Ki-84-I Ko Hayate

The ***Nakajima Ki-84-I Ko Hayate*** (キ84 疾風 Gale) is a single-seat fighter flown by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in the last two years of World War II. The Allied reporting name was "***Frank***"; the Japanese Army designation was ***Army Type 4 Fighter*** (四式戦闘機 *yon-shiki-sentō-ki*). It's arguably one of the finest fighter planes fielded by the IJAAF during WWII.

## Background

Design of the Ki-84 began in 1942, and it has a tough order to meet: not only was the Ki-84 required to have the maneuverability of the Ki-43, but also the performance to match the latest western fighters, as well as sufficient firepower to tear through the typical western rugged airframe.

The Hayate addressed some of the popular Hayabusa's most notable issues: low survivability, low climbing speed, and weak weaponry. The Ki-84 was a cantilever low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction, except for the fabric-covered control surfaces. Armament of the Hayate comprised two fuselage-mounted, Ho-103 12.7 mm (.50 in) machine guns — these proved challenging to synchronize properly with the *Hayate's* four-blade propeller — and two wing-mounted Ho-5 20 mm cannon, a considerable improvement over the two 12.7 mm machine guns of the Hayabusa.

The Ki-84 used a 65 mm (2.56 in) armor-glass canopy, 13 mm (.51 in) of head and back armor, and multiple bulkheads in the fuselage, which protected both the methanol-water tank (used to increase the effectiveness of the supercharger) and the centrally located fuel tank. This offered much better protection for the pilot compared to the Hayabusa's light alloy construct that will break "if someone sneezed on it" and unsealed fuel tank.

The Hayate's high speed and prowess in combat is provided by Nakajima's own Ha-45 *Homare* (誉 "Praise" or "Honor") 35.8 litre air-cooled eighteen-cylinder radial engine, The Hayate's engine is the direct injection version of the Homare, the model 21, water injection was used to aid the supercharger in giving the Ki-84 a rated 1,491 kW (2,000 hp) at takeoff. This combination theoretically gave it a climb rate and top speed roughly competitive with the top Allied fighters. Initial testing at Tachikawa in early summer 1943 saw test pilot Lieutenant Funabashi reach a maximum level airspeed of 624 km/h (387 mph) in the second prototype. After the war a captured late-production example was tested in the US and achieved a speed of 680 km/h (422 mph) using 92 octane AvGas, plus methanol injection.

## Performance

### Advantages

Compared to most other Yufang fighter planes, which either sacrificed speed and survivability in exchange of handling like the Zero or the Hayabusa, or sacrifice agility in exchange for speed and firepower like the Shoki or the Raiden. The Hayate doesn't have to make do with these sacrifices, it's speed is comparable to that of rivals it would normally met over the pacific, but still maneuverable enough to engage in turn fights with them and emerge victorious. It's firepower is nothing to laugh off, and unlike most other Yufang fighter planes, it even has self-sealing fuel tanks and armor, while it's protection is still lackluster compared to Allied or Soviet planes, it's a major improvement over the flimsiness of the Hayabusa and Zero.

### Drawbacks

Despite the Hayate's spectacular performance, the plane is not without faults. The direct-injection engine is a relatively compact and complicated design, and requires a great deal of care in construction and maintenance. The Yufang found this increasingly difficult as the war entered its late stage where the Allied naval blockade and air raids. Another issue is the Hayate's flimsy landing gear, these aircrafts frequently suffered strut collapses on landing in the hands of inexperienced pilots. Therefore pilots may find it difficult to transition to the loud and brash Ki-84 from the comparatively docile Ki-43, which had a significantly lower landing speed. Speaking of speed, this can actually be used against the Hayate, an agile plane like the Hayabusa or the Zero can pull off evasive maneuvers and cause the Hayate to overshoot. However the Hayate can use its superior speed to escape, if the opponent is flying relatively slow older Yufang designs.

## Variants

Using their vast resources and funding, Isao's Brotherhood of Freedom and Love and the Ikeska's air force has gotten their hands on many Hayates. There are currently two variants of the Hayate: the black variant (affiliated to Ikeska according to the official website) and the brown variant (affiliated to the Brotherhood).

## Gallery

Keep firing on the cute little Hayabusas! Fricking adorable!The only surviving Hayate in the world, now no longer airworthy thanks to years of negligence.