Mitsubishi Ki-15 Karigane

The Mitsubishi Ki-15 Karigane, Army Type 97 Command Reconnaissance was a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft and a light attack bomber of the Second Sino-Japanese War and Pacific War.

It was a single-engine, low-wing, cantilever monoplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage; it carried a crew of two.

Variants

Karigane I

Prototype version for civilian use

Ki-15-I

Initial production variant for the Japanese Army, with Nakajima Ha-8 (Army Type 94) 640 hp at take-off, 900 hp at 11,810 ft (3,600 m)

Ki-15-II

Improved Army production version with smaller, more powerful engine 14-cylinder Mitsubishi Ha-25-I, with 850 hp at take-off, 900 hp at 11,810 ft.

Ki-15-III

Proposed upgraded version, did not enter production version.

It had the Mitsubishi Ha-102 engine (1,080 hp at take-off, 1,055 hp at 9,185 ft and 950 hp at 19,030 ft), with a top speed of 329 mph (530 km/h).

C5M1

(Navy Type 98 Reconnaissance Aircraft Model I)

Improved version of Ki-15-I for the Japanese Navy

C5M2

(Navy Type 98 Reconnaissance Aircraft Model 2)

Upgraded version of C5M1 with more powerful engine for the Japanese Navy

Specifications

Crew

2

Length

8.7 m (28 ft 7 in)

Wingspan

12 m (39 ft 4 in)

Height

3.35 m (11 ft 0 in)

Wing area

20.36 m2 (219.2 sq ft)

Empty weight

1,400 kg (3,086 lb)

Gross weight

2,033 kg (4,482 lb)

Max take-off weight

2,300 kg (5,071 lb)

Powerplant

1 × Nakajima Ha8 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 477 kW (640 hp)

Propellers

2-bladed variable-pitch propeller

Performance

Maximum speed

480 km/h (300 mph, 260 kn) at 4,000 m (13,123 ft)

Cruise speed

320 km/h (200 mph, 170 kn) at 5,000 m (16,404 ft)

Range

2,400 km (1,500 mi, 1,300 nmi)

Service ceiling

11,400 m (37,400 ft)

Time to altitude

5,000 m (16,404 ft) in 8 minutes 27 seconds

Armament

Guns

1 x 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 89 machine gun, flexible mounting

Bombs

250 kg (551 lb) of bombs.