How Many Type 98 Light Tank (Ke-Ni) Were Actually Produced?
The Type 98 Light Tank (Ke-Ni) was developed as the successor to the Japanese Army’s primary light tank, the Type 95 Light Tank (Ha-Gō). Ordered into development in 1938 with the first prototypes appearing in…
The Uprating Capacity of the Ha-45 / Homare Engine
It is well established that the performance of Japanese aircraft engines in WWII was limited by the suboptimal fuels available at the time, among other factors. As a result, in order to achieve boost pressures…
About the Performance of Type 4 Fighter (Ki-84) ー Pt.2
This is an update to the previous article about the performance of the Type 4 Fighter (Ki-84), addressing some errors and new information that I have found since writing it. It is not so much…
What Was the A6M4?
The A6M4 is an “unknown” variant of the Zero Fighter that has been described as a variety of things over the years. The most common theory in English writing is that A6M4 was a designation…
Identifying Japanese Jets Captured by the US in 1945
Following the surrender of Japan in August 1945, the American occupational authorities sought to gather whatever aircraft developments were of potential interest. Naturally, the most cutting edge planes and engines developed in Japan were high…
Ōka Trainers: MXY7-K1, MXY7-K2, & Wakazakura
This article is an attempt to clarify the details of the different training aircraft that were developed for the Japanese Navy’s late-war special attacker ‘Ōka’. The designations and purposes of the Ōka trainers are often…
