Tachikawa Ki-74 (Pat / Patsy)

History

Tachikawa certainly fell short of names like Mitsubishi and Nakajima on the stage of Imperial Japan Airlines in WWII. However, the company is responsible for a family of aircraft called the "Ki", ??dating back to the "Ki-9" two-seat biplane trainer in 1935.

During the war years, the company also provided expertise in the design, development and production of other aircraft, including its own "Ki-74", a long-range wartime reconnaissance bomber that appeared in just 16 examples.

For this product, Tachikawa engineers chose a twin-engine layout consistent with other high-speed platforms at the time - the famous British de Havilland DH. 98 "Mosquito." The engines will be housed in a streamlined nacelle along the leading edge of each monoplane wing. To squeeze every ounce of speed out of the body, a streamlined body was designed.

The rear wing adopts a traditional single-tail configuration, with the horizontal plane set low. The landing gear was in a "trail" configuration, with two single-wheeled main legs (under the engine nacelles) and a small tail wheel at the rear.

The Ki-74 was primarily developed for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF), its massive army air force. The long-range reconnaissance/bomber role is a consistent requirement for the military, as its many conquests in the Asia-Pacific region require thoroughbred stamina.

Thus, the aircraft was in the design stage as early as 1939, but other military commitments by IJAAF and Tachikawa ensured that the first flight would not take place before March 1944.

The initial prototype was equipped with a Mitsubishi Ha-211-I radial piston engine rated at 2,200 hp, but was later switched to a Ha-211 radial engine, with turbocharging in subsequent pairs of prototypes. As technical issues prevented their long-term introduction, the Mitsubishi Ha-104 Ru, an 18-cylinder, turbocharged, radial flow, air-cooled, 2,000 hp (powering a four-blade propeller unit) engine was chosen.

The engine is fitted with the next 13 airframes that will serve a pre-production role ahead of the final production model.

The Ki-74 was built to carry a crew of 5 through its deep fuselage. It has a length of 58 feet, a wingspan of 61 feet and a height of 16.8 feet. A reported kerb weight of 22,490 pounds brings the total to nearly 42,770 pounds. The performance of the Ha-104 Meridian provides a top speed of 355 mph with a cruising speed in the 250 mph range.

The aircraft has a service ceiling of 39,370 feet and a range of 4,970 miles.

As a high-powered, high-speed mount, the aircraft is armed with a 12.7mm Ho-103 heavy machine gun - its best defense is over any ground fire or incoming interceptor. It was also designed to carry bomb loads of up to 2,200 pounds to fulfill its role as a secondary bomber.

Despite a lot of work on the Ki-74 product, it never surpassed the 16 above-mentioned prototypes and pre-production aircraft. The war situation in Japan deteriorated to the point where only emergency aid programs could be funded and war supplies were extremely rationed.

When the war ended with Japan's surrender in August 1945, the Ki-74 entered the final stages of its development - resulting in a rather unremarkable history of aircraft seeing no action in the conflict.

When news of the development of the Ki-74 reached the Allies, it was nicknamed "Pat" because authorities believed it was a type of high-speed fighter. However, as more information emerged and the true role of the reconnaissance/bomber was revealed, the name was changed to "Patsy".

Not a single airframe survives today.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes