Ki-51

Ki-51

Country of Origin: Japan

Manufacturer: Mitsubishi

Crew: 2; 1 pilot and one radio operator/gunner

Length: 9.21 m (30 ft 2⅝ in)

Wingspan: 12.1 m (39 ft 8⅜ in)

Height: 2.73 m (8 ft 11½ in)

Weight: 1,873 kg (4,129 lb) empty, 2,798 kg (6,169 lb) combat loaded

Powerplant: 1x Turbosupercharged Mitsubishi Ha-26-II 14 cylinder air cooled radial piston engine with 950 horsepower

Maximum Speed: 424 km/h (263 mph )

Service Ceiling: 8,270 m (27,130 ft)

Range: 1,060 km (660 mi)

Armament: 2x 12.7mm Ho-103 machineguns firing forward, 1x 7.62mm Te-4 machinegun flexibly mounted, firing aft, 200 kg (441 lb) bombs

Kit Maker and Scale: Nichimo, 1:48

Optimised as a ground attack and infantry support aircraft, the Ki-51, Allied code name Sonia, was based on the early Ki-30 light bomber. As it was not built for the ever changing climate of air to air combat, the Ki-51 was built with such "old fashioned" features such as fixed, spatted landing gear and a telescopic/optical gunsight. Another addition, one rare on early war Japanese aircraft was a degree of armour plating. Fitted to the underside of the aircraft to protect both the crew and the engine, this offered a higher degree of combat survivability. Although this broke with early war "tradition" in Japanese aircraft design, the Ki-51's role as an attack aircraft allowed for a reduction in agility and rate of climb, features the Japanese considered paramount at the time.

Armament load out was generally simple but more than effective; comprising of three machineguns and up to 441 pounds of bombs. Initially, the machineguns were all 7.62mm in caliber, but as the war progressed, they were replaced with heavier 12.7mm weapons. Bomb load could be a simple pair of 200 pound bombs for general purpose work, or when flying dedicated anti-infantry roles, a dozen bombs, roughly 36 pounds in weight could be carried for either multiple attack runs, or for carpeting a larger area.

Rather unusually for a military aircraft, especially one involved in a war such as World War II, the Ki-51 saw almost no significant changes, upgrades, or modifications. In fact, only two of any significance were ever made, and of those, only one was applied to all aircraft. This feature was the replacing of the 7.62mm machineguns with 12.7mm guns. The second, fitted only to about 20% of the aircraft, was a rack for fitting a single 550 kg bomb as the Imperial Army began to equip itself for kamikaze attacks.

Despite the lack of major modifications or changes, a successor variant did appear, the Ki-71. Intended as a combination recon machine and attack craft, the Ki-71 featured retractable landing gear, a more powerful engine, 2x 20mm cannons and a number of other additions, but only three prototypes were ever built.

Although rather "lacking" over battlefields where enemy air superiority reigned, the Ki-51 was a thoroughly competent machine and when supported by fighter aircraft or in areas where there was little to no enemy air presence, it caused untold havoc on enemy ground forces. Considered by many to be obsolescent before the war even commenced, the Ki-51 never the less soldiered on, directly on the front lines, from the first day to the very last, their simple, durable design allowing the Japanese Army to continue fielding them even as shortages of all kinds plagued the rest of the aviation regiments.

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More Pics:

Aft Quarter:
i66.photobucket.com/albums/h24…

9 O'Clock:
i66.photobucket.com/albums/h24…

Astern:
i66.photobucket.com/albums/h24…

Head On:
i66.photobucket.com/albums/h24…

Underside:
i66.photobucket.com/albums/h24…