Mitsubishi Ki-51

The Mitsubishi Ki-51 (Army designation "Type 99 Assault Plane"; Allied nickname "Sonia") was a light bomber/dive bomber in service with the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. It first flew in mid-1939. Initially deployed against Chinese forces, it proved to be too slow to hold up against the fighter aircraft of the other Allied powers. However, it performed a useful ground-attack role in the China-Burma-India theater, notably from airfields too rough for many other aircraft. As the war drew to a close, the Japanese began using them in kamikaze attacks. Total production was around 2,385 units.
On the day Hiroshima was destroyed by an atomic bomb, two Ki-51s were responsible for the last Japanese sinking of a US warship, sinking USS Bullhead (SS-332) with all hands.
Charles Lindbergh, flying a P-38 Lightning, shot down a Ki-51."Charles Lindbergh and the 475th Fighter Group." Lightning Strikes.
==Variants==
* Prototypes: two built
* Service trials: 11 built
* Ki-51: 2,372 built (Manufacturers: Mitsubishi (1,462), Tachikawa Army Air Arsenal (913))
* Mansyu Ki-71: three prototypes of a tactical reconnaissance variant built by Mansyu with a retractable landing gear, did not enter production.Francillon, Ph.D., René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1970. ISBN 0-370-00033-1 (2nd edition 1979, ISBN 0-370-30251-6 ). Page 180.
* Reconnaissance Version Ki-51A 
* Assault Version Ki-51B. The assault version had armor plating protecting the pilot and oil tanks, and bomb racks to carry 441 lbs of bombs. This version could be modified in the field to carry an aerial camera.
==Contemporary aircraft==
* Aichi D3A
* Douglas SBD Dauntless
* Ilyushin Il-2
* Junkers Ju 87D
* Kawasaki Ki-32
* Mitsubishi Ki-30
==Sources==
Category:Japanese
Category:World War 2Category:Land Based
Category:Dive Bomber
Category:Single engineCategory:Piston engined
Category:Multiple crew members