Towards the end of the war, production delays affecting the liquid-cooled engine of the Type 3 *Hien* fighter led to surplus airframes being fitted with the highly reliable, air-cooled Ha-112 radial engine. This resulted in the creation of the Type 5 Fighter (Kawasaki Ki-100), the last fighter aircraft officially put into service by the Japanese Army. Although it was an interim design, it demonstrated unexpectedly high performance and proved to be a valuable asset for the Japanese Army. However, it was too late; the deteriorating war situation prevented it from seeing combat before the conflict ended. Here, the authors take a brief look at Zoukei-Muras latest 1:32 scale kit, the Kawasaki Ki-100 Type 5 Fighter Model 1B. The models featured are: Type 5 Fighter Model 1A (Zoukei-Mura, 1:32); Type 5 Fighter Model 1B (Zoukei-Mura, 1:32); Type 5 Fighter Model 1A (Hasegawa, 1:48); Type 5 Fighter Model 1B (Hasegawa, 1:48); Type 5 Fighter Model 1A (Aoshima, 1:72); and Type 5 Fighter Model 2 (Aoshima, 1:72).
Group
Books (first-hand)
Title
Air Model Special. Volume 54: KawasakiI Ki-100 Type 5 Fighter. The Imperial Japanese Army's Last Fighter
Details
Japanese text, paperback, many colour illustrations, colour profiles, large format. 128 pages.
