Ki-109

Ki-109

Ki-45 hei

Ki-109

Ki-45 hei

Japan

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.7	2.0	2.3

Class:

Strike aircraft

Research:5 900

Purchase:6 300

Description

The Ki-109 is a rank I Japanese twin-engine fighter with a battle rating of 1.7 (AB), 2.0 (RB), and 2.3 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.71 "New E.R.A.".

Based on the Mitsubishi Ki-67 'heavy' bomber, the Ki-109 was designed as an interceptor in an attempt to counter the American bombing raids that devastated Japan. It is armed with a 75 mm anti-aircraft gun modified for aircraft use, and almost all defensive armament from the bomber version has been stripped, except for the tail turret, in order to maximise performance.

In-game, the Ki-109 functions much as it was intended to in reality. The 75 mm gun is effective against bombers, but struggles to hit small agile targets such as fighters. Its own defensive armament is very poor, and it should avoid combat with fighters at all costs. Alternatively, the 75 mm gun is also effective against tanks if a clean hit can be obtained.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 6 050 m550 km/h

Turn time20 s

Max altitude9 300 m

Engine2 х Mitsubishi Ha-104

TypeRadial

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight11 t

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 6,050 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	531	515	9300	21.0	21.8	8.3	8.3	650
Upgraded	570	550		19.1	20.0	14.0	10.9

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	450	450	250	~5	~1

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 360	< 360	< 360	> 313

Survivability and armour

Crew3 people

Speed of destruction

Structural650 km/h

Gear300 km/h

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.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB236 → 320

RB307 → 417

SB628 → 854

Total cost of modifications5 970

4 500

Talisman cost410

Crew training1 800

Experts6 300

Aces80

Research Aces135 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

20 / 40 / 90 %

106 / 106 / 106 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 400 Cost: 300 65 Radiator Research: 400 Cost: 300 65 Compressor Research: 450 Cost: 340 70 Wings repair Research: 500 Cost: 380 80 Engine Research: 500 Cost: 380 80 Engine injection Research: 640 Cost: 480 105	Airframe Research: 450 Cost: 340 70 Cover Research: 640 Cost: 480 105	safat12_turret_belt_pack Research: 400 Cost: 300 65 ho103_turret_new_gun Research: 450 Cost: 340 70 Type88_75mm_belt_pack Research: 500 Cost: 380 80 Type88_75mm_new_gun Research: 640 Cost: 480 105

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 175 mm Type 88 cannon

Ammunition15 rounds

Fire rate21 shots/min

The Ki-109 is armed with:

• 1 x 75 mm Type 88 cannon, nose-mounted (15 rpg)

Defensive armament

Turret12.7 mm Ho-104 machine gun

Ammunition500 rounds

Fire rate900 shots/min

The Ki-109 is defended by:

• 1 x 12.7 mm Ho-104 machine gun, dorsal turret (500 rpg)

Usage in battles

Ki-109 isn't only about the gun to attack ground targets, its also about intercepting enemies and returning safe and sound. While designed as an interceptor, the climbing rate is inadequate for this role when in stock condition; sideclimbing is a mandatory rule one should obey to. Despite its size, which resembles as medium bomber, Ki-109 is surprisingly manoeuvrable among all – if not, all nation – Japanese twin-engined heavy fighter, on par with Germany's Fw 190 series. Still, it's better not to use those blessings for dog-fighting a fighter: use the Ki-109's manoeuvrability to evade the bomber's defensive gunner if the first pass of a bomber interception fails. Another way to use the manoeuvrability is to outmaneuver inexperienced pilots in a heavy bomber who tries to evade the first shot by making a turn like a single-engine fighter for another pass. Or at a lower altitude, the Ki-109 can regain its position quickly for another pass on enemy tanks below.

The fuselage durability proved strong to shrug off machine gun calibre and some cannon. To add to the plane's defensive value, there is a rear machine gunner which could protect the plane's six o' clock. While so, its defensive armament can be underperforming, and it's more likely to lose the defensive gunner before an enemy plane is damaged as there are no protective glass protecting the gunner. In fact, the Ki-109 doesn't have any armour except at the bottom of the gun itself, which is quite meaningless for the overall plane. Due to this, head-on attacks is strongly unadvised and use the plane's manoeuvrability to evade incoming enemies in front of the plane. The plane is equipped with self-sealing tanks like in every Japanese heavy fighters, meaning the Ki-109 can withstand to accomplish its task(though, it is advised to retreat to base) while one of the wings are burning without breaking it.

Boasting a 75 mm Type 88, the gun itself quite versatile to take down both air and ground targets. This, however not without the drawbacks: 15 rounds of ammo stocked in the guns combined with very low rate of fire and somewhat low bullet velocity means ever shot should count because there are no secondary weapons equipped in the Ki-109. It is advised to seek an assistance with teammates to hunt down bombers. The recoil of the gun itself is another issue to settle off, so in order to minimise inaccurate shot, try to shoot the target during shallow dive. One thing to note, unlike any armour-piercing ammo where it contains not more than 90 gram, the ammo used in Type 88 filled with 460 gram of TNT, which proved overkill to take down even the biggest heavy bomber like Pe-8. Therefore, it is advisable to use AP-T ammo in every battle due its filling, while the HEFI-T has more 30 grams of TNT.

Manual Engine Control

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

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Turret 12 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 12 mm MGs (turret)
III	Wings repair	Engine		Offensive 75 mm
IV		Engine injection	Cover	New 75 mm cannons

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful 75 mm gun, effective against bombers and tanks
• Relatively good performance and agility for its size
• Self-sealing fuel tanks

Cons:

• No forward-firing armament besides 75 mm gun
• Very low rate-of-fire for the 75 mm gun
• Extremely weak defensive armament
• No armour besides the 75 mm gun cradle

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

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.

External links

• [Devblog] Mitsubishi Ki-109: "An Unexpected Threat"

Mitsubishi Company (三菱商会)
Fighters	A5M4 · Hagiri's A5M4
	A6M2 mod. 11 · A6M2 · A6M3 · A6M3 mod. 22 · A6M3 mod. 22Ko · A6M5 · A6M5 Ko · A6M5 otsu · A6M5 Hei · A6M6c
	A7M1 (NK9H) · A7M2
	J2M2 · J2M3 · J2M4 Kai · J2M5 · J2M5 (30 mm)
Hydroplanes	F1M2
Interceptors	Ki-83 · Ki-109
Bombers	G4M1
	Ki-21-Ia · Ki-21-I hei · Ki-67-I Ko · Ki-67-I otsu
Jet Fighters	Ki-200
Captured	▃A6M2 · ␗A6M2
See also	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Post-War)

Japan twin-engine fighters and strike aircraft
Navy
Land-based Fighter
J1N	J1N1
J5N	J5N1
Army
Ki-45	Ki-45 ko · Ki-45 otsu · Ki-45 hei · Ki-45 tei
Ki-83	Ki-83
Ki-96	Ki-96
Ki-102	Ki-102 otsu
Ki-108	Ki-108 Kai
Ki-109	Ki-109