Nakajima Ki-43

E46682

The Nakajima Ki-43 was a highly maneuverable Japanese single-engine fighter aircraft of World War II, widely used in the early and mid-war years across multiple Asian and Pacific battlefronts.

Aliases (1)

Statements (49)
Predicate Object
instanceOf World War II aircraft
fighter aircraft
single-engine aircraft
alliedReportingName Oscar
armament 2× 12.7 mm Ho-103 machine guns (later variants)
2× 7.7 mm machine guns (early variants)
bombLoad up to 2× 250 kg bombs (typical maximum)
combatUse air superiority missions
escort missions
ground-attack missions
conflict World War II
countryOfOrigin Japan
crew 1
designFeature butterfly flaps to enhance maneuverability
emptyWeight around 1,900 kg depending on variant
engineType Nakajima Ha-25 radial engine
era early World War II Japanese fighter design
firstFlight 1939
front China-Burma-India Theater
Pacific Theater
Southeast Asian Theater
hardpoints underwing bomb racks
height about 3.3 m
introducedAsReplacementFor Nakajima Ki-27
landingGear retractable conventional landing gear
length about 8.9 m
manufacturer Nakajima Aircraft Company
maxSpeed approximately 530 km/h (330 mph) depending on variant
notableCharacteristic high maneuverability
lightweight construction
long-range capability
relatively light armament
numberBuilt over 5,000
operator French Air Force (postwar, captured)
Imperial Japanese Army Air Force
Manchukuo Imperial Air Force
People's Liberation Army Air Force
Revolutionary Indonesian Air Force
Royal Thai Air Force
powerplantConfiguration single-engine
primaryRole fighter
productionPeriod early 1940s
range approximately 1,700 km (1,060 mi) depending on variant
serviceCeiling approximately 11,000 m (36,000 ft) depending on variant
serviceEntry 1941
successor Nakajima Ki-84
usedBy Imperial Japanese Army Air Service
wingConfiguration low-wing monoplane
wingspan about 10.8 m

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Nakajima Ki-44 ("Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa")
developedFrom
Nakajima Ki-27
successor
Imperial Japanese Army Air Service
usedAircraft

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