IN THE SKIES OF CHINA (KI-21-IA, TWO КІ-27А)

The Mitsubishi Ki-21 is a Japanese mid-wing, classic tail, metal twin-engine bomber from the Second World War, known under the Allied designation Jane or Sally. The flight of the prototype took place on December 18, 1936, and the entry into service took place in 1938. The plane was created as a result of an order from the Japanese air force for a bomber adapted to operations in large sea areas. The "Type 93" prototype first flew in December 1936. In the first serial version, the aircraft was designated the Ki-21 (Type 97) Model 1, and then the Ki-21 Model 2. It was a modification of the first series. The first combat use of the aircraft took place in China during the Japanese-Chinese War (1937-1940). Later, the planes were used in the Pacific War in air operations and strikes against Hong Kong, the Philippines, Burma and the Dutch East Indies. In 1943, they made a massive raid on Calcutta. In the first phase of the war, Ki-21s operated from numerous bases in Formosa, Okinawa and the Japanese Islands, controlling the East China Sea and much of the open Pacific. At the end of the war, as a result of attacks by the American air force, the Ki-21 squadron suffered enormous losses. Technical data: length: 16m, wingspan: 22.5m, height: 4.85m, maximum speed: 485km / h, rate of climb: 7.6m / s, maximum range: 2700km, maximum ceiling 10000m, armament: fixed - 4 7.7mm type 89 machine guns and 1 12.7mm type 1 machine gun, suspended, up to 1000kg of bombs.The Nakajima Ki-27 is a Japanese, single-engine, metal low-wing fighter with a fixed undercarriage from the beginning of World War II. The flight of the prototype took place on October 15, 1936, and the entry into the line units took place in 1937. After a series of comparisons with other then Japanese machines, the command of the air force of the land forces decided in 1937 to mass-produce the machine designated as Nakajima Type 97 Ki-27a. This version was powered by the 650HP Nakajima Ha-1a engine, but the version with the new 780HP Nakajima Ha-1b engine-drive, designated as Nakajima Type 97 Ki-27b, entered production very quickly. Serial production of both versions lasted from 1937 to 1942 and led to the production of approximately 3,400 copies of this aircraft. The Nakajima Ki-27 was the army's basic fighter used in the battles with the USSR's air force at Lake Chasan and the Khalkhyn-Gol River in China and at the beginning of World War II in Burma and Malaya. From 1943, the machines were converted into training planes Ki-79. Technical data (Ki-27b version): length: 7.53m, wingspan: 11.31m, height: 3.28m, maximum speed: 470km / h, rate of climb: 15.3m / s, maximum range: 1100km, ceiling maximum 12,250m, armament: fixed - 2 machine guns type 89, caliber 7.7 mm, suspended - up to 100 kg of bombs. instruction.pdf