hp/lb)

Armament

  • Guns:
  • Bombs: 200 kg (441 lb) bombs (normal operations); 250 kg (551 lb) for suicide operations[4]

See also edit

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

Notes edit

  1. ^ Angelucci, Enzo (1988). Combat aircraft of World War II. p. 26. ISBN 0-517-64179-8.
  2. ^ "Charles Lindbergh and the 475th Fighter Group." Lightning Strikes.
  3. ^ Francillon 1979, p. 180.
  4. ^ a b Francillon 1979, p. 181.

Bibliography edit

  • Francillon, René J. (1979). Japanese aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-30251-6. OCLC 6124909. (new edition 1987 by Putnam Aeronautical Books, ISBN 0-85177-801-1.)
  • Green, William & Swanborough, Gordon (n.d.). "Pentagon Over the Islands: The Thirty-Year History of Indonesian Military Aviation". Air Enthusiast Quarterly (2): 154–162. ISSN 0143-5450.
  • Soumille, Jean-Claude (September 1999). "Les avions japonais aux couleurs françaises" [Japanese Aircraft in French Colors]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et Son Histoire (in French) (78): 6–17. ISSN 1243-8650.

External links edit