__NOTOC__ The Kimura HK-1 was a glider built in Japan in 1939 to investigate the possibilities of tailless aircraft. It was a single-seat design with an open cockpit, swept wings, and a single tail fin. The HK-1 made a total of 169 test flights between 15 December 1939 and 7 March 1940, towed aloft behind a car. By this time, the glider's success had attracted the attention of the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, which arranged to purchase the aircraft. It was taken to the

Tachikawa 250px, Showa Memorial Park is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 184,383 in 93,428 households, and a population density of 7600 persons per km2. The total area of the ci ...

factory for testing, but was crashed after only 13 flights, on 16 April 1940. The design proved sufficiently interesting for the Army to commission further research into the tailless concept, which would lead to the

Kayaba Ku-2 The Kayaba Ku-2 (''萱場 2型無尾翼滑空機'') was a glider built in Japan in 1940 to investigate the possibilities of tailless aircraft. It was developed as part of an Imperial Japanese Army contract that had been offered to designer Hid ...

Specifications

References

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日本飞翼的短暂研究
{{Kayaba aircraft Glider aircraft Tailless aircraft Kayaba aircraft 1930s Japanese experimental aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1939