Kawasaki Ki-61 "Hien"
Description
Role	Land-based fighter
Crew	1
First Flight
Entered Service	1942
Manufacturer	Kawasaki
Dimensions
Length	8.75 m	28 ft 8 in
Wingspan	12.00 m	39 ft 4 in
Height	3.9 m	12 ft 10 in
Wing area	20.0 m²	215 ft²
Weights
Empty	2,238 kg	4,934 lb
Loaded	2,950 kg	6,500 lb
Maximum takeoff	kg	lb
Powerplant
Engine	Kawasaki Ha-40
Power	875 kW	1175 hp
Performance
Maximum speed	591 km/h	367 mi/h
Combat range	1,100 km	680 mi
Ferry range	km	mi
Service ceiling	11,600 m	38,100 ft
Rate of climb	m/s	ft/min
Wing loading	kg/m²	lb/ft²
Power/Mass	kW/kg	hp/lb
Armament
Guns	4 × 12.7 mm machine guns
Bombs	2 × 250 kg bombs

The Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (飛燕, "flying swallow") was a World War II fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. The allied code name was "Tony", given by Allied pilots who initially thought it was a derivative of an Italian Macchi. The Japanese Army designation was "Type 3 Fighter" (三式戦闘機).

Influenced by the design of the Messerschmitt Me 109 and Heinkel He 100, the Ki-61 was the only Japanese fighter powered by a liquid-cooled engine. The engine was a development of the Daimler-Benz DB 601, and early versions were armed with German MG 151 machine guns.

Towards the end of the war, the engines were in short supply due to unreliable manufacture, and assembled airframes were fitted with Ha-112 radial engines, significantly improving performance. The resulting aircraft was designated Ki-100.

External links

• [1] Vectorsite article (public domain)

Related content
Related Development	Kawasaki Ki-100
Similar Aircraft	Heinkel He 100 - Macchi C.202 - LaGG-3
Designation Series	Ki-58 - Ki-59 - Ki-60 - Ki-61 - Ki-62 - Ki-63 - Ki-60
Related Lists	List of military aircraft of Japan