The Kawasaki Ki-28 (キ28, Ki-Nijuhachi), World War II Allied reporting name "Bob",[1] was an experimental fighter aircraft designed for the Imperial Japanese Army and meant as a replacement for the Kawasaki Ki-10. It flew in 1936, but was never produced for actual use as the Army chose the Nakajima Ki-27.
Ki-28 | |
---|---|
The sole prototype of the Kawasaki Ki-28 | |
Role | Experimental Fighter Aircraft |
Manufacturer | Kawasaki Kōkūki Kōgyō K.K. |
Designer | Takeo Doi |
First flight | 1936 |
Primary user | IJA Air Force |
Number built | 1 |
The Ki-28 was initially produced by Kawasaki Kōkūki Kōgyō K.K. in response to Japanese army specifications for a fighter to replace the existing Kawasaki Ki-10. In mid-1935, Kawasaki, Mitsubishi and Nakajima were instructed to build competitive prototypes. The Kawasaki design was based on its earlier, but unsuccessful Ki-5. It was a low-wing cantilever monoplane of all-metal construction, except for fabric-covered control surfaces, with a conventional tail unit, fixed tailskid landing gear and powered by a 596 kW (800 hp) Kawasaki Ha 9-II-Ko liquid-cooled inline V12 engine.[2]
Service trials proved that the Kawasaki Ki-28 was the fastest of the three contenders, but the Nakajima Ki-27 was by far the most maneuverable and had the lowest wing-loading, and on this basis was selected by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force.[3] Despite losing to the Ki-27, the Ki-28 provided Kawasaki with valuable experience which would later help with development of the Kawasaki Ki-60 and Kawasaki Ki-61 fighters.[2]
Mistakenly believing the Ki-28 to have entered production in Japan as the Army Type 97 Fighter, the Allies assigned it the reporting name "Bob" during World War II.[1]
Data from Famous Aircraft of the World, no.76: Japanese Army Experimental Fighters (1),[4] Japanese Aircraft, 1910-1941[5]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
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