The Kokusai Ki-76, or Liaison Aircraft Type 3 (in Japanese: 三式指揮連絡機), was a Japanese high-wing monoplane artillery spotter and liaison aircraft that served in World War II. The Allied reporting name was "Stella".
Japanese liaison/observation aircraft
Ki-76
Role
Liaison/observation
Type of aircraft
Manufacturer
Kokusai
First flight
1941
Introduction
1942
Retired
1945
Primaryuser
Imperial Japanese Army Air Service
Number built
937 including a single prototype
Design and development
In 1940, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force ordered the Nippon Kokusai Koku Kogyo to produce an artillery spotting and liaison aircraft. The resulting Ki-76 was inspired by, and similar to, the German Fieseler Fi 156 "Storch", although not a direct copy.[1] Like the Storch, it was a high-winged monoplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage. However, rather than the slotted flaps used by the German aircraft, the Ki-76 used Fowler flaps, while it was powered by Hitachi Ha-42 radial engine rather than the Argus As 10 inline engine of the Storch.
First flying in May 1941, the Ki-76 proved successful when evaluated against an example of the Fi-156, and was ordered into production as the Army Type 3 Command Liaison Plane in November 1942.[2]
The Ki-76 remained in service as an artillery spotter and liaison aircraft until the end of the war. Ki-76s were also used as anti-submarine aircraft, operating from the Japanese Army's escort carrier, the Akitsu Maru, being fitted with an arrestor hook and carrying two 60kg (132lb) depth charges.[3]
Operators
Japan
Imperial Japanese Army Air Service
Thailand
Royal Thai Air Force
Specifications (Ki-76)
Ki-76 Stella three-view
Data from Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft,[4] Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War[5]
Francillon, René J. (1979). Japanese aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam. ISBN0-370-30251-6. OCLC6124909. (new edition 1987 by Putnam Aeronautical Books, ISBN0-85177-801-1.)
Jackson, Robert, The Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, Parragon, 2002. ISBN0-7525-8130-9.
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