Nakajima Ki-87

History

As early as 1942, Japanese Army engineers were working on new designs for high-altitude fighter jets. This required a relatively strong airframe to fit the necessary internals, a pressurized cockpit for the pilot, and an engine with considerable horsepower for high-altitude work.

The model was designated "Ki-87" and Nakajima was commissioned to produce three prototypes of the standard design for the development phase.

Progress on new fighter jets has proven slow, and the situation in Japan has been exacerbated by greater U.S. involvement in the Pacific. This was accompanied by mounting losses in the hands of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), which put enormous pressure on forces trying to control various strategic locations in the Pacific. The Ki-87's turbochargers also presented technical challenges that ultimately delayed the project's maturation in the near future. The prototype was finally introduced in February 1945, with its maiden flight in April of that year.

The prototype was equipped with a Nakajima Ha-44-12 18-cylinder radial piston engine, which was not intended to be the intended production-quality powerplant.

The design of the fighter consisted of a conventional layout with a low-positioned monoplane wing shape mounted forward amidships. The air-cooled radial engine is housed in a compartment at the front of the fuselage, which tapers aft as usual - with the cockpit at the center of the design. The tail is typical, with a vertical tail mounted between two low-level horizontal planes. The aircraft is clearly in front of the tail.

The engine drives a four-bladed propeller unit with a large spinner at its center, and the landing gear is retractable in a "smearing" configuration. The pilot sits under a framed canopy that has a sliding center panel for entry and exit.

The aircraft's proposed armament is 2 x 30mm Ho-105 series cannons mounted on the outboard wing sections, while 2 x 20mm Ho-5 cannons are placed in the fuselage near the wing root, these cannons shoot synchronously through the rotating Propeller blades as they are close to the fuselage and nose. In addition to this standard fixed arrangement, the plan is to carry a 1 x 550 lb bomb below the centerline of the fuselage, a very interesting feature for an interceptor-oriented design.

Dimensions of the Ki-87 include an overall length of 38.9 feet, a wingspan of 44 feet, and a height of 14.9 feet. Empty weight is 9,672 pounds and maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) is 13,450 pounds.

The engine of choice for the production version of the Ki-87 was the Mitsubishi Ha-219 "Ru", an 18-cylinder air-cooled system driving a four-bladed propeller assembly that produced 2,400 horsepower. Performance specs include a top speed of 433 mph (going around 292 mph) and a 42,175-foot service ceiling.

By 1945 the American Boeing B-29 "Superfortress" heavy high-altitude bomber was well known over Japanese-controlled areas and the Japanese home islands, so this made it important to drop any capable interceptor for the Japanese. Ki-87 The sluggish development phase of the aircraft did not help the situation, and of the 500 planned for military acquisition, only one prototype was realized before the Japanese surrender in August 1945 - the aircraft made five test flights.

The Allies did not assign a nickname/codename to the Ki-87.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes