Indigenous Japanese engines were mostly radials, round engines.  But shortly before the war started, the Japanese Army decided it needed a fighter more like the European types.  The Spitfire and Bf109 were making news, so the Imperial Army knew it needed something comparable.

After the jump, a look at Japan’s sleek “Tony”.

After buying, and test flying some German types, including the Bf109, the Imperial Army directed Kawasaki to build a fighter of the European sort.  They started by licencing the DB601 engine from Daimler-Benz.  It would be known as the Ha-40 when made by Kawasaki.  Then they designed and built a new fighter like the sort used in the west.  It would be heavier than other Japanese fighters, with pilot armor, self sealing tanks and heavier armament.  But the advanced liquid cooled engine would allow for better aerodynamics to make up for the weight.  So the plane would be fast, but not as maneuverable as earlier types.

Notice the cowling mounted machine guns are staggered. This is to keep the ammunition feeds from overlapping.

The result was an excellent design.  It was immediately popular with pilots, but encountered some higher level resistance from those who objected to how western it was.  There were some good reasons for the resistance; it was much more sophisticated machine than past Army fighters.  The engine required tight production tolerances that pushed the limits of Japanese abilities.  It also required specialized maintenance and equipment that were often beyond what forward units could provide.  Units based in Japan, or at major bases, didn’t have such problems.  But when deployed forward to New Guinea or Indonesia dependability suffered.

Yellow leading edges were used on all Japanese aircraft in the last two years of the war as a recognition aid.

When the type was first encountered in combat it caused a sensation.  Many allied pilots thought it was a Bf109.  More thorough photographic analysis suggested it was something different.  Maybe something Italian?  So “Tony” was assigned as the code name.  When a few examples were acquired for testing (captured in New Guinea) secrets were revealed, including the type’s Japanese origins.  But intelligence was alarmed to discover how hot this plane was, much faster than a P-40 or P-39.  5th Air Force demanded more P-38s, which weren’t available at the time due to high attrition in North Africa.  This led to the first P-47 units in the Pacific.

But the Tony’s poor serviceability kept it from ever upsetting the balance of power.  Several pilots found success, and made ace on the type.  But it didn’t have a real impact until late 1944 with the start of the B-29 campaign against the Japanese home islands.  It would be one of the more successful interceptors then, when conditions were perfect for its use.

Three important axis fighters used the DB601 engine; the Bf109, C.202 and Ki-61.

The Oscar is a much more traditional Japanese design compared to the Tony.

This example is built from the Hasegawa kit with Aeromaster decals.  The subject is a Ki-61 tei.  That means its a “D” model.  The main changes with sub-types being armament.  This plane was armed with two 12.7 mm machine guns in the cowling, and one in each wing.  The 12.7 mm was pretty comparable to a .50, so four of them is good fire power for a Japanese Army type.  This aircraft was assigned to a unit based on Sumatra and Formosa in 1945.  I had fun simulating the severely weathered look common on so many Japanese aircraft. Apparently paint quality was among the things most severely affected by late war industrial problems in Japan; so combined with a harsh tropical environment many Japanese aircraft look very scruffy.

Up Next: Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat