The Tachikawa Ki-36 was a Japanese army co-operation/fighter aircraft of World War II.
It was a two-seat, low-wing monoplane with a single piston engine and fixed, tailwheel-type undercarriage.
The prototype, fitted with a 450 hp (336 kW) Hitachi Army Type 98 Ha-13 engine, first flew on 20 April 1938.
Having outperformed the Mitsubishi Ki-35 in comparative trials, the Ki-36 was designated the Army Type 98 Direct Co-operation Aircraft and ordered into production in November 1938.
Production ended in January 1944 after a total of 1,334 Ki-36 had been built (Tachikawa 862 and Kawasaki 472).
The Ki-36 first saw action in China where it saw success. Later, in the Pacific, it proved excessively vulnerable to opposing fighters.
It was thereafter redeployed to the safer theatre of China.
Towards the end of the war, the Ki-36 was employed as a kamikaze aircraft with a bomb of 500-kg (1,102-lb) fitted externally.
Tachikawa Ki-55
The Tachikawa Ki-55 was a Japanese advanced trainer.
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 having built 1078 and Kawasaki 311.
Both the Ki-55 and the Ki-36 were given the Allied nickname ‘Ida.’
Variants
Ki-36
Co-Operation/Fighter Version.
Ki-55
Two-seat advanced trainer version.
Ki-72
An evolved version with a 600-hp (447-kW) Hitachi Ha-38 engine and retractable undercarriage.
Not built.
Specifications
KI-36
Crew
2
Length
8 m (26 ft 3 in)
Wingspan
11.8 m (38 ft 9 in)
Height
3.64 m (11 ft 11 in)
Wing area
20 m2 (220 sq ft)
Airfoil
Root
NACA 23014;
Tip
NACA 23006
Empty weight
1,247 kg (2,749 lb)
Gross weight
1,660 kg (3,660 lb)
Powerplant
1 × Hitachi Ha13a (Army Type 98 450hp Air Cooled Radial)
9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine,
380 kW (510 hp) for take-off
350 kW (470 hp) at 1,700 m (5,577 ft)
Performance
Maximum speed
348 km/h (216 mph, 188 kn)
Cruise speed
235 km/h (146 mph, 127 kn)
Range
1,235 km (767 mi, 667 nmi)
Service ceiling
8,150 m (26,740 ft)
Time to altitude
3,000 m (9,843 ft) in 6 minutes 39 seconds
Wing loading
83 kg/m2 (17 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass
0.23 kW/kg (0.14 hp/lb)
Armament
Guns
One fixed, forward-firing 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 89 machine gun,
One flexible 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 89 machine gun in the rear cockpit.
