World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Ki-30 Army Type 97 light bombers were designed in response to a Japanese Army requirement issued in May 1936. After reviewing the second prototype design which exceeded the Army expectations, an order was issued for 16 aircraft for trials; they were delivered in Jan 1938. A contract was issued in Mar 1938 for the design to enter production. The Ki-30 aircraft were single-engine, mid-wing, cantilever aircraft with fixed tail wheel undercarriage construction. They were deployed immediately to China where they were highly effective as many Chinese fighters were obsolete older models that could not compete with the Japanese escort fighters. American fighters proved to be a bit more advanced than the Chinese models in the opening days of the Pacific War, however, and Ki-30 aircraft proved to be more vulnerable. Therefore they were quickly withdrawn back to the Chinese theater or back to Japan for training duties. Production ceased in 1941 after 704 were built. In the last days of the war, many of the surviving Ki-30 light bombers were used in special attacks.

ww2dbaseKi-30 light bombers were code named "Ann" by the Allies.

Ki-30 Timeline

SPECIFICATIONS

Ki-30

Machinery	One Mitsubishi Ha-6 radial engine rated at 950hp
Armament	2x7.7mm machine guns, 400kg of bombs
Crew	2
Span	14.55 m
Length	10.35 m
Height	3.65 m
Wing Area	30.58 m²
Weight, Empty	2,230 kg
Weight, Loaded	3,220 kg
Speed, Maximum	423 km/h
Speed, Cruising	380 km/h
Rate of Climb	8.33 m/s
Service Ceiling	8,570 m
Range, Normal	1,700 km

Photographs