KI-60

The Kawasaki Ki-60 was a Japanese low-wing, metal-structure prototype fighter from the Second World War. The drive was provided by a single in-line engine Kawasaki Ha-40 up to 1100 hp. It was a modified, licensed DB-601A engine. The prototype flight took place in March 1941. The machine never entered mass production. The deck armament consisted of four 12.7 mm Ho-103 machine guns. The Kawasaki Ki-60 project was created as a result of the experience gained by the Japanese Army during the war with the Soviet Union in 1938-1939. In the course of this conflict, the Japanese pilots encountered the operation of Soviet fighters that used their speed advantage and did not engage in combat. It was a tactical novelty for which Japanese fighters were rather unprepared. This gave rise to the need to develop a new fighter. In its construction, a slightly modified and licensed Daimler-Benz DB-601A engine was used, strong - by Japanese standards - on-board weapons and a very solid airframe structure were introduced. However, the new fighter, the Kawasaki Ki-60, turned out to be a failed design. It was characterized by a maximum speed lower than assumed, poor stability in horizontal flight and was very difficult to pilot. Despite the introduction of corrections, these defects could not be finally eliminated, which resulted in the cancellation of the entire project. Only three prototypes of the Kawasaki Ki-60 fighter were built.