The Mitsubishi Ki-51 was a light bomber/dive bomber in service with the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.
It first flew in mid-1939.
Initially deployed against Chinese forces, it proved to be too slow to hold up against the fighter aircraft of the other Allied powers.
However, it performed a useful ground-attack role in the China-Burma-India Theatre, notably from airfields too rough for many other aircraft.
As the war drew to a close, the Japanese began using them in kamikaze attacks.
Total production was around 2,385 units.
On the day Hiroshima was destroyed by an atomic bomb, a single Ki-51 was responsible for the last Japanese sinking of a US warship, sinking USS Bullhead(SS-332) with all hands.
Variants
Prototypes
Two built
Service trials
11 built
Ki-51
2,372 built (Manufacturers: Mitsubishi (1,462), Tachikawa Army Air Arsenal (913)) until March 1944
Ki-51B
Assault version with armour and bomb racks to carry 441 lbs of bombs.
It could be fitted with an aerial camera.
Mansyu Ki-71
Three prototypes built by Mansyu with retractable landing gear, did not enter production.
Reconnaissance Version Ki-51A
Specifications
Crew
2
Length
9.21 m (30 ft 3 in)
Wingspan
12.1 m (39 ft 8 in)
Height
2.73 m (8 ft 11 in)
Wing area
24 m2 (260 sq ft)
Empty weight
1,873 kg (4,129 lb)
Gross weight
2,798 kg (6,169 lb)
Max take-off weight
2,920 kg (6,437 lb)
Powerplant
1 × Mitsubishi Ha-26-II,
14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine,
710 kW (950 hp)
Propellers
3-bladed variable-pitch propeller
Performance
Maximum speed
424 km/h (263 mph, 229 kn) at 3,000 m (9,843 ft)
Range
1,060 km (660 mi, 570 nmi)
Service ceiling
8,270 m (27,130 ft)
Time to altitude
5,000 m (16,404 ft) in 9 minutes 55 seconds
Wing loading
117 kg/m2 (24 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass
0.24 kW/kg (0 hp/lb)
Armament
Guns
2× fixed, forward-firing 7.7 mm (.303 in) Type 89 machine guns
(Replaced with 2× 12.7 mm (.5 in) Ho-103 machine guns in later models)
