| Ki-74 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Long Range Reconnaissance Bomber |
| Manufacturer | Tachikawa Aircraft Company Ltd |
| Designer | Jiro Tanaka (in the final stage of the development from the summer of 1944 until August 1945)[1][2][3] |
| First flight | March 1944 |
| Primary user | Imperial Japanese Army Air Force |
| Number built | 16 |
The Tachikawa Ki-74 was a Japanese experimental long-range reconnaissance bomber of World War II. A twin-engine, mid-wing monoplane, it was developed for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force but did not enter service.
Development[]
Though already conceived in 1939[4] as a long-range reconnaissance aircraft capable of reaching west of Lake Baikal when operating from bases in Manchukuo (Manchuria), the prototype Ki-74 (designated as A-26 by Tachikawa) only first flew as late as in March 1944; it was powered by two 1,641 kW (2,200 hp) Mitsubishi Ha-211-I radial engines. The following two prototypes were powered by the turbo-supercharged Mitsubishi Ha-211-I Ru, but as these experienced teething troubles, the following thirteen pre-production machines substituted the Ha-211 Ru engine for the lower powered, but more reliable, turbo-supercharged Mitsubishi Ha-104 Ru.[5]
Operational history[]
The Ki-74 did not see operational service. Nevertheless, the Allies knew of its existence and assigned the type the codename "Patsy" after it was discovered that is was a bomber, not a fighter. Previously it had the code name "Pat" in Allied Intelligence.[6]
Specifications (Ki-74)[]
Data from The Imperial Japanese Secret Weapons Museum ;[7] Japanese AIrcraft of the Pacific War[6]
General characteristics
- Crew: 5
- Length: 17.65 m (57 ft 11 in)
- Wingspan: 18.6 m (61 ft .5 in)
- Height: 5.1 m (16 ft 9 in)
- Wing area: 80 m² (860.8 ft²)
- Empty weight: 10,200 kg (22,481 lb)
- Loaded weight: 19,400 kg (42,758 lb)
- Useful load: 9.200 kg (20,277 lb)
- Max. takeoff weight: kg (lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × Mitsubishi Ha-104 Ru radial engine, 1,491 kW (2,000 hp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 570 km/h (308 knots, 354 mph)
- Cruise speed: 400 km/h (216 knots, 249 mph)
- Range: 8,000 km (4,324 nmi, 4,972 mi)
- Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
- Wing loading: 242.5 kg/m² (49.7 lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: 0.154 kW/kg (0.093 hp/lb; 0.206 hp/kg)
Armament
See also[]
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References[]
- Notes
- ↑ Carmakers owe success to warplanes - Military's brightest aircraft designers created Japan's automotive powers The Japan Times, Aug. 13, 2005
- ↑ The History and the Biography of Jiro Tanaka (Detailed PDF document attached) (Japanese) - Japan Automotive Hall of Fame
- ↑ From the Ki-74 to the Tama Electric Vehicles and the Prince Vehicles - Interview of Jiro Tanaka on Nov. 22, 1996 (Japanese) - The Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan (JSAE)
- ↑ Francillon 1979, p. 259.
- ↑ Francillon 1979, pp. 260–261.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Francillon 1979, p. 261.
- ↑ "The Imperial Japanese Secret Weapons Museum". Archived from the original on 2009-10-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20091027015038/http://uk.geocities.com/sadakichi09/army/IJA19.htm.
- Bibliography
- Francillon, Ph.D., René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 1979. ISBN 0-370-30251-6. (new edition 1987. ISBN 0-85177-801-1.)
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tachikawa aircraft. |
- Ki-74 Patsy at www.hikotai.net
- Ki-74 Patsy at ww2drawings.jexiste.fr
- Ki-74 Patsy at The Imperial Japanese Secret Weapons Museum
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The original article can be found at Tachikawa Ki-74 and the edit history here.