__NOTOC__ The Maeda Ku-1, long designation Maeda Army Type 2 Small Glider, was a small

twin boom A twin-boom aircraft is characterised by two longitudinal booms (extended nacelle-like bodies). The booms may contain ancillary items such as fuel tanks and/or provide a supporting structure for other items. Typically, twin tailbooms support ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

military glider Military gliders (an offshoot of common gliders) have been used by the militaries of various countries for carrying troops (glider infantry) and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were ...

. It was primarily used for training, and was superseded by the

Kokusai Ku-7 The Kokusai Ku-7 ''Manazuru'' (真鶴 " white-naped crane"; Allied code-name Buzzard) was a large experimental twin boom Japanese military glider. Design and development An enlarged version of the earlier Maeda Ku-1 glider, it was developed du ...

, which was effectively a scaled-up version of the design. Approximately 100 were produced.

Design and development

Professor Hirosho Sato of the Imperial university engineering college at Kyushu designed an assault glider 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 ...

(IJA) in response to news of airborne assaults in Europe. The prototype was manufactured by

Maeda Aircraft Corporation Maeda (前田 lit. "previous rice field") is a Japanese surname. An archaic romanization includes Mayeda. It can refer to: People Maeda clan One of the traditional Japanese clans and prominent family during the Sengoku period of Japanese history: ...

and designated Ku-1 (Ku - from ''Kakku'' - to glide). Once accepted for production the glider was given the long designation Maeda Army Type 2 Small Glider. The Ku-1 was built almost entirely from wood / plywood and was a high-wing glider with twin boom tail sporting a fin and rudder at the end of each boom, with a tail-plane and elevator between the boom ends. The fuselage pod was given a streamlined shape, but with flat sides and a cockpit for two forward of the wing. The undercarriage consisted of two spatted main-wheels on short axles either side of the fuselage, with skids at nose and tail ends of the fuselage pod. The booms, attached to the wing centre-section, were wire-braced horizontally and the fins were braced by short struts on the inboard faces. Passengers and cargo were housed in the cabin below the wing, aft of the cockpit. The three piece wing consisted of the centre-section, attached to the fuselage pod and two outer panels which were tapered and carried the ailerons for roll control.

Variants

;Ku-1-I:Baseline production glider;100 built. ;Ku-1-II:Transparent nose, single tail boom and longer fuselage, prototype only. ;Ku-1-III:An aerofoil section fuselage with tapered wings, prototype only.

Specifications (Ku-1)

References

{{Japanese Army Glider Designation System Ku-01, Maeda 1940s military gliders World War II Japanese transport aircraft Ku-1 Twin-boom aircraft

Design and development

Variants

Specifications (Ku-1)

See also

References