Nakajima Ki Type-84 Hayate

The **Nakajima Ki-84 *Hayate* (キ84 疾風 Gale)** is a single-seat fighter flown by the former Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in the last two years of World War II.

## Overview

The Allied reporting name was "**Frank**"; the Japanese Army designation was **Army Type 4 Fighter** (四式戦闘機, *yon-shiki-sentō-ki*). The Ki-84 is generally considered the best Japanese fighter to operate in large numbers during the conflict. The aircraft boasted high speeds and excellent maneuverability with an armament (up to two 30 mm and two 20 mm cannon) that gave it formidable firepower. The Ki-84's performance matched that of any single-engine Allied fighter it faced, and its operational ceiling enabled it to intercept high-flying B-29 Superfortress bombers. Pilots and crews in the field learned to take care with the plane's high-maintenance Nakajima Homare engine and a landing gear prone to buckling. The difficulties of Japan's situation late in the war took a toll on the aircraft's field performance as manufacturing defects multiplied, quality fuel proved difficult to procure and experienced pilots grew scarce. Nevertheless, a well-maintained Ki-84 was Japan's fastest fighter.

## Specification

### **General characteristics**

* **Crew:** 1
* **Length:** 9.92 m (32 ft 7 in)
* **Wingspan:** 11.238 m (36 ft 10 in)
* **Height:** 3.385 m (11 ft 1 in)
* **Wing area:** 21 m2 (230 sq ft)
* **Airfoil:** **root:** NN-21(16.5%) ; **tip:** NN-21(8%)
* **Empty weight:** 2,660 kg (5,864 lb)
* **Gross weight:** 3,601.5 kg (7,940 lb)
* **Max takeoff weight:** 4,170 kg (9,193 lb)
* **Powerplant:** 1 × Nakajima Ha-45-23 Homare Models 11,12,21 or 23 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 1,522 kW (2,041 hp)
* **Propellers:** 4-bladed constant-speed metal propeller

### **Performance**

* **Maximum speed:** 682 km/h (424 mph, 368 kn) at 7,000 m
* **Range:** 2,168 km (1,347 mi, 1,171 nmi)
* **Service ceiling:** 11,826 m (38,799 ft)
* **Rate of climb:** 21.84 m/s (4,299 ft/min) at sea level ;18.29 m/s (3,600 ft/min) at 3,050 m (10,007 ft)

* **Wing loading:** 171.47 kg/m2 (35.12 lb/sq ft)
* **Power/mass:** 0.41 kW/kg (0.25 hp/lb)

### **Armament**

* 2 × 12.7 mm Ho-103 machine guns in nose, 350 rounds/gun
* 2 × 20 mm Ho-5 cannon in wings, 150 shells/cannon
* 2 × 100 kg (220 lb) bombs
* 2 × 250 kg (551 lb) bombs
* 2 × 200 L (53 US gal) drop tanks

## Chronology

After the Battle of the Folk Strait, Myrus proposed to the higher brass of the Mu military that the La Kasami be repaired in Japan, the use of turbochargers from Japanese cars to increase the performance of the Marin and finally, he presented the blueprints of the Nakajima Ki Type-84 Hayate (Army Type-4 Shippu fighter) and the Kyūshū J7W Shinden that he found in a bookstore in Japan and proposed to develop a new jet fighter based on the Shinden. He also proposed that the *Hayate* will be an "interim fighter" as a replacement for the Marin until they've learned how to design and mass-produce their own jet engines and process the needed jet fuel.

## Trivia

* The Nakajima Ki-84 models fitted with engines exceeding 1,800 horsepower could surpass the top speeds of the P-47D Thunderbolt and the P-51D Mustang at 6,000 m (20,000 ft).