Ki-84:
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The FRANK later appeared in the battle for Okinawa, serving with the 101st, 102nd, and 103rd Hiko Sentais. Two new Sentais, the 111th and the 200th were activated with Hayates. The Hayates were used for long-range penetration missions, fighter sweeps, strafing, interception and dive-bombing missions with considerable success. The Ki-84 proved faster than the P-51D Mustang and the P-47D Thunderbolt at all but the highest altitudes. At medium altitudes, the FRANK was so fast that it was essentially immune from interception. The climb rate was exceptionally good, 16,400 feet being attained in 5 minutes 54 seconds, which was superior to that of any opposing Allied fighters. The Ki-84 had a close resemblance to the Ki-43 Hayabusa, which caused many Allied fighter pilots to confuse it with the earlier Nakajima fighter during the stress of combat. Many an American pilot, having sighted a Japanese fighter he believed to be a Ki-43 and salivating at the prospect of a quick and easy kill, suddenly found he had latched onto a different bird entirely. The Ki-84 even did well at the fighter-bomber role. On April 15, 1945, a flight of eleven Hayates from the 100th Sentai made a surprise air attack on American airfields on Okinawa, damaging or destroying a substantial number of aircraft on the ground. However, eight of the Hayates were destroyed in the attack, and one made a forced landing on a small islet near Kyushu.
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The Hayate (gale) had the code name Frank and was the army's best production fighter of World War II. The type was planned as successor to the Ki-43 with better protection and heavier armament. The Hayate first flew in March 1943 and model Ki-84-I began to enter service in the summer 1944 powered by Ha-45 engine and equipped with four 20 mm cannons (or 2 cannons and 2 machine guns). The Ki-84-Ic bomber destroyer version had 2 x 20 mm and 2 x 30 mm cannons. The performance of Hayate was equal to, or higher than that of the Allies' fighters. The aircraft was said to be "the decisive fighter to turn the fate of the Greater East Asia", but it was a bit to late for that. Later on Nakajima introduced Ki-84-II variant with partially wood structure and free of some problems present in the earlier version. It made its first campaign over Central China and was then used during the Battle of Leyte and the Battle of Okinawa. Hayate was also used to intercept B-29 bombers over Japan. Total production was 3514 aircrafts including experimental variants such as: Ki-84-III turbocharged high-altitude fighter, Ki-106 all-wood airframe, Ki-116 with Mitsubishi Ha-33 engine and Ki-117 - another high-altitude version. The total number of aircrafts built puts Hayate next to the Zero or Hayabusa, but it is the largest number of planes built in about a year in the Japanese aviation history.[/b]
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Don't cry about the Niki being in the set until the Ki-84 is added. The Ki-84 was in Okinawa, in LARGE numbers, and since it would be even better than the Niki its an acceptable trade, yes? Personally, I cant WAIT for the Ki-84 to arrive, I might actually get to fly the F4U once in a while, since all the gang-banging score potatos will flock to it like they do the La-7 now.
If you ask me (you didnt), the 190A-8 would be a pretty good replacement for the Frank in the short term, even though the Ki-84's performance would be much better, it would be close enough and you could severly limit/remove the Niki. I doubt anyone on either side would find that acceptable however for a myriad of reasons.
Soooo, in summation, suck it up and play with what we have because a truly accurate set with the correct planes would be worse than what we have now.
