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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]

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

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/hr (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

• 1× 37mm Ho-203 cannon in the propeller hub
• 2× 20mm Ho-5 cannons in the lower fuselage

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Bell P-39 Airacobra
• Bell P-63 Kingcobra

Related lists

• List of military aircraft of Japan

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• Kawasaki Ki-88 on valka.cz

На других языках

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- [en] Kawasaki Ki-88

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[it] Kawasaki Ki-88

Il Kawasaki Ki-88 (川崎 キ 88?) fu un aereo da caccia monomotore, monoplano ad ala bassa sviluppato dall'azienda giapponese Kawasaki Kōkūki Kōgyō, la divisione aeronautica della Kawasaki Heavy Industries, durante la prima metà degli anni quaranta e rimasto ai primi stadi di sviluppo.

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