| Ki-10 | |
|---|---|
 Ki-10 Model 1 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Fighter |
| National origin | Japan |
| Manufacturer | Kawasaki Kōkūki Kōgyō K.K. |
| Designer | |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary user | Imperial Japanese Army Air Force |
| Number built | 588 |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1935 |
| First flight | March 1935 |
| Retired | 1942 |
TheKawasaki Ki-10 (九五式戦闘機,Kyūgo-shiki sentōki, Army Type 95 Fighter) was the lastbiplanefighter used by theImperial Japanese Army, entering service in1935. Built byKawasaki Kōkūki Kōgyō K.K. for theImperial Japanese Army, it saw combat service inManchukuo and inNorth China during the early stages of theSecond Sino-Japanese War. Itsreporting name given by theAllies was "Perry".
The Ki-10 was designed by Japaneseaeronautical engineerTakeo Doi,[1] who had succeededRichard Vogt as chief designer for Kawasaki. The design was in response to a requirement issued by the Imperial Japanese Army for a new fighter, and was the winner of a competition againstNakajima'sKi-11. Although the low-wingmonoplane offered by Nakajima was more advanced, the Army preferred the more maneuverable biplane offered by Kawasaki. In order to overcome the speed disadvantage the Kawasaki team used a metal three-blade propeller in the third prototype, while flush-head rivets were used in an attempt to reduce drag.[2]
The Kawasaki design had unequal-span biplane wings, braced bystruts, and with upper-wingailerons.[1] The structure was of all-metal construction, which was then fabric-covered. Armament consisted of two 7.7 mm (.303 in)Type 89 machine guns, synchronized to fire through thepropeller. The initial production version was powered by a liquid-cooled 633 kW (850 hp)Kawasaki Ha9-IIaV-12.[citation needed]
The Ki-10 was deployed inManchukuo (Manchuria) and in the initial campaigns of theSecond Sino-Japanese War innorthern China.[citation needed]
On September 21, 1937, Major Hiroshi Miwa, formerly hired as a military flight instructor forZhang Xueliang'sFengtian Army air corps and well known in the Chinese military aviation circles of the time, commanded a flight of 7 Ki-10 fighters of the 1st Daitai-16th Hiko Rentai, on an escort of 14Mitsubishi Ki-2 bombers to attack the city ofTaiyuan where they encounteredChinese air forceV-65C Corsairs andCurtiss Hawk IIs, shooting down a few, but Major Miwa himself was shot down and fatally wounded by Captain Chan Kee-Wong,[3] commander of the 28th Pursuit Squadron of the 5th Pursuit Group flying a Curtiss Hawk.[4]
By the time of theNomonhan Incident (Battles of Khalkhin Gol) in 1939, the Ki-10 had become largely obsolete, and was being superseded by theNakajima Ki-27.[5]
At the beginning of thePacific War, the Ki-10 was retired totraining and secondary missions, but later returned to front-line service, performing short-range patrol andreconnaissance missions in Japan proper and China in January–February 1942.[citation needed]
data fromJapanese Aircraft of the Pacific War[6]
Total production: 588 units[6]
Data fromJapanese Aircraft of the Pacific War[6]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
1937年9月21日，太原，击落日军著名飞行员三轮宽的我空军第二十八队队长陈其光 (照片) - 支那事变殊勋录刊登之日本陆军航空兵中佐三轮宽 (照片)。
Chan saw Miwa dive at him from above. Chan countered by pulling his nose up to face Miwa head-on. Anticipating that Miwa would need to pull out of his dive after they pass each other, Chan pulled into a tight chandelle. He was into his manoeuvre even before Miwa passed him head-on. As a result, Chan was able get turned around and was above and behind Miwa when he began to pull out of his dive... Chan shot up Miwa's Ki-10, sending it crashing into a field near Ta Meng.
