Ki-43-III otsu

Ki-43-III otsu

Ki-61-I otsu

Ki-61-I tei

Ki-43-III otsu

Ki-61-I otsu

Ki-61-I tei

Japan

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.3	4.0	4.7

Class:

Fighter

Research:18 000

Purchase:47 000

This page is about the Japanese fighter Ki-43-III otsu. For other versions, see Ki-43 (Family).

Description

The Ki-43-III otsu Hayabusa is a rank III Japanese fighter with a battle rating of 4.3 (AB), 4.0 (RB), and 4.7 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.45 "Steel Generals".

The Ki-43-III otsu is as a rank three aircraft in the Japanese Army Air Force line. Like its rank two brethren, it is an extremely manoeuvrable and lightweight aircraft. It has exceptional climb and roll rate making it a fairly hard target to hit in the hands of a skilled player. The trade-off, however, is its extremely fragile nature - a good hit even from a plane equipped with rifle-calibre guns could do some serious damage if one doesn't push the plane to its limits in any of the game modes. On the other hand, the rather modest pair of fuselage-mounted 12.7 mm Ho-103s of the Ki-43-II have been replaced with a pair of the hard-hitting Ho-5 20 mm cannons, which for its battle-rating gives the Hayabusa the power it needs to take down anything it opposes. Like many of the Japanese fighters, dog-fighting is the key to staying alive. By using the combat flaps and throttle in a optimal manner, this aircraft can get behind nearly every opponent it meets in a low to mid altitude dog-fight. With a modest ammo load of 300 rounds, trigger discipline is important here. It is best to get up close (200-500 m is optimal) and then let off several short bursts, firing until the enemy is critically damaged or the plane is destroyed.

General info

Flight performance

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 6,800 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	546	528	11000	16.2	17.2	11.3	11.3	200
Upgraded	610	574		15.8	16.0	24.1	16.6

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	+	-
0	330	400	350	250	~10	~7

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 370	< 350	< 450	> 296

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
1,800 m	1,280 hp	1,520 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
5,300 m	1,185 hp	1,407 hp

Survivability and armour

• 12 mm Steel plate behind pilot

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Ki-43-III otsu is armed with:

• 2 x 20 mm Ho-5 cannons, nose-mounted (150 rpg = 300 total)

Suspended armament

The Ki-43-III otsu can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 2 x 50 kg Army Type 94 GPHE bombs (100 kg total)
• 2 x 100 kg Army Type 94 GPHE bombs (200 kg total)
• 2 x 250 kg Army Type 92 GPHE bombs (500 kg total)

Usage in battles

Like the Zeros, the Ki-43 is exceptionally light and manoeuvrable. Unlike the Zeros, the Ki-43 has a ridiculous roll rate making it the closest one can get to playing an arcade-esque plane in RB.

Unfortunately, this comes at a cost. The Ki-43 sees primarily American planes which are far faster in both level flight and dive while having significantly better armament. Evading fire becomes difficult when facing planes such as the P-47N-15 which has 8 x M2 Browning .50 cals which are extremely deadly and have a ridiculous volume of fire.

As such, the Ki-43 is almost entirely dependent on siphoning kills from unwary pilots, pilot errors, manoeuvre kills, and pilot frustration which makes it quite a difficult plane to play. However, if played right, and abusing its insane roll rate and turn time, you can take down multiple enemies with your cannon and force others to crash out of frustration and over-eagerness. 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.

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, but an accurate burst can blow off some control surfaces / damage the engine. And sometimes it only takes one bullet to set the target aflame, if you are lucky.

Tactics

When using the Ki-43-III otsu, do remember this plane can easily out manoeuvre anything it may face. Do not try to go head on with enemy planes as even a single round can damage your plane. Instead, position for a head on, but pull off about 1.2 km out, go under the enemy aircraft, and loop around for a shot. You may need to repeat this manoeuvre several times to secure a firing position.

• In Simulator, the Ki-43 is overall a decent plane. It has very forgiving characteristics such as good over-the-nose visibility, a clear bubble canopy without much framing and good backwards visibility. This increases your chance of spotting, tracking, and/or dodging since you can see targets from almost every direction with ease (except the underside, of course). It is recommended to set keybind for moving your head vertically to make full use of the great forward vision in a dogfight. However, its wings are located directly below the cockpit meaning that you cannot see what is below your sides which can lead to you losing track of the enemy. You should get used to searching towards your 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 o'clock, avoiding the wings.
• Note that when taking off the Ki-43 will shift severely to the left due to the propeller torque, so it is recommended to set keybinds for left and right brakes to effectively control your direction on the runway. Using rudder alone will not work at low speed and you will either circle around or lose control and crash into nearby structures like tents/hangars.
• Landing is very beginner-friendly too. It is able to decelerate quickly while also having low stall speed, allowing you to quickly slow down and descend onto the runway. Takeoff and landing flaps do not lift up the nose a lot so you can easily remain overall parallel to the ground. It also performs great when braking as its nose will not usually dip into the ground, so you can keep braking until it fully stops (given that you deflect elevators fully upwards) which is vital for preparing the next fight quickly.
• It has very good handling at most speeds. It does not wobble a lot which is an advantage over the biplanes and early monoplane fighters, making it easier to smooth the aim. You should familiarise the shape of those that you should not turn with: the Spitfires have long, straight nose with an inline engine, rather large and elliptical wings. The Zeros have an overall cylindrical fuselage that merges into a pointy tail after the stabilisers, a radial engine and are usually painted white (early models). If you see them on your tail try outrunning them by diving at around -40 degrees. The Ki-43 still remains responsive handling at 500 km/h, but its speed retention is poor, meaning it will start to lose speed quickly and the enemy might catch up. If you are near a friendly airfield, great. If not, then hope for the best and run towards the friendly side. Don't forget to pitch up and down a little to mess up their aim.

Specific enemies worth noting

Most Allied opponents at the battle rating can outrun the Ki-43 with ease. Most concerning are planes such as the P-47D/N or F4U Corsair, as both planes are over 80 km/h (50 mph) faster on the deck and also possess exceptional .50 cal armament. Use the Ki-43's manoeuvrability to dodge shots and try to slowly drain the energy of your opponent and force mistakes.

When facing the Ki-43-III otsu do remember that it is very manoeuvrable and that it can easily out turn what it faces therefore try to apply Boom & Zoom tactics against a Ki-43-III otsu.

• It will be very challenging when facing against the Chinese/American Ki-43, as both of you have the same characteristics. You cannot outrun each other and cannot out-turn each other, so the fight will be a combination of various manoeuvres and techniques, and of course, the pilot's skills. However, now you have a better chance of critically damaging them within a short firing window which is always an advantage. Note that the Ki-43 has similar appearance as the Ki-44 and can be misjudged as a Ki-44 or a Zero which are also in the Chinese/American tree. Comparing to the Ki-43, the Ki-44 has a slightly bigger engine and the canopy is shifted backwards. The Chinese Zero is painted dark brown with a silver spinner, while the American one is in greyish-blue. They all turn well and have accelerate well in a dive.
• When it comes to intercepting ground pounders or bombers, the Ki-43 generally performs poorly since the targets are all quite robust against your weak guns. Some examples are the IL-2 which is commonly seen in Sim. It can get mistakenly seen as other aircraft from a distance due to its common appearance. But up close you will see two bomb-like structures underneath its wings and triangular stabilisers with rounded tips. The early IL-2s have no defensive guns so it is safe to sit behind and carefully aim. They are heavily armoured in the cockpit and engine so avoid aiming at these areas. Instead target the tail to hope for disabling their tail control. The late IL-2s, however, have a rear-facing Berezin UB which is something you definitely want to avoid. Perform deflection shots from oblique angles (eg sides, top & bottom) or just disengage.

• Typhoon Mk Ib/L: this is a very capable opponent, it is quite fast, climbs good, maneuvers alright and has 4x 20mm cannons 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

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

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator			7 in (mod20)
II		Compressor	Airframe	Offensive 20 mm	10 in (mod24)
III	Wings repair	Engine			12 in (mod30)
IV		Engine injection	Cover	New 20 mm cannons

• The stock 20 mm cannon belts are a pain. Research the "Offensive 20 mm belts" fast. Otherwise there is not a lot necessary to upgrade, mainly performance modules. The engine and compressor modules do wonders. Payload unlocks should be considered last. The Ki-43 is a fighter and not a ground attacker like the B7A2.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Excellent rate of climb
• Decent level & dive speed at its place
• Extremely manoeuvrable
• Quick roll rate
• Good armament
• Decent ammo capacity
• Low stall speed

• Useful flaps in a turnfight
• Good all-round cockpit visibility in simulator
• Forgiving landing characteristics

Cons:

• Lightly armoured
• Can catch fire easily due to the lack of armoured fuel tanks
• Can feel a bit like a paper airplane handling-wise
• Extremely slow, at 507 km/h on the deck
• Poor high-alt performance
• Energy retention and dive speed is abysmal
• Wing rips can happen very easily if one performs high speed manoeuvres (~11 G)

• 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

History

The Ki-43 was fairing poorly against allied aircraft by 1944. A new version was constructed at an attempt for better performance. The Ki-43-III is very similar to the Ki-43-II except for its engine, which was replaced with the far more powerful Mitsubishi Ha-112-32/42 engine. The aircraft was also fitted with a pair of 20 mm cannons. The last variant of the Ki-43, (the Ki-43-IIIc) was intended to protect mainland japan from B-29s. The war ended before the aircraft could ever be produced.

Media

The Shooting Range #7 - Metal Beasts section at 00:40 discusses the Ki-43-III otsu.

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

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
• other literature.