Aviation / Aerospace

Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Frank)

Single-Seat, Single Engine Monoplane Fighter Aircraft [ 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.

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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.©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

Service Year

1944

Origin

Imperial Japan

Status

RETIRED
Not in Service.

Crew

1

Production

3,500
UNITS

Nakajima - Japanese Empire

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

Imperial Japan

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Air-to-Air Combat, Fighter
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.

Length

32.5 ft
(9.92 m)

Width/Span

36.9 ft
(11.24 m)

Height

11.1 ft
(3.39 m)

Empty Wgt

5,864 lb
(2,660 kg)

MTOW

8,576 lb
(3,890 kg)

Wgt Diff

+2,712 lb
(+1,230 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the Nakajima Ki-84-Ia Hayate (Frank) production variant)

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

Max Speed

392 mph
(631 kph | 341 kts)

Ceiling

34,449 ft
(10,500 m | 7 mi)

Range

1,053 mi
(1,695 km | 3,139 nm)

Rate-of-Climb

2,780 ft/min
(847 m/min)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the Nakajima Ki-84-Ia Hayate (Frank) 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)

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

Supported Types

Graphical image of an aircraft medium machine gun

Graphical image of an aircraft heavy machine gun

Graphical image of an aircraft automatic cannon

Graphical image of an aircraft conventional drop bomb munition

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

Hardpoint Mountings: 2

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.

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