Жапондық эксперименталдық күрес ұшағы: Kawasaki Ki 60

Japanese experimental fighter

The Kawasaki Ki 60 was an experimental Japanese pre World War II fighter aircraft that used a license built (Kawasaki) DB 601 liquid cooled engine. This was at that time an unusual choice because the majority of Japanese aircraft at that time used air cooled radial engines.

The Ki 60 was designed by Takeo Doi and his deputy Shin Owada of Kawasaki Aircraft Industries (川崎航空機工業株式会社) in response to a 1939 Imperial Japanese Army Aviation Bureau requirement for a heavily armed specialised interceptor fighter to be powered by the liquid cooled Daimler Benz DB 601 inverted V12 engine, which had been selected for license production by Kawasaki as the Ha 40. The emphasis in the requirements was for a high speed and a good rate of climb, along with a cannon armament. This was a complete change from the usual IJAAF penchant for lightly armed, highly manoeuvrable fighters with lightweight structures, epitomised by the Nakajima Ki 27 and the later Nakajima Ki 43. A requirement was issued at the same time for a lighter, less heavily armed, general purpose fighter which was to be designed almost in parallel with the Ki 60; this became the Ki 61. Priority was to be given to the Ki 60, design of which started in February 1940. The first prototype of the Ki 60 emerged in March 1941 as a compact, all metal, stressed skin monoplane with a relatively deep fuselage and tapered wings with rounded tips built around a system of three spars; a Warren truss main spar and two auxiliary spars. The rear spar carried the split flaps and long, narrow chord ailerons, while the front spar incorporated the undercarriage pivot points. The undercarriage track was The pilot's seat was mounted high over the rear spar, giving the fuselage a distinctive "humped" profile; the hood featured a framed, rear sliding canopy and an elongated rear transparent section. The main coolant radiator was housed in a long ventral bath under the wing centre section and central fuselage, while the oil cooler was mounted under the engine with a long air intake. The prototype was powered by an imported DB 601A as production of the Ha 40 had not yet started. A total fuel capacity of 410 L (90.2 Imp gallons) was carried. The armament carried was two synchronized, fuselage mounted 12.7 mm caliber Ho 103 machine guns which were set in a "staggered" configuration (the port weapon slightly further forward than that to starboard) in a bay just above and behind the engine. One German made Mauser MG 151/20 20 mm cannon was housed in a weapons bay in each wing. With a normal loaded weight of and a gross wing area of the wing loading was 181.76 kg/m2 (37.23 lb/ft2), which was extremely high by Japanese standards (the standard IJAAF fighter, the Ki 27, had a wing loading of 70 kg/m2 (14.33 lb/ft2)). From the start of flight testing it became apparent that the design was seriously flawed in several key areas. The take off run was unacceptably long, while in flight the aircraft displayed some lateral instability, excessively heavy controls and poor control response. The spinning characteristics were described as "dangerous" and the stalling speed was extremely high. Although a top speed of had been projected the Ki 60 was only able to achieve
As a result, the second and third prototypes, which were still being built, were hurriedly modified in an attempt to mitigate some of the more undesirable traits. Approximately were removed, primarily by replacing the MG 151 cannon with Ho 103 machine guns. This reduced the normal loaded weight to Coupled with a slight increase in wing area to , this resulted in a slightly lower wing loading of 169.7 kg/m2 (34.76 lb/ft2). Detail changes were made to airframe sealing and to the contours of the air intakes and radiator bath. Flight tests were still disappointing, with both of the modified prototypes displaying most of the shortcomings of the first. A top speed of only was reached, with a climb rate still well below specifications. By this time the Nakajima Ki 44, which had also been designed as a dedicated interceptor, was beginning to show some promise and the Koku Hombu selected this in fulfilment of its requirements. From early 1941 the full attention of Takeo Doi and Shin Owada was focused on the Ki 61; the Ki 60 became important in that the Ki 61 design was able to be improved using the lessons learned from the poor characteristics of the Ki 60. Plans for production were cancelled in late 1941 after three airplanes had been built.