Osprey's Ki-61 & Ki-100 Aces

Author:

Nicholas Millman

Publisher/Distributor

Osprey Publishing

Price

$22.95 MSRP

Reviewer:

Scott Van Aken

Notes: 80 pages, 7¼ x 9¼ inches, softcover
ISBN: 978-1-78096295-5

It is not very often that we get a chance to read about Japanese aces, so when a book comes out on the subject, it is generally highly sought. This one is particularly nice as it covers what to me, are two of the nicest looking aircraft of the Pacific War, the Ki-16 Hien and the Ki-100. The Ki-100 was a variant of the earlier plane that used a radial engine, a modification that transformed the aircraft into a superlative fighter. Typically, it was too little too late, and was so unknown to the Allies that it was never provided a code name. Allied pilots who met it often referred to it as a Ki-84 or Zero.

Its reason for being was to develop a fast, high altitude fighter, and for the Japanese, this meant an in-line engine. For this they developed a Japanese derivative of the Daimler-Benze DB.601, the Ha-40. Unfortunately, the Japanese had not much experience with these types of engines and the Ha-40 was plagued with issues throughout its operational career. This issue in operational units was exacerbated by mechanics who were not used to working on the more complex engines and a nearly total lack of parts availability. It would not be too far fetched to state that a third of the aircraft in any given unit were inoperable due to a lack of what would be common parts. Cannibalization was a major way of providing bits to keep planes in the air.

The Ki-61's first air combat was when prototypes ran across planes participating in the Doolittle Raid of April 1942. Fortunately for the Mitchells in question, the Ki-61s were only armed with practice ammunition and so were unable to knock down any of the low flying bombers. It wasn't until the New Guinea campaign that units deployed and though they were relatively effective, the lack of spares and Allied bombing of their airfields took a heavy toll. Few pilots who flew in the New Guinea campaign survived with war with most being turned into foot soldiers and killed in combat. Still, there were pilots who did quite well. When functioning properly, the Ki-61 was hard to beat and the equal of just about all the Allied planes it met.

The aircraft also operated during other campaigns while the Allies island-hopped, but as with units flying other types, the quality of pilots degraded and few were able to reach ace status flying the plane. Many of those who were the most successful were flying during home defense missions. The 244th Sentai was one of the best known units that were able to shoot down B-29s during their raids, many of these successes coming at night and quite a few daylight scores were due to ramming. Some of these were on purpose while others were simply due to the high closing speeds and minute errors in judgment.

During the last months of the war, the IJAAF pretty much stopped intercepting B-29, concentrating on saving pilots and planes for the incoming invasion and also concentrating on fighting US fighters. Prior to this time, the majority of training was on shooting down bombers and so there was a major effort in fighter to fighter combat training. It was during this time that the Ki-100 entered the mix. There were no pilots who achieved ace status flying the Ki-100 though several added to their scores.

In all, the author has done a great job of covering the development of the aircraft, the units that flew it in various theaters of the war, and stories of the men who flew the plane. All this is superbly illustrated with period photos, something very difficult to find when it comes to Japanese aviation. There are the usual huge number of full color profiles based on photos and appendices that include a list of successful pilots.

It is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading and can quite easily recommend to you.

October 2015

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