Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Frank)

Single-Seat, Single Engine Monoplane Fighter Aircraft

Imperial Japan | 1944

"The Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate was one of the more important Japanese fighters heading into the final year of World War 2."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 03/22/2018 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

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Out of the many fine fighters available to the Japanese Army in the closing months of World War 2, none were of greater import than the arrival of the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (meaning "gale" and known as "Frank" to the Allies. The single engine fighter was a respected performer capable matching up against the Allied North American Mustangs while fielding enough firepower to take down the high-flying and well-defended Boeing B-29 Superfortresses. Though Japan had developed various capable platforms towards the end of the war, the Ki-84 Hayate was really one of the only designs to ever see production quantities of note, for some 3,500 examples were produced up until the final days of the war - this production covering just about a year and a half.

Like all late-stage Japanese fighter designs, the Hayate was designed with superior views from the cockpit, a powerful and proven engine, slender and aerodynamic fuselage and armament consisting of a mix of machine gun and cannon. The heart of the system was a Nakajima-brand Ha-45 type radial piston engine capable of delivering some 1,800 horsepower. The engine allowed for a top speed of nearly 400 miles per hour, a service ceiling of close to 35,000 feet and an operational range of just over 1,000 miles. Additionally, the airframe and powerplant proved the Ki-84 to be quite maneuverable in a dogfight even when sparring against the best American counterparts. Base armament of early models included a 2 x 12.7mm machine gun array in the upper forward fuselage part of the nose and 2 x 20mm cannons buried in the wings. Later models - in particular the Ki-84-III "bomber destroyer" - would sport an even more impressive 2 x 20mm cannon setup in the fuselage nose and 2 x 30mm cannons in the wings. Bombs could also be carried under wing and would be of the 551lb variety.

Ultimately, the avoidance of the Allied bombing campaign became impossible and as such, production and resources were in short supply. The number of Hayates in service performed admirably yet those in service were in such constant use that the series suffered reliability issues as a whole. Despite this, the Nakajima Ki-84 was of a stellar design and, given more in the way of numbers and time, might have made more of an impact in defense of Japan. The Ki-84 was in service until the last few days of the conflict.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Nakajima Ki-84-Ia Hayate (Frank) Single-Seat, Single Engine Monoplane Fighter Aircraft.

1 x Nakajima Ha-45 radial piston engine developing 1,800 horsepower.
Propulsion

392 mph
631 kph | 341 kts
Max Speed

34,449 ft
10,500 m | 7 miles
Service Ceiling

1,053 miles
1,695 km | 915 nm
Operational Range

2,780 ft/min
847 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

City-to-City Ranges
Operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Nakajima Ki-84-Ia Hayate (Frank) Single-Seat, Single Engine Monoplane Fighter Aircraft.

1
(MANNED)
Crew

32.5 ft
9.92 m
O/A Length

36.9 ft
(11.24 m)
O/A Width

11.1 ft
(3.39 m)
O/A Height

5,864 lb
(2,660 kg)
Empty Weight

8,576 lb
(3,890 kg)
MTOW

Design Balance
The three qualities reflected below are altitude, speed, and range. The more full the box, the more balanced the design.

RANGE

ALT

SPEED

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Frank) Single-Seat, Single Engine Monoplane Fighter Aircraft .

STANDARD:
2 x 12.7mm Ho-103 machine guns in fuselage nose
2 x 20mm Ho-5 cannons in wings

OPTIONAL:
2 x 551lb bombs under wings

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Frank) family line.

Ki-84-I - Base Series Designation

Ki-84-Ia - Fitted with Nakajima Ha-45 radial piston engine of 1,800hp; 2 x 12.7mm machine guns in nose and 2 x 20mm cannons in wings.

Ki-84-Ib

Ki-84-Ic - Converted Dedicated "Bomber Destroyer" Variant; fitted with 2 x 20mm nose cannon (in place of the standard 12.7mm machine guns) and 2 x 30mm wing cannons.

Ki-84-II

Ki-116 - Final Production Series Model; based on the Ki-84-Ia model.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Frank). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 3,500 Units
Contractor(s): Nakajima - Japanese Empire

[ Imperial Japan ]

Relative Max Speed

Hi: 400mph

Lo: 200mph

Aircraft Max Listed Speed (392mph).

Graph Average of 300 MPH.

Era Crossover

Showcasing Aircraft Era Crossover (if any)

Max Alt Visualization

Production Comparison

3500

36183

44000

Entry compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian) total production.

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

Aviation Timeline

EarlyYrs

WWI

Interwar

WWII

ColdWar

Postwar

Modern

Future

♦

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Image of the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Frank)

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Mission Roles
Some designs are single-minded in their approach while others offer a more versatile solution to airborne requirements.

AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT

Recognition
Some designs stand the test of time while others are doomed to never advance beyond the drawing board; let history be their judge.

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Going Further...
The Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Frank) Single-Seat, Single Engine Monoplane Fighter Aircraft appears in the following collections:

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