Ki-61-I tei

This page is about the Japanese fighter Ki-61-I tei. For other versions, see Ki-61 (Family).

Ki-61-I tei

Ki-43-III otsu

Ki-61-II Otsu Kai

Ki-61-I tei

Ki-43-III otsu

Ki-61-II Otsu Kai

Japan

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.7	4.3	4.0

Class:

Interceptor

Fighter

Research:26 000

Purchase:76 000

Description

The Ki-61-I tei Hien is a rank III Japanese fighter with a battle rating of 4.7 (AB), 4.3 (RB), and 4.0 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.55 "Royal Armour".

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 5 000 m580 km/h

Turn time21 s

Max altitude10 000 m

EngineKawasaki Ha-40

TypeInline

Cooling systemWater

Take-off weight4 t

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 5,000 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	559	544	10000	22.0	22.7	9.2	9.2	550
Upgraded	602	580		20.1	21.0	15.3	11.9

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	+	-
0	250	447	448	300	~10	~7

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 360	< 350	< 460	> 312

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear250 km/h

• 13 mm steel plate - located behind the pilot
• Self-sealing fuel tanks

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB1 024 → 1 303

RB2 276 → 2 897

SB3 339 → 4 250

Total cost of modifications24 500

44 300

Talisman cost1 100

Crew training22 000

Experts76 000

Aces500

Research Aces320 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

60 / 150 / 310 %

142 / 142 / 142 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 200 120 Radiator Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 200 120 Compressor Research: 1 400 Cost: 2 500 140 Wings repair Research: 1 500 Cost: 2 700 150 Engine Research: 1 500 Cost: 2 700 150 Engine injection Research: 2 700 Cost: 4 900 270	Airframe Research: 1 400 Cost: 2 500 140 Cover Research: 2 700 Cost: 4 900 270	safat12_belt_pack Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 200 120 7 in (mod20) Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 200 120 ho5_belt_pack Research: 1 400 Cost: 2 500 140 10 in (mod24) Research: 1 400 Cost: 2 500 140 ho103_new_gun Research: 1 500 Cost: 2 700 150 12 in (mod30) Research: 1 500 Cost: 2 700 150 ho5_new_gun Research: 2 700 Cost: 4 900 270

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 12 x 20 mm Ho-5 cannon

Ammunition240 rounds

Fire rate948 shots/min

Weapon 22 x 12.7 mm Ho-103 machine gun

Ammunition500 rounds

Fire rate900 shots/min

The Ki-61-I tei is armed with:

• 2 x 20 mm Ho-5 cannons, nose-mounted (120 rpg = 240 total)
• 2 x 12.7 mm Ho-103 machine guns, wing-mounted (250 rpg = 500 total)

Suspended armament

List of setups (3)

Setup 12 x 50 kg Army Type 94 GPHE bomb

Setup 22 x 100 kg Army Type 94 GPHE bomb

Setup 32 x 250 kg Army Type 92 GPHE bomb

The Ki-61-I tei 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

Simulator

In Sim, the Ki-61 can be used in Boom and Zoom fighting, turn fighting, intercepting and some ground pounding. The Ki-61 is overall a pretty friendly plane to fly. It is quite fast, handles nicely at all speeds, has decent visibility especially over the nose, climbs great and has good armament. However its main disadvantage is the weak protection.

Before taking off, bring at least 30 minutes of fuel for longer patrol time. If you are not using MEC, use around 95% throttle when cruising below 3,000 m since the engine will slowly heat up at full throttle. But full throttle is fine at higher altitudes.

Only elevator trim is available, so when the stick is at its dead zone, the Ki-61 will roll and yaw to the left side. Therefore you always need to pull the stick to the right which can get a bit annoying. Usually, a trim of around -7% is enough. But when carrying the 2x 250kg bombload, no negative trim is needed.

For dogfighting, it is always safer to enter with an altitude advantage. Most dogfights in sim happen below 3,000m so the Ki-61 can easily climb up to that altitude. As mentioned in the description, its climb rate is actually great, don't get misled by the stat card. Once at an advantageous height, boom & zoom the enemies. The Ki-61 can easily accelerate to more than 550 km/h in a dive which is decently fast but requires more precise maneuvers to get the correct lead, since the faster you go the smaller the shooting window is. A successful pass will usually cripple the enemy. Aside from BnZ, the Ki-61 is also excellent at turn fighting - with the appropriate opponent, of course. Except a few dedicated turn fighters, the Ki-61 can out-turn and get on most opponents' tail with combat flaps deployed. Note: do not turn with Spitfires or Zeros, you will never out-turn them. If you see a plane with a streamlined inline engine and large, elliptical wings (Spitfire) or something with rounded wingtips and stabilizer tips, a radial engine and a pointy tail (A6M), try some defensive maneuvers like barrel rolls or disengage by diving towards a nearby friendly airfield. Note that the Ki-61's roll rate is very average so avoid maneuvers like scissors.

When intercepting planes, it is crucial to know what the target is, because most targets can easily damage you in return. If it is a bomber/attacker with decent defensive firepower or great turret coverage then you might want to disengage after some attempts if you don't want to die. From the hard-hitting M2 Browning to the fast-firing MG 15, any gun can critically damage the Ki-61 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 maximize the damage it is better to aim for their wings and engines, as the fuselage usually soaks up quite some bullets. Only fire when the bomber passes in front of your guns. This short window might seem inadequate to do anything, but the 2x 20 mm & 2x 12.7 mm armament can easily down a bomber with 1-3 passes. DO NOT follow behind a bomber's 6 unless you are sure that its tail gunners are unconscious. Chasing behind a bomber makes yourself pretty much stationary for the tail gunners, and you will be showered with bullets.

For ground pounding, the best loadout is the 2 x 250 kg bombs. With an extra 500 kg of weight attached outside, the Ki-61 handles much clumsier during take offs, especially on the roll axis. Longer distance is needed before lifting off. Dive at a shallow angle to approach the target, try to get as close as possible but avoid crashing into the ground. When the target fills up about 1/3 in the gunsight and the gunsight slices just above the target, drop the bombs and immediately pull up. It is best to set separate keybinds for firing MG and cannons as wasting precious cannon rounds can be fatal. The 2 MGs perform well in killing trucks, AA guns and artilleries as they have plenty of ammo. However, constantly watch your surrounding, especially your high 6 for any incoming enemies.

Enemies worth noting:

• Me 264: This giant is one of the few bombers who get air spawns in Sim, so it usually flies higher than you think. On top of this, the Me 264 is armed with large calibre MG and cannons all over it, therefore tailing a 264 is basically suicide unless all of their gunners are knocked out. You can treat the 264 almost like a B-29 or B-17 as they are very similar in both design and defensive capabilities. It is best to head-on the 264 if you can as you can easily knock out the pilots due to its glazed nose while also taking minimal damage. However the bomber lacks a ventral turret on its belly, making it easy to deal damage from below, but be weary of the downwards facing rear 20 mm cannon near the tail. The safest way to attack is from a higher altitude, dive at an oblique angle and focus fire on the wings and nose. Never engage if you have no altitude advantage.
• B-17, Ju 88, IL-2, etc: These aircraft have either powerful defensive guns, for example the B-17, or wide gun coverage such as the Ju 88. The most threatening one, the B-17, is fairly easy to distinguish. It has a passenger plane-like fuselage, 4 radial engines extending forwards from the wings and a huge tail fin. Focus your fire on the engines and constantly swing sideways to avoid getting hit. A few hits from the M2 Browning is a guaranteed death. The Ju 88, on the other hand, has great underside gun coverage so attacking from below isn't a very good option. Try engaging from the sides and concentrate the fire on the front half of it, as that is where all the vital components are located. Again, never engage any of these if you have no altitude advantage.
• A6M, Spitfire, etc: If you see them on your tail try outrunning them by diving at around -40 degrees. The Ki-61 still remains responsive handling at 600 km/h, but its speed retention is not the best, 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, the early Spitfires and A6M only have a 60-round drum per cannon which will run out fairly fast. The leftover 7.7 mm machine guns will not be as destructive.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Not controllable 1 gear	Not controllable

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Generally performs well in the most common tactics, both BnZ and turn-fighting, allowing flexible gameplay depending on the situation
• Outstanding climb rate
• Has decent dive speed, can easily out-dive slower opponents
• Great firepower thanks to the pair of 20 mm Ho-5 cannons
• Some armour protection for the pilot means that it will not easily get pilot-sniped by small-calibre/low-penetrating guns from the back
• Able to equip up to 2 x 250 kg bombs, meaning it is also useful in ground pounding/tank RB
• Adequate over-the-nose visibility allows easier leading in Simulator

Cons:

• Average backwards visibility can be lethal in Simulator
• Locks up at high speeds
• The guns do not have a lot of ammo compared to earlier models (250 rpg for 12.7 mm and 120 rpg for 20 mm) which requires strict trigger control
• No frontal armour, can be fatal in a head-on
• Average roll rate which worsens as speed increases, can easily get out-rolled by Fw 190s and I-16s

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

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance