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Ki-45 Toryu II[When I posted these notes on the website, several readers sent me email, which I post below. -- Dan Ford] Emmanuel Gustin's comments:But ratio of fire extremely slow: this cannon (Oelikon) pumps out 127127 rpm is slower than any WWII 20mm cannon; even the Oerlikon S managed 280rpm. The closest gun in performance would be the 37mm Ho-203 (130rpm), which was indeed installed in some Ki.45s, but AFAIK not in early models. Some early models had a hand-loaded Type 98 37mm gun... I think that Watanabe's memory fails here. "Reformed" Ki-45 kai ko had speed of 540 kph @ 6000 m. Note that the Ki.45-KAI-ko was actually the first production model. The original Ki.45 was not accepted by the Army, and the Ki.45-KAI was a complete redesign. Three returned aircraft had expended a total of 70 20 mm shells, 165 12.7 mm bullets, and 293 7.92 mm bullets, from which Assume that the 12.7mm gun was the Ho-103 (900rpm), two being carried by every Ki.45; and the 20mm gun the Ho-5 (850rpm) or the older Type 97 (400rpm). Then the 12.7mm guns were fired for a total time of 1.8 seconds, and the 20mm guns for 3.5 or for 1.6 seconds... So more likely it was the Ho-5. From an anonymous but knowledgable reader:FYI, 49FG (New Guinea) first encountered the Nick on 2 Sept. 1943 while escorting B-26s to attack shipping off Cape Glouster. B-17s bombed the JAAF airfield at Cape Glouster in a coordinated attack to try to keep the hornets in their hive. Fifteen P-38s tried to cover both the B-26s (on the deck) and B-17s (at 8,000 ft.), by flying stacked from 7,000 ft. to 15,000 ft. The B-17s endured light flak until they turned seaward after the bomb run. They then radioed that they were under attack by twin-engined fighters.Squadron leader Gerry Johnson, at 15,000 ft., spotted a B-17 under attack by what he identified as a Dinah. He and his two wingmen, Theron Price and Grover Fanning (the three forming blue flight), dove on it as it broke off its attack and dived away. The P-38s reeled in the Ki-45 and all three fired on it, leaving it spiraling down trailing heavy black smoke. It disappeared into the clouds hugging the low mountains surrounding the bay. Yellow flight leader Peter Alger and his wingman Ray Love went after another Nick attacking a B-17. This one did not dive away but attempted to out-turn the P-38s. Alger easily turned inside the Nick and set an engine afire. Love fired a long burst into the fuselage. This Nick was seen to crash into the bay. Grover Fanning, witnessing the crash and sensing a Kodak moment, throttled back and dropped down to photograph the oil slick and floating wreckage. He mistakenly thought this was the Nick he had fired on. While he was aiming his Brownie, a Nick fixed on his six and began lobbing glowing tennis balls at him. Fanning fire-walled the throttles of his P-38 and pulled up into a fast shallow climb, easily outpacing the Nick. The Ki-45 driver tried to follow, but as soon as Fanning had opened the distance between them, he chopped his left throttle and stood his Lightning on its wingtip as he hauled it around in one of those incredible turns a skilled pilot could make a P-38 execute. Suddenly, the Nick was faced not with a fleeing fighter but one coming at him head-on. The Japanese pilot broke left in a tight 180 and headed for the protection of the flak around his airfield. He didn't quite make it. Fanning ran him down and blasted him out of the sky at point-blank range, the Ki-45 crashing in a ball of fire at the end of the runway. Fanning flat-hatted down the length of the Jap runway at well over 300 mph through a storm of small-arms fire, leaving a terrific wake of spinning dust that led orbiting P-38 pilots observing the action to believe he had crashed. Price and Johnson in the meantime had tangled with a fourth Nick, leaving it tumbling, apparently out of control, and streaming black smoke as it disappeared into the clouds surrounding the mountains. The Ki-45 was no match for the P-38. Always wondered why the Japanese didn't turn it into a ground attack plane, something like the Beaufighter. With that 37mm pom-pom it could have done some serious damage. [Actually, they did exactly that in China, after the 81st Chutai's first, disastrous encounter with the Flying Tigers over Guilin in June 1942, using it against trains especially. - Dan] And from Hiroyuki "Harry" Takeuchi in Japan:I am a 34 year old aviation buff in Japan. I came across your site today and found it very interesting. I think I can contribute a bit of information regarding your Ki45 article.I have a copy of Yoji Watanabe's book (revised paperback published from Asahi Sonorama in 1989). Watanabe is an aviation historian and what is written is not his personal account, but a result of interviews from many war veterans. The 20mm cannon described to have only 127rpm is the Ho-3. This cannon was based on the Hotchkis anti-aricraft cannon. However, the Ho3 is described to have a firng rate of 400 rpm in the "Ki number catalog" pubication published by Bunrindo (the Koku Fan people) in 1997. The armarment variation and subtype designations of the Ki45-Kai is as follows (this table appears on Watanabe's revised edition to correct his 1983 book. This is the most recent and now most widely accepted data in Japan); Ki45-Kai-Ko
Ki45-Kai-Otsu
Ki45-Kai-Hei
Ki45-Kai-Tei
Ki45-Kai-Bo
Ki45-Kai-Ko Tei equipment
Ki45-Kai-Hei Tei equipment
The Specification for Ho3 is as follows
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