Nakajima Ki-87
| Nakajima Ki-87 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Interceptor |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
April 1945 |
| Commissioning: |
prototype |
| Number of pieces: |
1 |
The Nakajima Ki-87 was a Japanese interceptor project of the Second World War . It was a single-seat low-wing aircraft with a rear wheel landing gear and was powered by a radial engine with a turbocharger .
Planning and development
The Ki-87 was developed primarily to repel B-29 bombers over Japan. It was based on an earlier development by Nakajima and the Technical Bureau of the Japanese Armed Forces on a large, turbocharged star engine that began in 1942. The actual development led to the Tachikawa Ki-94 ; the Ki-87 was "Plan B".
Nakajima began building three prototypes in July 1943, which should be completed between November 1944 and January 1945; in addition, seven pre-production aircraft were to be delivered by April 1945. The construction was hampered by problems with the electrically operated landing gear and the turbocharger, so that the first prototype was not finished until February 1945; the first flight took place in April of the same year. There were a total of five test flights, all with the landing gear extended.
The variant Ki-87-II with a 3000-hp Nakajima Ha217 (Ha-46) was also created on the drawing board; however, it did not make it to the prototype stage.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data Ki-87 prototype |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| length | 11.82 m |
| span | 13.42 m |
| Wing area | 26.00 m² |
| Wing loading | 216.6 kg / m² |
| height | 4.50 m |
| Empty mass | 4388 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 5633 kg normal 6102 kg maximum |
| drive | a Mitsubishi HA219 RU (Ha-44/11); air-cooled 18-cylinder radial engine with turbocharger , 2,400 hp (approx. 1,770 kW) |
| Top speed | 704 km / h at an altitude of 11,000 m |
| Cruising speed | 470 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 12,855 m |
| Armament | two 30 mm MK ( Ho-105 ) and two 20 mm MK ( Ho-5 ), one 250 kg bomb |
