Ki-43-II - Revision history

U120313908: /* Description */ New Description Project

2024-10-07T23:29:35Z

‎Description: New Description Project

U44629479: Edits

2023-06-11T12:14:52Z

Edits

U147706677: /* Survivability and armour */

2023-06-11T12:09:57Z

‎Survivability and armour

U147706677: /* Survivability and armour */

2023-06-11T12:08:45Z

‎Survivability and armour

U143739041: /* Usage in battles */

2023-05-18T01:17:24Z

‎Usage in battles

U38088265: /* In-game description */ Reformatted

2022-11-16T16:59:07Z

‎In-game description: Reformatted

U44629479: Edits

2022-06-03T08:56:41Z

Edits

U38088265: /* Details */

2022-06-02T12:27:12Z

‎Details

U44629479: Edits

2022-01-13T18:39:35Z

Edits

U17577377: Preemptively Linking Art

2021-09-11T22:53:59Z

Preemptively Linking Art

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 == Description ==
 <!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of and the creation and combat usage of the aircraft, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the aircraft in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' -->
-The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Japanese fighter {{Battle-rating}}. It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27.
+The '''{{Specs|name}}''' was the second production variant of the '''Nakajima Ki-43 ''Hayabusa''''' family of fighters. The Ki-43 was the main Japanese land based single engine fighter with almost 6000 units built between all variants. The first prototype of the aircraft flew in February 1942, it featured a new 2 stage supercharged engine that used a three blade propeller, a reinforced wing structure which supported racks for drop tanks or bombs and rubber coated fuel tanks as well as higher resistance against 7.7mm bullets for the propeller and a slightly larger canopy.
-== General info ==
+It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27. The '''{{Specs|name}}''' follows the spirit of its predecessor, the Ki-43-I. It features a light airframe prone to damage even by light machine gun fire, and has poor armament against other fighters but specially heavier targets. However it comes with some improvements, mainly the new engine which gives it more power, as well as slightly more survivability and the addition of bombs. It still relies on quick dogfights to defeat its opponents, using its superior agility to quickly gain an upper hand. Now for ground battles it can use 2 x 250KG bombs to destroy enemy units, with this bomb size it is recommended going for light tanks, armoured cars, SPAAs or any open top vehicles.
 === Flight performance ===
 {{Specs-Avia-Flight}}

@@ Line 79: / Line 79: @@
 Unlike most of the Japanese airplanes around this BR, the {{PAGENAME}} features an armour plate. It's 12 mm steel at 12° angle, protecting an entire body, legs and part of the head from rear firing angles. It's far from perfect protection, but significantly increases survival chances of the pilot. This is further improved by a large, 14-cylinder radial engine at the front, soaking up most of the incoming damage.
-That said though, one of the biggest issues with the survivability of the fighter are its lack of self-sealing fuel tanks, which once ignited will happily burn the entire fighter to the ground, not unlike most of the Japanese fighters in the game.
+That said though, one of the biggest issues with the survivability of the fighter are its lack of self-sealing fuel tanks, which once ignited will happily burn the entire fighter to the ground, like most of the Japanese fighters in the game.
 {{Clear|left}}
 === Modifications and economy ===

@@ Line 79: / Line 79: @@
 Unlike most of the Japanese airplanes around this BR, the {{PAGENAME}} features an armour plate. It's 12 mm steel at 12° angle, protecting an entire body, legs and part of the head from rear firing angles. It's far from perfect protection, but significantly increases survival chances of the pilot. This is further improved by a large, 14-cylinder radial engine at the front, soaking up most of the incoming damage.
-That said though, one of the biggest issues with the survivability of the fighter are its lack of self-sealing fuel tanks, which once ignited will happily burn the entire fighter to the ground, not different from most of the Japanese fighters in the game.
+That said though, one of the biggest issues with the survivability of the fighter are its lack of self-sealing fuel tanks, which once ignited will happily burn the entire fighter to the ground, not unlike most of the Japanese fighters in the game.
 {{Clear|left}}
 === Modifications and economy ===

@@ Line 79: / Line 79: @@
 Unlike most of the Japanese airplanes around this BR, the {{PAGENAME}} features an armour plate. It's 12 mm steel at 12° angle, protecting an entire body, legs and part of the head from rear firing angles. It's far from perfect protection, but significantly increases survival chances of the pilot. This is further improved by a large, 14-cylinder radial engine at the front, soaking up most of the incoming damage.
-That said though, one of the biggest issues with survivability of the fighter are its not self-sealing fuel tanks, which once ignited will happily burn the entire fighter to the ground, not different from most of the Japanese fighters in the game.
+That said though, one of the biggest issues with the survivability of the fighter are its lack of self-sealing fuel tanks, which once ignited will happily burn the entire fighter to the ground, not different from most of the Japanese fighters in the game.
 {{Clear|left}}
 === Modifications and economy ===

@@ Line 127: / Line 127: @@
 '''Enemies worth noting:'''
-* Typhoon Mk Ia: this is a very capable opponent, it is quite fast, climbs good, manoeuvres alright and has 12 x 7.7 mm MGs that can fatally damage the Ki-43. If you are attacking, get an altitude advantage first and BnZ it. If you are being attacked by it, evade its first pass and immediately start a turnfight. You need to deploy combat / takeoff flaps, or even landing flaps if needed to push your turn rate to the limit. Several circles are needed, don't panic to see the Typhoon keeping up with your turns at first. With appropriate flaps, the Ki-43 will slowly out turn it, allowing you to get onto its tail. The Typhoon overall resembles a Hurricane, except its symbolic giant intake below the engine.
+* [[Typhoon Mk Ia]]: this is a very capable opponent, it is quite fast, climbs good, manoeuvres alright and has 12 x 7.7 mm MGs that can fatally damage the Ki-43. If you are attacking, get an altitude advantage first and BnZ it. If you are being attacked by it, evade its first pass and immediately start a turnfight. You need to deploy combat / takeoff flaps, or even landing flaps if needed to push your turn rate to the limit. Several circles are needed, don't panic to see the Typhoon keeping up with your turns at first. With appropriate flaps, the Ki-43 will slowly out turn it, allowing you to get onto its tail. The Typhoon overall resembles a Hurricane, except its symbolic giant intake below the engine.
 === Manual Engine Control ===
@@ Line 193: / Line 193: @@
 ;Skins
 * [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=ki_43_2 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]
@@ Line 200: / Line 201: @@
 == See also ==
 ''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''
 * ''reference to the series of the aircraft;''
 * ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

@@ Line 175: / Line 175: @@
 After some time in the field, the Ki-43 was to receive a major upgrade based on feedback from pilots, which included replacing the Ha-25 engine with the more powerful Ha-115 engine, a two stage supercharger, pilot armour, self-sealing fuel tanks and many more minor improvements. The first prototype of what was to become the Ki-43-II (Army Type 1 Fighter Model 2) was completed in February 1942. The Ki-43 would become the most numerous of all the Japanese Army's fighters. While operating in Malaysia and Burma the plane received the codename "Jim" and in the Pacific Theatre it received the allied codename "Oscar". The codename "Oscar" was eventually selected as the official code name for the airplane by the Allies.
-=== In-game description ===
+{{break}}
 The single-seater Japanese Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon) fighter was designed to replace the Ki-27 in the Japanese Imperial Army's Air Force.
@@ Line 185: / Line 187: @@
 All in all, 5919 Ki-43 fighters were produced, most of which were of the Ki-43-IIA design.
 == Media ==

@@ Line 109: / Line 109: @@
 * 2 x 250 kg Army Type 92 GPHE bombs (500 kg total)
-Generally the choice of bombs should depend on the skill of the player, with smaller bombs getting increasingly difficult to destroy enemy targets, while at the same time giving far better flight characteristics. In terms of destroying armoured targets there's a notable gap in performance, with bombs having a destructive radius of 5, 3, 2 meters for 250, 100, 50 kg bombs respectively, making 250 kg bombs a very potent weapon, even if it gives a huge decrease in performance (+1.9 s to turn time, comparing to +0.5 s with the 100 kg bombs).
+Generally the choice of bombs should depend on the skill of the player, with smaller bombs getting increasingly difficult to destroy enemy targets, while at the same time giving far better flight characteristics. In terms of destroying armoured targets there's a notable gap in performance, with bombs having a destructive radius of 5, 3, 2 m for 250, 100, 50 kg bombs respectively, making 250 kg bombs a very potent weapon, even if it gives a huge decrease in performance (+1.9 s to turn time, comparing to +0.5 s with the 100 kg bombs).
 == Usage in battles ==
 <!-- ''Describe the tactics of playing in the aircraft, the features of using aircraft in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).'' -->
-In all modes, the Ki-43 can perform both BnZ fighting and turnfighting with the correct opponent. It can easily accelerate to 500 km/h in a dive while still having responsive controls. However its speed retention is quite poor and will lose lots of speed as soon as you level out. For turnfighting, you can out-turn most monoplanes and almost all heavy fighters/attackers even without combat flaps deployed, but never turn with Spitfires and Zeros. Note that this aircraft will experience severe rudder lockup when faster than around 450 kph, resulting in awkward aiming adjustments if the target manoeuvres, so you need to cut throttle appropriately to control your speed.
+In all modes, the Ki-43 can perform both BnZ fighting and turnfighting with the correct opponent. It can easily accelerate to 500 km/h in a dive while still having responsive controls. However its speed retention is quite poor and will lose lots of speed as soon as you level out. For turnfighting, you can out-turn most monoplanes and almost all heavy fighters/attackers even without combat flaps deployed, but never turn with Spitfires and Zeros. Note that this aircraft will experience severe rudder lockup when faster than around 450 km/h, resulting in awkward aiming adjustments if the target manoeuvres, so you need to cut throttle appropriately to control your speed.
 While having sufficient flight characteristics, the Ki-43 is extremely fragile and can get critically damaged by almost all guns. From the hard-hitting M2 Browning to the fast-firing MG 15, ''any'' gun can badly hurt the Ki-43 especially on the engine, fuel tanks, and pilot which can always lead to a later crash. Before attacking try to get an altitude advantage and perform deflection shots. To maximise the damage aim for their wings and engines, as the fuselage usually soaks up lots of bullets. Only fire when the target passes in front of your guns. This short window might seem inadequate to do anything... and it usually is, unfortunately. The slow velocity, light projectiles and low one-second burst mass usually guarantee no critical damage. However sometimes it only takes one bullet to set the target aflame, if you are lucky.
@@ Line 127: / Line 127: @@
 '''Enemies worth noting:'''
-* Typhoon Mk Ia: this is a very capable opponent, it is quite fast, climbs good, manoeuvres alright and has 12x 7.7mm MGs that can fatally damage the Ki-43. If you are attacking, get an altitude advantage first and BnZ it. If you are being attacked by it, evade its first pass and immediately start a turnfight. You need to deploy combat / takeoff flaps, or even landing flaps if needed to push your turn rate to the limit. Several circles are needed, don't panic to see the Typhoon keeping up with your turns at first. With appropriate flaps, the Ki-43 will slowly out turn it, allowing you to get onto its tail. The Typhoon overall resembles a Hurricane, except its symbolic giant intake below the engine.
+* Typhoon Mk Ia: this is a very capable opponent, it is quite fast, climbs good, manoeuvres alright and has 12 x 7.7 mm MGs that can fatally damage the Ki-43. If you are attacking, get an altitude advantage first and BnZ it. If you are being attacked by it, evade its first pass and immediately start a turnfight. You need to deploy combat / takeoff flaps, or even landing flaps if needed to push your turn rate to the limit. Several circles are needed, don't panic to see the Typhoon keeping up with your turns at first. With appropriate flaps, the Ki-43 will slowly out turn it, allowing you to get onto its tail. The Typhoon overall resembles a Hurricane, except its symbolic giant intake below the engine.
 === Manual Engine Control ===
@@ Line 165: / Line 165: @@
 * Very limited ammo pool
 * Very vulnerable to fires, as structure is weak and flammable
-* Rudder locks up at around >=450 kph, meaning that you will miss quite some passes due to the aim not being able to adjust horizontally
+* Rudder locks up at around 450 km/h, meaning that you will miss quite some passes due to the aim not being able to adjust horizontally
 == History ==
@@ Line 171: / Line 171: @@
 In early 1937 the Army recognized the need for a new single seat fighter. Instead of going through the normal process of requesting manufacturers to submit designs, the Army contracted with Nakajima directly to produce a replacement for their Ki-27 (Army Type 97) fighter. The requirements laid out to Nakajima for this new fighter was for it to have a top speed of 311 mph, to be able to reach 16,405 ft within five minutes, to have a minimum range of 500 miles, it was to be armed with two 7.7 mm machine guns, and to not lose any of the manoeuvrability of the Ki-27. The first prototype of what was to become the Ki-43 was completed in December 1938 with 2 more following soon after in 1939, however upon testing it was found that these airplanes did not live up the Army's expectations. The complaints from test pilots included that the plane was not manoeuvrable enough, hard to control, and had visibility issues.
-Following the evaluation of the initial 3 prototypes, Nakajima would develop 10 testing aircraft with various modifications in order to address the armies concerns. The changes tested included giving the fighter the HA-105 engine, replacing the 7.7 mm machine guns with 12.7 mm machine guns, upgrading the outer skin to a treated duralumin, narrower fuselage, redesigned tail surfaces, modifications to the wing design, and the introduction of butterfly flaps. The last improvement in particular helped the plane to overcome its lack of manoeuvrability that the Army had issue with. After these designed prototypes were tested the Army settled on what they saw was the optimum configuration and requested that it be equipped with the Nakajima Ha-25 engine. The plane entered production as the Ki-43-Ia (Army Type 1 Fighter Model 1A) with the first example completing production in April 1941. This model was soon replaced with the Ki-43-Ib (Army Type 1 Fighter Model 1B) which replaced one of the 7.7 mm machine guns with a 12.7mm machine gun which was also soon replaced by the Ki-43-Ic (Army Type 1 Fighter Model 1C) which was equipped with two 12.7 mm machine gun.
+Following the evaluation of the initial 3 prototypes, Nakajima would develop 10 testing aircraft with various modifications in order to address the armies concerns. The changes tested included giving the fighter the HA-105 engine, replacing the 7.7 mm machine guns with 12.7 mm machine guns, upgrading the outer skin to a treated duralumin, narrower fuselage, redesigned tail surfaces, modifications to the wing design, and the introduction of butterfly flaps. The last improvement in particular helped the plane to overcome its lack of manoeuvrability that the Army had issue with. After these designed prototypes were tested the Army settled on what they saw was the optimum configuration and requested that it be equipped with the Nakajima Ha-25 engine. The plane entered production as the Ki-43-Ia (Army Type 1 Fighter Model 1A) with the first example completing production in April 1941. This model was soon replaced with the Ki-43-Ib (Army Type 1 Fighter Model 1B) which replaced one of the 7.7 mm machine guns with a 12.7 mm machine gun which was also soon replaced by the Ki-43-Ic (Army Type 1 Fighter Model 1C) which was equipped with two 12.7 mm machine gun.
 After some time in the field, the Ki-43 was to receive a major upgrade based on feedback from pilots, which included replacing the Ha-25 engine with the more powerful Ha-115 engine, a two stage supercharger, pilot armour, self-sealing fuel tanks and many more minor improvements. The first prototype of what was to become the Ki-43-II (Army Type 1 Fighter Model 2) was completed in February 1942. The Ki-43 would become the most numerous of all the Japanese Army's fighters. While operating in Malaysia and Burma the plane received the codename "Jim" and in the Pacific Theatre it received the allied codename "Oscar". The codename "Oscar" was eventually selected as the official code name for the airplane by the Allies.

@@ Line 58: / Line 58: @@
 ! Combat !! Take-off !! Landing !! + !! -
 |-
-| {{Specs|destruction|body}} || {{Specs|destruction|gear}} || 416 || 373 || 250 || ~10 || ~8
+| 661 <!-- {{Specs|destruction|body}} --> || {{Specs|destruction|gear}} || 416 || 373 || 250 || ~10 || ~8
 |-
 |}
@@ Line 75: / Line 75: @@
 {{Specs-Avia-Armour}}
 <!-- ''Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.'' -->
-[[File:Armor_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|thumb|left|Shape and the information about the armor plate behind the cockpit]]
+[[File:Armor_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|thumb|left|Shape and the information about the armour plate behind the cockpit]]
-Unlike most of the Japanese airplanes around this BR, the {{PAGENAME}} features an armor plate. It's 12 mm steel at 12° angle, protecting an entire body, legs and part of the head from rear firing angles. It's far from perfect protection, but significantly increases survival chances of the pilot. This is further improved by a large, 14-cylinder radial engine at the front, soaking up most of the incoming damage.
+Unlike most of the Japanese airplanes around this BR, the {{PAGENAME}} features an armour plate. It's 12 mm steel at 12° angle, protecting an entire body, legs and part of the head from rear firing angles. It's far from perfect protection, but significantly increases survival chances of the pilot. This is further improved by a large, 14-cylinder radial engine at the front, soaking up most of the incoming damage.
 That said though, one of the biggest issues with survivability of the fighter are its not self-sealing fuel tanks, which once ignited will happily burn the entire fighter to the ground, not different from most of the Japanese fighters in the game.
@@ Line 109: / Line 109: @@
 * 2 x 250 kg Army Type 92 GPHE bombs (500 kg total)
-Generally the choice of bombs should depend on the skill of the player, with smaller bombs getting increasingly difficult to destroy enemy targets, while at the same time giving far better flight characteristics. In terms of destroying armored targets there's a notable gap in performance, with bombs having a destructive radius of 5, 3, 2 meters for 250, 100, 50 kg bombs respectively, making 250 kg bombs a very potent weapon, even if it gives a huge decrease in performance (+1.9 s to turn time, comparing to +0.5 s with the 100 kg bombs).
+Generally the choice of bombs should depend on the skill of the player, with smaller bombs getting increasingly difficult to destroy enemy targets, while at the same time giving far better flight characteristics. In terms of destroying armoured targets there's a notable gap in performance, with bombs having a destructive radius of 5, 3, 2 meters for 250, 100, 50 kg bombs respectively, making 250 kg bombs a very potent weapon, even if it gives a huge decrease in performance (+1.9 s to turn time, comparing to +0.5 s with the 100 kg bombs).
 == Usage in battles ==
 <!-- ''Describe the tactics of playing in the aircraft, the features of using aircraft in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).'' -->
-In all modes, the Ki-43 can perform both BnZ fighting and turnfighting with the correct opponent. It can easily accelerate to 500 km/h in a dive while still having responsive controls. However its speed retention is quite poor and will lose lots of speed as soon as you level out. For turnfighting, you can out-turn most monoplanes and almost all heavy fighters/attackers even without combat flaps deployed, but never turn with Spitfires and Zeros. Note that this aircraft will experience severe rudder lockup when faster than around 450 kph, resulting in awkward aiming adjustments if the target maneuvers, so you need to cut throttle appropriately to control your speed.
+In all modes, the Ki-43 can perform both BnZ fighting and turnfighting with the correct opponent. It can easily accelerate to 500 km/h in a dive while still having responsive controls. However its speed retention is quite poor and will lose lots of speed as soon as you level out. For turnfighting, you can out-turn most monoplanes and almost all heavy fighters/attackers even without combat flaps deployed, but never turn with Spitfires and Zeros. Note that this aircraft will experience severe rudder lockup when faster than around 450 kph, resulting in awkward aiming adjustments if the target manoeuvres, so you need to cut throttle appropriately to control your speed.
 While having sufficient flight characteristics, the Ki-43 is extremely fragile and can get critically damaged by almost all guns. From the hard-hitting M2 Browning to the fast-firing MG 15, ''any'' gun can badly hurt the Ki-43 especially on the engine, fuel tanks, and pilot which can always lead to a later crash. Before attacking try to get an altitude advantage and perform deflection shots. To maximise the damage aim for their wings and engines, as the fuselage usually soaks up lots of bullets. Only fire when the target passes in front of your guns. This short window might seem inadequate to do anything... and it usually is, unfortunately. The slow velocity, light projectiles and low one-second burst mass usually guarantee no critical damage. However sometimes it only takes one bullet to set the target aflame, if you are lucky.
@@ Line 127: / Line 127: @@
 '''Enemies worth noting:'''
-* Typhoon Mk Ia: this is a very capable opponent, it is quite fast, climbs good, maneuvers alright and has 12x 7.7mm MGs that can fatally damage the Ki-43. If you are attacking, get an altitude advantage first and BnZ it. If you are being attacked by it, evade its first pass and immediately start a turnfight. You need to deploy combat / takeoff flaps, or even landing flaps if needed to push your turn rate to the limit. Several circles are needed, don't panic to see the Typhoon keeping up with your turns at first. With appropriate flaps, the Ki-43 will slowly out turn it, allowing you to get onto its tail. The Typhoon overall resembles a Hurricane, except its symbolic giant intake below the engine.
+* Typhoon Mk Ia: this is a very capable opponent, it is quite fast, climbs good, manoeuvres alright and has 12x 7.7mm MGs that can fatally damage the Ki-43. If you are attacking, get an altitude advantage first and BnZ it. If you are being attacked by it, evade its first pass and immediately start a turnfight. You need to deploy combat / takeoff flaps, or even landing flaps if needed to push your turn rate to the limit. Several circles are needed, don't panic to see the Typhoon keeping up with your turns at first. With appropriate flaps, the Ki-43 will slowly out turn it, allowing you to get onto its tail. The Typhoon overall resembles a Hurricane, except its symbolic giant intake below the engine.
 === Manual Engine Control ===
@@ Line 201: / Line 201: @@
 == External links ==
-<!--''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''
+<!-- ''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''
 * ''topic on the official game forum;''
-* ''other literature.''-->
+* ''other literature.'' -->
 * [https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/111036-nakajima-ki-43-ii/ Official data sheet - more details about the performance]

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 {{Specs-Card
 |code=ki_43_2
-|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
+|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
 }}