Kawasaki Ki-32 (Mary)

History of the Kawasaki Ki-32 (Mary)

The Kawasaki Ki-32 ("Mary") light bomber was one of the rare in-line piston engine aircraft designed, built and deployed by the Empire during World War II Japan (1939-1945). The air-cooled radial piston type has been widely adopted in many aircraft designs, mainly because the Japanese aerospace industry lacks the expertise and experience to achieve a reliable, high-performance inline solution (as the Germans did with the DB600 series) . As such, the Ki-32 was equipped with an in-house Kawasaki Ha-9 liquid-cooled powerplant, which, despite reliability issues, gave the design good performance early in the war.

The Ki-31 was born out of an initiative of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) that called for a state-of-the-art twin-gun, single-engine monoplane capable of carrying a 992-pound bomb load while flying at 6,550 to 13,000 feet 185 to 250 mph while flying at altitudes - essentially an attack platform with fighter jet performance.

Both Kawasaki and its rival Mitsubishi got the call, and over the next few months, both teams put their designs to work. The Kawasaki's form uses its inline engine to differentiate it from the Mitsubishi offering, which is powered by an air-cooled radial Nakajima engine, although the two follow the same form and function in terms of general layout.

Eight prototypes completed by Kawasaki emerged from this work and began to demonstrate cooling and tuning issues with inline engines - prompting the Army to choose a Mitsubishi aircraft called the "Ki-30".

Kawasaki light bombers have been suspended.

As a dedicated light bomber, the Ki-32 follows a combat concept developed by global players in the late two world wars, so the layout is very traditional. The engine was mounted in the bow section in the usual way, and the two crew members sat side by side in the stern of the unit. The crew cabin is divided by a greenhouse-like canopy and covered amidships.

The fuselage has been largely aerodynamically improved, tapering gracefully towards the empennage, which is covered by circular vertical stabilizers and a low mounting level. The wing elements of the main aircraft are located forward amidships, tapering from root to tip. Tips are rounded.

Like other developments in the 1930s, the Ki-32 had a fixed "tail" landing gear, with the main legs spitting out under the center mass for aerodynamic efficiency.

Specification

Base

Year of Service

1938

Origins

Empire of Japan

Status

retirement

does not work.

Crew

2

Production

854

Manufacturer

Kawasaki Kokuki Kogyo KK - Imperial Japan

Carriers

Manchukuo; Indonesia (postwar); Imperial Japan

Roles

Ground attack (bombing, strafing)

The ability to conduct air strikes against ground targets using (but not limited to) artillery, bombs, rockets, rockets, etc.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

38. 2 feet

(11.65m)

Width/span

49. 2 feet

(15.00m)

Height

9.5 feet

(2.90m)

Cured weight

2,348 lbs

(1,065 kg)

MTOW

8,289 lbs

(3,760 kg)

Wgt Difference

+?5,941

(+2,695 kg)

Performance

Installed:

1 x Kawasaki Ha-9-IIb V12 liquid-cooled inline piston engine producing 850 hp driving a three-bladed nose-mounted propeller unit.

Maximum speed

264 km/h

(425 km/h | 229 knots)

Maximum

29,281 feet

(8,925 m | 6 km)

Area

1,221 km

(1,965 km | 3,639 nautical miles)

rate of climb

1,500 ft/min

(457 m/min)

Range (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: > 19030

Weapon

Standard: 1 x 7.7mm machine gun, fixed forward firing position. 1 x 7.7mm machine gun in trainable rear gunner position. Optional: External conventional bombs weighing up to 992 lbs.