Wikipedia

Tachikawa Ki-54

The Tachikawa Ki-54 was a twin-engine advanced trainer designed and produced by the Japanese avaiation manufacturer Tachikawa Aircraft Company Ltd. Principally operated by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) during World War II, the aircraft was named Hickory by the Allies.

Ki-54
Tachikawa Ki-54
General information
TypeTwin-engine advanced crew trainer
ManufacturerTachikawa Aircraft Company Ltd
Designer
Shinjiro Shinagawa
Primary userImperial Japanese Army Air Service
Number built1,368
History
Manufactured1941-1945
Introduction date1941
First flightSummer 1940
Retired1945 (Japan)
1952 (China)

The Ki-54 was developed by Tachikawa between 1939 and 1940 as a twin-engine multirole aircraft that was optimised for the advanced trainer role. The prototype made its maiden flight in the summer of 1940; after completing service trials, the type entered production in 1941 as the Army Type 1 Advanced Trainer Model A (Ki-54a). This initial model was promptly followed by the Ki-54b as the Army Type 1 Operations Trainer Model B and Ki-54c as the Army Type 1 Transport Model C. Several other variants, such as the all-wooden Ki-110 and the Ki-54D Army Type 1 Patrol Bomber Model D were also produced in limited numbers, while further models were proposed. The type was used extensively and in various capacities throughout World War II by the IJAAS. Both production and IJAAS use of the Ki-54 was terminated in 1945. Following the Surrender of Japan, several abandoned and captured aircraft were flown in limited numbers by various operators, including the People's Liberation Army Air Force and Armée de l'Air.

Design and development

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The origins of the Ki-54 can be traced back to late 1939, when the Koku Hombu[N 1] requested the Tachikawa Aircraft Company Ltd to produce a new twin-engined aircraft suitable for both the trainer role and multiple other purposes.[1] One of the requirements of this new aircraft was for its handling to accurately replicate that of contemporary twin-engined bombers then in service with the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS); it was to be suitable for the training of various bomber crew positions, including those of the pilot, bombardier, navigator, gunner, and radio operator. The company's design team, headed by Ryokichi Endo, opted for a low-mounted wing configuration paired with a retractable undercarriage and a pair of Hitachi Ha13a radial engines fitted with variable-pitch propellers.[1]

In the summer of 1940, the prototype Ki-54 performed its maiden flight.[1] During early flight testing, the aircraft exhibited a tendency to be nose-heavy during landings, thus minor modifications were performed to correct this. In 1941, the aircraft went into quantity production as the Army Type 1 Advanced Trainer Model A.[2] It was followed by the Army Type 1 Operations Trainer Model B, which featured full provisions for the training of bomber crews (including four gunnery stations). It would be the most numerous version of the aircraft, being supplied to all of the Imperial Japanese Army's (IJA) multi-engined training schools and communications schools, as well as to numerous civil training schools that had been contracted by the IJA.[3]

The Army Type 1 Transport Model C was a variant oriented towards light transport and communications duties, featuring a smoothed exterior and seated up to eight personnel.[4] The Ki-54C would be further adapted into the Y-59, for civil operators, and the Ki-110, which was constructed primarily out of wood wherever possible as an economy measure. A separate variant, the Ki-54D or Army Type 1 Patrol Bomber Model D, was produced in small number for anti-submarine patrol duties, armed with eight depth charges.[5]

Operators

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A Ki-54 on the ground, 1943
 Japan
Manchukuo
China-Nanjing
 China
 China
French Indochina
United Kingdom

Variants

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Ki-54
Ki-54a
unarmed pilot trainer
Ki-54b
armed crew trainer
Ki-54c
eight-passenger light transport, communications aircraft. Civil designation Y-59.
Ki-54d
maritime reconnaissance/ASW, carried 8x 60-kg (132-lb) depth charges
Ki-110
one prototype Ki-54c of all-wood construction, destroyed in US bombing attack
Ki-111
projected fuel tanker (none built)
Ki-114
projected fuel tanker of all-wood construction (none built)

Surviving aircraft

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Ki-54 at the Misawa Aviation & Science Museum

Specifications (Ki-54c light transport)

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Data from The Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II;[13] Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War[5]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Capacity: 8
  • Length: 11.94 m (39 ft 2 in)
  • Wingspan: 17.9 m (58 ft 9 in)
  • Height: 3.58 m (11 ft 9 in)
  • Wing area: 40 m2 (430 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 2,954 kg (6,512 lb)
  • Gross weight: 3,897 kg (8,591 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Hitachi Ha13a (Army Type 98 450hp Air Cooled Radial) nine-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 380 kW (510 hp) each for take-off
350 kW (470 hp) at 1,700 m (5,600 ft)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed metal propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 375 km/h (233 mph, 202 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 240 km/h (150 mph, 130 kn)
  • Range: 960 km (600 mi, 520 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 7,180 m (23,560 ft)
  • Wing loading: 97.4 kg/m2 (19.9 lb/sq ft)
  • Power/mass: 0.195 kW/kg (0.119 hp/lb)

See also

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Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

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Notes

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  1. ↑ Koku Hombu was the Technical Branch of the Imperial Army Air Headquarters.

Citations

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  1. 1 2 3 Francillon 1979, p. 254.
  2. ↑ Francillon 1979, pp. 254-255.
  3. ↑ Francillon 1979, p. 255.
  4. ↑ Francillon 1979, pp. 255-256.
  5. 1 2 Francillon 1979, p. 256. Cite error: The named reference "Francillon1979p256" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ↑ Thomas, Andy (July 2008). "Vietnam Prelude". FlyPast. No. 324. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing. pp. 70–71.
  7. ↑ "Anyone got pics of the AWM Ki-54?". Warbirdz Aviation Photography. Archived from the original on 12 April 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  8. ↑ "Tachikawa Ki-54c 'Hickory' fuselage: 10th Independent Air Brigade, Imperial Japanese Army Air Force". awm.gov.au. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  9. ↑ "Aircraft database". LPH2O. 3 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "旧陸軍の練習機69年ぶり地上に、青森・十和田湖で引き揚げ" [Former Army training aircraft pulled out of lake for the first time in 69 years] (in Japanese). 5 September 2012. Archived from the original on 28 January 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  11. ↑ "旧陸軍練習機、十和田湖で発見…戦時中に墜落" [Former Imperial Army training aircraft discovered in Lake Towada... crashed during the war] (in Japanese). Yomiuri Online. 13 August 2010. Archived from the original on 16 August 2010.
  12. ↑ Kusumoto, Hana (21 October 2022). "See rare example of a WWII Japanese trainer aircraft this month in western Tokyo". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  13. ↑ Mondey 1996, p. ?.

Bibliography

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  • Francillon, René J. (1979). Japanese aircraft of the Pacific War. London, UK: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-30251-6. OCLC 6124909. (new edition 1987 by Putnam Aeronautical Books, ISBN 0-85177-801-1.)
  • Mondey, David (1996). The Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II. New York, US: Bounty Books. ISBN 1-85152-966-7.
  • Soumille, Jean-Claude (September 1999). "Les avions japonais aux coleurs françaises" [Japanese Aircraft in French Colors]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et Son Histoire (in French) (78): 6–17. ISSN 1243-8650.
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