The Kawasaki Ki-64 (Allied code name: Rob) was a one-off prototype of an experimental heavy, single seat, fighter. It had two unusual design features. First; it had two
Kawasaki Ha-40
The Kawasaki Ha40, also known as the Army Type 2 1,100 hp Liquid Cooled In-line and Ha-60, was a license-built Daimler-Benz DB 601Aa 12-cylinder liquid-cooled inverted-vee aircraft engine. The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) ...
engines in tandem; one in the aircraft nose, the other behind the cockpit, both being connected by a drive shaft. This combination (called the
Kawasaki Ha-201) drove two, three-bladed,
contra-rotating propellers
Aircraft equipped with contra-rotating propellers, also referred to as CRP, coaxial contra-rotating propellers, or high-speed propellers, apply the maximum power of usually a single piston or turboprop engine to drive a pair of coaxial propell ...
. The second feature was the use of the wing surface as a radiator for the water-cooled engines.
The aircraft first flew in December 1943. During the fifth flight, the rear engine caught fire; and while the aircraft made an emergency landing, it was damaged. The aircraft was subsequently abandoned in mid-1944 in favour of more promising projects. The airframe survived the war, and parts of the unique cooling system were sent to
Wright Field
Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...
for examination.
Specifications (Ki-64)
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
* (new edition 1987 by Putnam Aeronautical Books, .)
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External links
Article about the Kawasaki fighters on www.vectorsite.net (accessed 21-04-2010)
{{Allied reporting names
Ki-064
Ki-064, Kawasaki
Twin-engined single-prop tractor aircraft
Aircraft with contra-rotating propellers
Low-wing aircraft
Abandoned military aircraft projects of Japan
Ki-064, Kawasaki
Aircraft first flown in 1943