The was an unsuccessful attempt by the

Nakajima Aircraft Company The was a prominent Japanese aircraft manufacturer and aviation engine manufacturer throughout World War II. It continues as the car and aircraft manufacturer Subaru. History The Nakajima Aircraft company was Japan's first aircraft manufactur ...

to interest 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 ...

in a two-seat modern

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

fighter.

Design & Development

Development of the Ki-8, (a.k.a. Nakajima DF), began in 1933, based on an all-metal two-seat aircraft, featuring low inverted

gull wing The gull wing is an aircraft wing configuration, known also as ''Pulaski wings'', with a prominent bend in the wing inner section towards the wing root. Its name is derived from the seabirds which it resembles. Numerous aircraft have incorpora ...

s, with fixed and spatted

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

, powered by a single

Nakajima Kotobuki The Nakajima Ha1 Kotobuki (寿, "Longevity") was an aero-engine developed by Nakajima. It was a radial piston developed under licence from the Bristol Jupiter. Design and development In 1917, Chikuhei Nakajima set up the "Airplane Institute" a ...

Ha-1-3

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...

. Proposed armament consisted of twin 7.7 mm (.303 in)

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

s firing from between the engine cylinders and a third 7.7 mm (.303 in) machine gun on a flexible mount on the back of the rear cockpit. In initial testing, the aircraft proved unpopular with

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

s, who raised concerns about the design's aerodynamic stability . The initial prototypes were also plagued with a variety of manufacturing defects and malfunctions. Though corrections were made to improve initial design and stability problems, the performance of the aircraft was considered no better than the existing

Nakajima Type 91 The Nakajima Army Type 91 Fighter was a Japanese fighter of the 1930s. It was a single-engine, single-seat parasol monoplane with a fixed, tailwheel undercarriage. Development Designed in response to an Army requirement of 1927, the Type 91 w ...

fighter, and as the Japanese Army Air Force had no use for two-seat fighters, the project was cancelled in 1934, after five prototype aircraft had been produced, and before the start of full production.

Variants

*Nakajima Ki-8 : initial prototype (five built)

Operators

; *

Specifications (Ki-8)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{Japanese Army Aircraft Designation System Low-wing aircraft Inverted gull-wing aircraft 1930s Japanese experimental aircraft Abandoned military aircraft projects of Japan Ki-08, Nakajima Ki-008 Single-engined tractor aircraft