The Kawasaki Ki-91 represented a rare four-engine heavy bomber initiative of the middle-to-late war years for the Japanese Empire. The Ki-91 gained steam at a time when the Japanese military was reeling from consistent losses in-the-field and air supremacy was being lost on a month-to-month basis. It would seem prudent that fighters and interceptors would be the call of the day as it became in Germany but this four-engined "heavy" was still pushed through by Kawasaki.
The design was to feature a wingspan reaching 157.4 feet with a length of 108.2 feet - dimensionally larger than even the famous American Boeing B-29 "Superfortress" (141.2 foot wingspan, 99 foot length). Loaded weight was estimated at 127,870 pounds. The bombload was to be in the 8,820 lb range (decidedly less than the Superfortress' 20,000lb load limit) and the aircraft defensed by no fewer than 12 x 20mm cannons - two fitted to a nose turret, two in a dorsal turret, four across two ventral turrets (one forward, the other aft), and four to complete a turret at the tail - one of the best-armed bombers of the war to say the least. The large aircraft would be powered by 4 x Mitsubishi Ha-214 "Ru" engines developing upwards of 2,500 horsepower each and estimated performance specs included a maximum speed of 360 miles per hour with a ferry range out to 6,215 miles (the B-29 managed a speed of 360mph with a ferry range out to 5,600 miles).
Outwardly, the aircraft was to be given a stepped cockpit approach meaning the flight deck sat out from the fuselage contours and held its own window panels (unlike the streamlined form of the B-29). The fuselage would be a rounded rectangle in profile with slab sides, the shape broken up some by the placement of several observation bubbles about her design. Glazing would be featured at the nose and around the cockpit with vision ports located throughout the rest of the fuselage and at gun positions. Mid-mounted monoplane wings were used, each featuring a pair of engine nacelles along their leading edges. The tail unit would consist of a single, rounded vertical fin coupled to a pair of low-mounted horizontal planes - these surfaces seated ahead of the tail turret. A tricycle undercarriage would be employed which was a departure of the "Tail dragger" configuration of old.
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(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
✓Ground Attack (Bombing, Strafing)
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.
✓X-Plane (Developmental, Prototype, Technology Demonstrator)
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.
Length
107.9 ft (32.90 m)
Width/Span
157.4 ft (47.97 m)
MTOW
128,000 lb (58,060 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the base Kawasaki Ki-91 production variant)
(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base Kawasaki Ki-91 production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)
PROPOSED:
2 x 20mm in nose
2 x 20mm cannons in dorsal turret
2 x 20mm cannons in forward ventral turret
2 x 20mm cannons in aft ventral turret
4 x 20mm cannons in tail turret
OPTIONAL:
A bomb load of up to 8,820 pounds held internally.
Supported Types
(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
Hardpoint Mountings: 0
Ki-91 - Base Series Designation; prototype destroyed in Allied air raid during February of 1945.
Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.
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Imperial Japan (cancelled)
