Ki-48-II otsu

Ki-48-II otsu

Ki-48-II otsu

Japan

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.3	2.3	2.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Bomber

Frontline bomber

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

MARKET

Description

The Ki-48-II otsu is a premium gift rank II Japanese frontline bomber with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced during Update "Sons of Attila" as a reward for the 2023 Tokushu Heiki event.

The Ki-48 was an early-war Japanese light bomber, and was used successfully in the war against China. It was used to bomb critical supply lines and Chinese infrastructure during the land invasion of China. Pilots noted the plane for being fast enough to escape interception. The Ki-48-II otsu is currently the only propeller-driven aircraft than can carry a guided missile, the Ki-148, and serves as a very unique collectible from the Missile Workshop event. At its battle rating, the enemy tanks you will be facing have little armour, and the Ki-148's 130 kg of TNT warhead will make short work of enemy units. The enemy aircraft at this BR won't be much of a threat when the Ki-48 is in the hands of an experienced pilot. Its high speed allows it to run away from danger, and two gunners in the rear can help pick persistent fighters off of your six.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 6 200 m499 km/h

Turn time28 s

Max altitude9 300 m

Engine2 х Nakajima Ha-115

TypeRadial

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight7 t

The Ki-48 is a very typical Japanese frontline bomber in regards to its flight performance. It is incredibly manoeuvrable, especially after dispatching the suspended ordnance. It has a low stall speed, and has a comparatively high top speed for its Battle Rating. The Ki-48 has a somewhat sluggish roll rate when using the ailerons alone, so some assistance from the rudder may be required when performing quick turns.

Characteristics	Max speed (km/h at 6,200 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	___	___	9300	__._	__._	__._	__._	600
Upgraded	520	499		27.1	28.0	14.1	10.6

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
650	300	428	400	250	~10	~3

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 360	< 360	< 360	> 300

Survivability and armour

Crew5 people

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear300 km/h

The Ki-48 has above average armour for its BR and role. It has substantially more armour than other Japanese bombers at its tier, and is fully equipped with self-sealing fuel tanks. Additionally, all of its fuel tanks are mounted towards the center of the aircraft, making wing fires extremely unlikely, and giving the plane good survivability. The gunners on this plane are decently protected from attackers coming at you from your six.

Armour components include:

• Three 16.5 mm steel plates:
  • One as seat armour: protecting the pilot from small calibre rounds from behind
  • One protecting the ventral gunner from fighters on your six
  • One protecting the dorsal gunner from fighters on your six
• One 12.5 mm steel plate: protecting the pilot from head-on attacks.
• Two 6.5 mm steel plates under the pilot, protecting him from attacks from enemy SPAAs

The small self-sealing tanks, the armour, and the small engine cooling system make the Ki-48 a very survivable medium bomber, especially for Japanese standards.

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB336

RB523

SB772

Crew training2 300

Experts15 000

Aces125

Research Aces320 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 40 / 80 / 150 %

2 × 112 / 112 / 112 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Radiator Compressor Wings repair Engine Engine injection	Airframe Cover	mg_turret_belt_pack type_1_turret_belt_pack 10 in (mod24) mg15_turret_new_gun type_1_turret_new_gun

Armaments

Suspended armament

List of setups (3)

Setup 11 x Ki-148 I-Go Model 1B missile

Setup 28 x 50 kg Army Type 94 GPHE bomb

Setup 34 x 100 kg Army Type 94 GPHE bomb

The Ki-48-II otsu can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 1 x Ki-148 I-Go Model 1B missile
• 8 x 50 kg Army Type 94 GPHE bombs (400 kg total)
• 4 x 100 kg Army Type 94 GPHE bombs (400 kg total)

Defensive armament

Turret7.92 mm Type 1 machine gun

Ammunition1000 rounds

Fire rate2200 shots/min

Turret7.92 mm Type 98 machine gun

Ammunition675 rounds

Fire rate1000 shots/min

The Ki-48-II otsu is defended by:

• 1 x 7.92 mm Type 1 machine gun, dorsal turret (1,000 rpg)
• 1 x 7.92 mm Type 98 machine gun, ventral turret (675 rpg)

Usage in battles

The Ki-48-II Otsu can be used as a frontline bomber in Air Battles, owing to its high top speed, its exceptional manoeuvrability (for a bomber), and its small profile. It is able to quickly deliver ordnance to frontline units and dispatch them with ease. However, enemy fighters will make short work of you if they are faster, so it is advisable to flee the area as soon as all ordnance is spent. The Ki-48-II Otsu shines in mixed battles, because of its unique armament capabilities.

For Naval and Ground Battles, the Ki-48-II Otsu has the ability to equip the Ki-148 I-Go Model 1B, a manually-guided cruise missile with 130 kg of TNT. Mounted under the fuselage, the missile adds a large amount of weight and drag, meaning that the pilot needs to find a target as quickly as possible to avoid being a target for interception.

Using the Ki-148

One will note that it is rather difficult to control the missile due to its natural tendency to pitch up at its maximum speed. Additionally, the visual control because increasingly difficult as the missile gets farther away from the aircraft. The pilot must keep the line of sight on the missile at all times to ensure it hits the target. This prevents the Ki-48 from taking evasive action whilst guiding the cruise missile. One trick to keeping the line of sight on the missile is to go into the gunner view, hover the crosshair on the target, and direct the missile to the crosshair. Launching the missile is relatively complicated due to the missile being unable to stay in front of the aircraft when dropped at too low of a speed or too high of an angle. Your best bet is to launch the missile less than 2 miles (3.5 km) away from the target at speeds exceeding 225 mph (375 km/h) to avoid being the missile lagging behind. If there is anti-air defense up, prioritize targeting it from farther away, to avoid being hit whilst guiding the missile. It's a good idea to cut throttle to 50% or less, to allow the missile to overtake the plane and to avoid approaching the target too quickly. This is especially useful when attacking groups of SPAAs, as they usually congregate near spawn and are closely packed together. Launch even farther away than normal, so they won't be able to hit you while guiding the missile.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger	Magneto
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled

The Ki-48-II Otsu has relatively powerful engines for its weight and Battle Rating. The Instructor usually does a good job of managing the engines, but if need be, the engines have easy controls to learn. The propeller pitch should be kept at 90-100% while on WEP, using 100% for very high speeds and 90% for takeoff and landing speeds. 95% is a happy medium if the pilot wishes to keep it at one setting. The radiators can be kept at a low setting on most maps, at around roughly 10-30%. The supercharger's second gear is only activated at high altitudes exceeding 11,000 feet (roughly 3,250 meters) The mixture is not as important as any of the other controls, but a good rule is to keep it above 60% at all times, and closer to 100% at sea level.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Ability to carry the Ki-148 guided missile at a low rank
• Excellent top speed
• Good handling characteristics
• Wide turret coverage in the rear
• Decent survivability, additionally there is armour to protect the gunners and pilot
• Able to fly back to base on one engine
• Engines will not overheat quickly, good power
• Well detailed cockpit

Cons:

• Weak defensive armament
• Low bomb capacity
• Lacks a bombsight
• No turret coverage in the front of the aircraft
• Difficult to use the cruise missile
• Very high spawn cost in ground RB

History

The Ki-48 served in China from late 1940, replacing the Kawasaki Ki-32, and were widely used in the Philippines, Malaya, Burma, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the Dutch East Indies, where the Ki-48 Ia and Ib models, slow and poorly armed, were supplemented by the marginally improved Ki-48 IIa and IIc, which were maintained in service along with the older types until the end of the war.

All models continued in service until the Battle of Okinawa during April 1945, when many were converted into kamikaze aircraft (Ki-48-II KAI Tai-Atari) armed with an 800 kg (1,760 lb) bomb. Some aircraft were modified to act as testbeds; one carried the Kawasaki Ki-148 guided missile intended for use on the Kawasaki Ki-102 in late 1944, and one was modified to test a Ne-0 pulsejet engine in late 1944 to early 1945.

The fact that all models continued in service until 1945 reflects that many Ki-48s survived more often than not. This was due to the use of small ship formations (three to ten aircraft) escorted by large numbers of fighters (25–75), typically Nakajima Ki-43s. Although not as fast as more modern fighters, after 1942, the aircraft was still fast enough to enable it to often avoid interception unless it ran into a standing patrol of fighters.^{[citation needed]} The 90th Air Regiment of the 5th Air Army (based in Hopei, north China) equipped with Ki-48s was the only Japanese air unit in China proper to engage the Soviets, although others were advanced in preparation. It flew 20 sorties against the Soviets during 14 August 1945.

As a testbed for the Ki-148

About 180 Ki-148 Missiles were built to defend the Japanese mainland for the anticipated land invasion. Although the Ki-148 was designed to be launched from Ki-102 Strike fighters, the Japanese Army Air Service needed to sufficiently test and deploy missiles before they could be used in combat. The Ki-48-II Otsu was the aircraft selected to launch and test these missiles. In late 1944, A Ki-48-II was modified with a missile control system and the bomb bay was removed, and trials with the Ki-148 commenced. The missile turned out to be successful, more so than its larger counterpart, the Ki-147.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Ki-48-II otsu from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #377 - Pages of History section at 03:27 discusses the Ki-48-II otsu.

Ki-48-II Otsu - Tim's Variety War Thunder

See also

• Ki-49, a similar frontline bomber

External links

• [Devblog] Tokushu Heiki: Ki-48-II Otsu & Ki-148 Missile

Japan bombers
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	Ki-48-II otsu
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