World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Ki-32 bombers were officially designated as the Army Type 98 Light Bomber by the Japanese Army. The design resulted from a May 1936 Japanese Army request for a new light bomber design to replace the aging Ki-3. The prototype Ki-32 aircraft took its first flight in Mar 1937. Both Kawasaki and Mitsubishi submitted designs (Ki-32 and Ki-30, respectively) for this competition, and Mitsubishi's design won the competition, but both would ultimately be in production by 1938 due to the demands of war. Seven Japanese Army squadrons were equipped with Ki-32 light bombers, as were a number of squadrons in Manchukuo (a Japanese-sponsored puppet state in northeastern China). They saw combat in China, during the Nomonhan Incident, and against British positions in Hong Kong during the opening stages of the Pacific War. Production of Ki-32 light bombers ceased in May 1940, by which time 854 of them were built (interestingly, more than the Ki-30 design which had won the competition in 1937) in Japan by Kawasaki and in Manchukuo by the Manshu Aircraft Company. In 1942, they were withdrawn from front line service by the Japanese and were relegated to a training role.

ww2dbaseThe Allied code name for the Ki-32 design was "Mary".

ww2dbaseAfter WW2, the Indonesian People's Security Force guerrilla organization operated a small number of captured Ki-32 light bombers against Dutch forces in the revolutionary war.

SPECIFICATIONS

Ki-32

Machinery	One Kawasaki Ha-9-IIb liquid-cooled inline V12 engine rated at 850hp
Armament	2x7.7mm Type 89 machine guns, 450kg of bombs
Crew	2
Span	15.00 m
Length	11.65 m
Height	2.90 m
Wing Area	34.00 m²
Weight, Empty	3,760 kg
Weight, Maximum	5,181 kg
Speed, Maximum	423 km/h
Speed, Cruising	300 km/h
Rate of Climb	7.60 m/s
Service Ceiling	8,920 m
Range, Normal	1,965 km

Photographs