The Kawasaki KDA-5 was a Japanese single-seat

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

fighter designed by the German Dr. Richard Vogt for the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

Development

The KDA-5 was designed by Richard Vogt to meet a Japanese Army requirement for a fighter biplane. Five

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

s were built by Kawasaki Kōkūki Kōgyō K.K. and first flown in 1930. Following testing, the aircraft was ordered into production in 1932 as the Army Type 92 Model 1 Fighter. The aircraft had unequal-span

sesquiplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

wings and fixed

tailwheel landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms ...

and was powered by a 470 kW (630 hp)

BMW VI The BMW VI was a water-cooled V-12 aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. It was one of the most important German aero engines in the years leading up to World War II, with thousands built. It was further developed as the BMW VII and B ...

engine. After 180 aircraft were built, production continued with a structurally strengthened and more powerful Type 92 Model 2. A further 200 Model 2s were built.

Operational history

Both versions saw action with the

Imperial Japanese Army Air Force The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) or Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF; ja, 大日本帝國陸軍航空部隊, Dainippon Teikoku Rikugun Kōkūbutai, lit=Greater Japan Empire Army Air Corps) was the aviation force of the Im ...

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...

(

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

), although it proved unpopular owing to its unstable take-off and landing behaviour and being difficult to maintain, particularly in cold weather. A few were still in service in 1941 as trainers.

Variants

;KDA-5 :Five prototypes. ;Type 92 Model 1 Fighter :Initial production variant with changed fin and rudder and fared headrest, 180 built. ;Type 92 Model 2 Fighter :Improved version with structural strengthening and more powerful ( kW/750 hp)

BMW VII __NOTOC__ The BMW VII was a water-cooled twelve-cylinder engine derived from the successful BMW VI. The engine was not as popular as the VI, due in no small part to the Great Depression, and only a small number were built. Experiments with super ...

engine, 200 built.

Operators

; *

Specifications (92-I)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * {{Kawasaki aircraft Type 92, Kawasaki

Type 92 Type 92 may refer to: Weapons * Type 92 machine gun * Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun * 7.7mm Type 92 machine-gun cartridge * Type 92 Battalion Gun * Type 92 10 cm Cannon * Type 92 torpedo * Type 92 Handgun Armored cars * Type 92 variant of the ...

Biplanes