page_title: Kawasaki Ki-48
section_title: Ki-48 Special Attack Unit
hierarchical_section_title: Kawasaki Ki-48 / Operational history / Ki-48 Special Attack Unit
caption_attribution_description: English: Catalog #: 01_00081929 Title: Kawasaki, Ki-48, Lily Corporation Name: Kawasaki Official Nickname: Lily Additional Information: Japan Designation: Ki-48 Tags: Kawasaki, Ki-48, Lily Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
context_page_description: The Kawasaki Ki-48, 九九式雙發輕爆擊機 shortened to 'Sokei', Army Type 99 Twin-engined Light Bomber, was a Japanese twin-engine light bomber that was used during World War II. Its Allied reporting name was "Lily".
context_section_description: The British Pacific Fleet departed from Ceylon on 16 January 1945 en route to Australia, and struck Japanese-held oil wells and refineries at Palembang, Sumatra on 24–29 January 1945 in Operation Meridian.
  On 29 January, seven Kawasaki Ki-48 of the Army's Shichisi Mitate Tokubetsu Kōgeki Tai counter-attacked the Allied fleet at low level as the British aircraft were returning from Palembang. The British radar picture was confused by the presence of over 100 friendly aircraft and the first two or three Supermarine Seafire CAP interceptions did not occur until just before the Ki-48 formation entered the air defence zone. The last pair of Seafires chased the five remaining Ki-48s inside the screen, and with the support of returning Vought F4U Corsairs and Grumman F6F Hellcats which had just been scrambled, shot down all of them, amongst intense AA fire. One Seafire was slightly damaged and one Hellcat was written off by friendly fire, but the only ship to be damaged was the carrier HMS Illustrious, hit by heavy AA shells.
  Such success, minor by Pacific fighting standards at the time, gave the British Pacific Fleet useful expertise and confidence in its ability to deal with kamikaze attacks.
caption: A modified Ki-48 with a Ne-0 turbojet under the bomb bay during testing
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