Kawasaki Ki.28 ("Bob")


Click HERE to see a 3-view drawing of the Ki-28
 
Click HERE to see color drawings of the Ki-28

The Ki-28 was initially produced by Kawasaki Kōkūki Kōgyō K.K. in response to Japanese army specifications for a fighter to replace the existing Kawasaki Ki-10. In mid-1935, Kawasaki, Mitsubishi and Nakajima were instructed to build competitive prototypes. The Kawasaki design was based on its earlier, but unsuccessful Ki-5. It was a low-wing cantilever monoplane of all-metal construction, except for fabric-covered control surfaces, with a conventional tail unit, fixed tailskid landing gear and powered by a 596 kW (800 hp) Kawasaki Ha 9-II-Ko liquid-cooled inline V12 engine. Service trials proved that the Kawasaki Ki-28 was the fastest of the three contenders, but the Nakajima Ki-27 was by far the most maneuverable and had the lowest wing-loading, and on this basis was selected by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. Despite losing to the Ki-27, the Ki-28 provided Kawasaki with valuable experience which would later help with development of the Kawasaki Ki-60 and Kawasaki Ki-61 fighters. Mistakenly believing the Ki-28 to have entered production in Japan as the Army Type 97 Fighter, the Allies assigned it the reporting name "Bob" during World War II.    (info from Wikipedia)   (Note that the Allied codename of "Bob" was also assigned to the fictional aircraft known as the Aichi Type 97, though this usage was dropped in 1943 when it was discovered that the Aichi Type 97 did not exist.)

Kawasaki Ki.28 

Type:           Fighter
Crew:           Pilot
Armament:       two 7.7mm machine guns

Specifications:
        Length:         25.92 feet (7.9 m)
        Height:         8.53 feet (2.6 m)
        Wingspan:       39.37 feet (12 m)
        Wing area:      204.52 sq. ft (19 sq. m)
        Empty Weight:   3,130 lbs (1420 kg)
	Loaded Weight:  3,880 lbs (1760 kg)
        Useful Load:    750 lb (340 kg)
        Max Weight:     n/a

Propulsion:
        No. of Engines: 1
        Powerplant:     Kawasaki Ha-9-II-Ko twelve cylinder vee liquid-cooled engine
        Horsepower:     800 hp

Performance:
        Range:          620 miles, 540 nmi (1000 km)
        Cruise Speed:   n/a
        Max Speed:      301 mph (485 km/hr)
        Climb:          to 16000 ft (5000 m) in 5 minutes 10 seconds
        Ceiling:        36000 ft (11000 m)

Additional information on this aircraft can be found at Wikipedia HERE.
(go to Kawasaki page)

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