World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Ki-46 Army Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Aircraft, designed by a team led by Tomio Kubo and Jojo Hattori, first took flight at the Mitsubishi factory at Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, Japan in Nov 1939. Because of Mitsubishi's good relations with the Japanese military, the contract was awarded even before the prototype had taken its first flight. Design and production of the prototype and the first operational models were delayed somewhat due to Mitsubishi's commitments elsewhere in the war effort. The first aircraft were delivered in the spring of 1941, but production was limited at only four per month. They entered service in Jul 1941 and were first used by the Japanese Army in occupied northeastern China and China. By Nov 1941, production increased to ten per month after being pressured by the Japanese Army, and production would continue to climb until 1944. In the months before the Pacific War, they were used (without Tokyo's authorization) over Malaya to collect terrain information. They were eventually used in all theaters of war in Asia and the Pacific Ocean where the Army had presence. For example, many Ki-46 aircraft were based in Burma to continuously collect intelligence on the British Royal Navy based in Ceylon. Despite problems with oil overheating and weak landing gears, they were considered successful reconnaissance aircraft because they were fast enough to out run just about any interceptor the Allies operated before late 1943. The Germans were so interested in the design that they considered acquiring a license, though nothing came to fruition to that end.

ww2dbaseToward the end of the war, some Ki-46 aircraft were equipped with heavier weapons and were reclassified as Ki-46-III Kai Army Type 100 Air Defense Fighter. Though fast, Ki-46 aircraft were largely ill-fitted for that role due to the lack of armor and self-sealing fuel tanks. Also, they lacked the climb speed necessary to catch the high-flying Allied bombers.

ww2dbaseA limited number were employed by the Japanese Navy for reconnaissance missions in New Guinea and Australia. These examples were given by the Army.

ww2dbaseBetween 1941 and 1944, 1,744 were built (34 examples of the Ki-46-I variant, 1,093 of Ki-46-II, 613 of Ki-46-III, and 4 of Ki-46-IV). The Allied code name for this design was "Dinah", which was assigned in late 1942.

SPECIFICATIONS

Ki-46-II

Machinery	Two Mitsubishi Ha-102 14-cylinder radial engines rated at 1,080hp eachhp each) each
Armament	1x7.7mm rear machine gun
Crew	2
Span	14.70 m
Length	11.00 m
Height	3.88 m
Wing Area	32.00 m²
Weight, Empty	3,263 kg
Weight, Maximum	5,800 kg
Speed, Maximum	604 km/h
Service Ceiling	10,720 m
Range, Normal	2,475 km

Ki-46-III Kai

Machinery	Two Mitsubishi Ha-112 14-cylinder radial engines rated at 1,200hp eachhp each) each
Armament	2x20mm nose Ho-5 cannon, 1x37mm fixed Ho-203 cannon, 1x7.7mm rear machine gun
Crew	2
Span	14.70 m
Length	11.00 m
Height	3.88 m
Wing Area	32.00 m²
Weight, Empty	3,263 kg
Weight, Maximum	5,800 kg
Speed, Maximum	642 km/h
Service Ceiling	10,720 m
Range, Normal	2,475 km

Photographs

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4.  C. Peter Chen says:
22 Apr 2024 07:40:26 AM

Thank you, Dirk Broer and John Coraor, the categorization of Ki-46 has been updated.