Nakajima Ki-116
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This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.The Nakajima Ki-116 was a late-World War II kamikaze aircraft developed for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. It was essentially a Ki-84 Hayate with the Nakajima Ha-45 engine replaced with a Mitsubishi Ha-112. The design was handled by Mansyu (満州) Aircraft, and thus it is often designated Mansyu Ki-116.
[edit] Background
By mid-1945 the military situation in Japan was extremely bad. Having lost almost all of its once vast empire, Japan prepared for the decisive and most likely the last battle of the Pacific War. Unable to starve the Home Islands, the theory went, the Americans would have to invade Japan and defeat her remaining military forces. To do this American soldiers and marines would have to come ashore from landing ships, so the Japanese decided that one of their main weapons would be suicide aircraft. These, known as kamikaze (Divine Wind or Divine Typhoon), had been used extensively in the Philippines and for the Battle of Okinawa using older but expensive Mitsubishi Zeros, excellent fighters which were not designed as suicide planes. Rather than waste scarce and precious Zeros, the Japanese Military Aircraft Development Institute and companies such as Mitsubishi and Nakajima decided toward war's end to design and build massive numbers of cheap, simple, and fast-to-produce purpose-designed kamikaze aircraft.
[edit] Aircraft design and characteristics
Along with planes such as Ohka and Nakajima Ki-115 simplicity was a high priority, unlike the Ohka flying bomb however speed was not necessary, the resulting design was as follows:
- 285 mph (460 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
- able to carry one 1000 kg bomb, (powerful enough to destroy any ship)
- construction time of 100 man hours
- 124 miles (200 km) range at 285 mph (460 km/h)
The design was also highly simple and even cruder than the Nakajima Ki-115, capable of being produced at a rate of 12,000/month.
| Related content | |
|---|---|
| Related Development | |
| Similar Aircraft | |
| Designation Series |
Ki-113 - Ki-114 - Ki-115 - Ki-116 - Ki-117 - Ki-118 - Ki-119 |
| Related Lists | |
