Nakajima Ki.84 Type 4 ("Frank")
Click HERE to see a more detailed 3-view of the Frank
The Ki-84 Hayate ("Storm") was one of the finest Japanese aircraft of World War II, and was given the code name of "Frank" by the Allies. With a maximum speed of 430 mph at 20,000 feet, the Ki-84 was faster than both the American P-51 and the P-47. When flown by qualified pilots the Ki-84 was a match for any of the Allied fighters. Work on the Ki-84 began early in 1942 and was completed just over a year later. By the time the aircraft had completed its testing program and was ready to be mass produced, however, Japanese industry was already being overburdened. In 1944 Nakajima modified the structure of the Ki-84-I so that aluminum could be saved by constructing some components of wood. This lead to the Ki-84-II having the rear fuselage, the wing tips, and other minor elements built of non-strategic material. This concept was taken one step further when the Tachikawa Hikoki K.K. company built an all-wood version of the Ki-84 that was designated the Ki-106. The Ki-106 program was a complete success, but the course of the war caused it to end before the results were fielded. The last variant of the Ki-84 was the Ki-116, which built by Mansyu using a different engine and a three-blade propeller from the Ki-46. This resulted in a reduction of 1000 pounds of weight, and though a successful design, the aircraft had not completed the testing phase when the war ended.
Nakajima Ki.84 Type 4
Type: Fighter / Fighter-bomber
Service: Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF)
Crew: Pilot
Armament: four 20 mm Ho-5 cannon (2 in nose, 2 in wings)
two 551 lb (250 kg) bombs externally
Reference: Francillon: 237, Mondey:
Specifications:
Length: 32' 6.5" (9.92 m)
Height: 11' 1.75" (3.385 m)
Wingspan: 36' 10.5" (11.268 m)
Wing area: 226.041 sq. ft (21 sq. m)
Empty Weight: 5864 lbs (2660 kg)
Loaded Weight: 7955 lbs (3613 kg)
Max Weight: 8576 lbs (3890 kg)
Propulsion:
No. of Engines: 1
Powerplant: Nakajima Ha-45 Type 4 18-cylinder radial
Horsepower: 1900 hp
Performance:
Range (normal): 1053 miles (1695 km)
Range (max): 1347 miles (2168 km)
Cruise Speed: 277 mph (445 km/h)
Max Speed: 392 mph (631 km/h) at 20,080 ft
Climb to/in: 16,405 ft (5000 m) in 5 min 54 sec
Ceiling: 34,450 ft (10,500 m)
Production: approximately 3514 Ki-84s total
Additional information on this aircraft
can be found at Wikipedia
HERE.
For a very nice scale color drawing of this aircraft, see
here
and
here.
Additional color schemes for this aircraft can be found here.
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