The Tachikawa Ki-55 was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

advanced trainer.

Design and development

The excellent characteristics of the Tachikawa Ki-36 made it potentially ideal as a trainer. This led to the development of the Ki-55 with a single machine gun. After successful testing of a prototype in September 1939, the type was put into production as the Tachikawa Army Type 99 Advanced Trainer. In all 1,389 Ki-55 were constructed before production ended in December 1943 with

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 ...

having built 1078 and Kawasaki 311. Both the Ki-55 and the Ki-36 were given the Allied nickname 'Ida.'

Variants

;Ki-36 : Army co-operation aircraft. ;Ki-72 : An evolved version with a Hitachi Ha38 engine and retractable undercarriage. Not built.

Operators

; *

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 ...

* Kumagaya Army Flying School * Mito Army Flying School * Tachiarai Army Flying School * Utsonomiya Army Flying School ; * Manchukuo Air Force ;

Reorganized National Government of China The Wang Jingwei regime or the Wang Ching-wei regime is the common name of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China ( zh , t = 中華民國國民政府 , p = Zhōnghuá Mínguó Guómín Zhèngfǔ ), the government of the pup ...

* National Government of China Air Force received several from the Japanese. ; *

Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based ...

operated captured aircraft. ; *

People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the Peo ...

operated more than 30 captured aircraft at the end of 1945. These Ki-55s were used until the last 14 retired in 1953. ; *

Royal Thai Air Force "Royal Thai Air Force March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 9 April 1937 (Royal Thai Air Force Day) , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles ...

Francillon also mentions delivery to the Japanese satellite air force of

Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; vi, Đàng Trong (17th century - 18th century, Việt Nam (1802-1831), Đại Nam (1831-1862), Nam Kỳ (1862-1945); km, កូសាំងស៊ីន, Kosăngsin; french: Cochinchine; ) is a historical exony ...

, the southernmost third part of present

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Specifications (Ki-55)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* (new edition 1987 by Putnam Aeronautical Books, ); 3rd edition 1987, Putnam Aeronautical Books. .) * {{Allied reporting names Ki-55 Ki-55, Tachikawa Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1939