Kawasaki Ki-102b "Randy"

[Karnak]

I say we add them both.  That's my criteria.   I would think the Ki-45 would be a priority add over the Ki-102b due to it having more use in FSO/Scenario's.  Could the Ki-102b be used as a sub for anything in any theater for FSO/Scenario?  Like how we use the G4M1 as a sub for the He-111 in a BoB setup.

I can't think of anything it would be an appropriate substitution for.  With the 57mm cannon I guess kinda the Mosquito Mk XVIII or Me410 with the BK50.  The Me410 is about to not need a sub and the Mossie sub wouldn't be a great one due to the performance differences between the only superficial similarity between them, their 57mm cannons.

[Volron]

Well that limits it to Okinawa then.  Isn't the Mossy's cannon a much better gun and carries more ammo than the 102's?  If this is the case, it probably wouldn't be used as a sub for the Mossy.  I am curious to what role it would fill in the MA's.   I can see the 57mm being used in a deack role, and maybe as a gv hunter.  Would it's performance be reasonable enough for it to hunt bombers?  It's slated to be a ground attack, so I don't think so but it'll probably be used in this role by a few folks.   Would it get used more than the 410 or would you guess their usage to be about the same?  In any event, it would be awesome to up a flight of these and use them on a V-Base.

[Karnak]

Maximum speed is very similar to the Bf110G-2's, though I don't know what its critical altitudes are.  Its engines are a bit more powerful than the Bf110G-2's, so it may be a bit faster on the deck.

[Volron]

It's a little lighter than the 110, according to wiki (I know), but it's probably a bit tougher than the 110(?).  I'm curious to what it's ammo load was...  I'm have crap luck trying to find it on the net.  Another thing is, were all the rounds HE?

[Karnak]

It's a little lighter than the 110, according to wiki (I know), but it's probably a bit tougher than the 110(?).  I'm curious to what it's ammo load was...  I'm have crap luck trying to find it on the net.  Another thing is, were all the rounds HE?

Don't know, but the muzzle velocity on the 57mm was underwhelming when I looked it up.  IIRC it had 15 or 16 rounds for the 57mm.  Earlier in this thread somebody said 200 rounds for each of the two Ho-5 20mms.

[Butcher]

15 built is going to be hard to argue why it should be added in game, unless we allow wonder weapons.

Ki-45 has a good chance, Ki-102 not so much

[Karnak]

15 built is going to be hard to argue why it should be added in game, unless we allow wonder weapons.

15 of that one model.

IIRC, 215 Ki-102s were built, which would put it right in line with the C.205 or F4U-1C and about as many as the Ta152, Ostwind and Wirbelwind combined.

[Butcher]

15 of that one model.

IIRC, 215 Ki-102s were built.

How many squadrons did it fill out? as I pointed out in the Ki-84 Otsu thread, Japan had no problem producing airframes, however engines were a different story.

They could of had 214 empty frames.

[Lusche]

I have never seen any (post war) production statistics counting empty frames as "planes built". A frame without engine has not been completed.

[Karnak]

How many squadrons did it fill out? as I pointed out in the Ki-84 Otsu thread, Japan had no problem producing airframes, however engines were a different story.

They could of had 214 empty frames.

I'd have to do more research.  It fought at Okinawa but the Japanese considered it a useful type and retained most of them in Japan for defense against the expected invasion of the home islands.

So far as I know all the Ki-102s were functional.  It didn't use the Nakajima Homare engine like the Ki-84, so engine shortages might not have affected it.  Looks like it used the Mitsubishi Ha-112 engine, which was also used by the Ki-100.  If they had the engines available to re-engine the engineless Ki-61-II airframes with it they likely had the engines for the Ki-102.

Incidentally, Wikipedia says 238 were built.

EDIT:

All the photos I can find, even the pile of them after the war, are all engined.  It is a pretty attractive looking airplane actually.

[Butcher]

I'd have to do more research.  It fought at Okinawa but the Japanese considered it a useful type and retained most of them in Japan for defense against the expected invasion of the home islands.

So far as I know all the Ki-102s were functional.  It didn't use the Nakajima Homare engine like the Ki-84, so engine shortages might not have affected it.  Looks like it used the Mitsubishi Ha-112 engine, which was also used by the Ki-100.  If they had the engines available to re-engine the engineless Ki-61-II airframes with it they likely had the engines for the Ki-102.

Incidentally, Wikipedia says 238 were built.

EDIT:

All the photos I can find, even the pile of them after the war, are all engined.  It is a pretty attractive looking airplane actually.

I will see what I can drum up then, thanks for the info hopefully I can find something useful like squadron service or such, Japan aircraft/tanks though are extremely tough to find any information on sadly, I had hell trying to find Ki-84 Otsu material.

[Karnak]

I will see what I can drum up then, thanks for the info hopefully I can find something useful like squadron service or such, Japan aircraft/tanks though are extremely tough to find any information on sadly, I had hell trying to find Ki-84 Otsu material.

Sadly, the Japanese destroyed tons of records when they surrendered to keep them from falling into our hands.  It makes researching the late war Japanese stuff an awful lot harder than it ought to have been given the records they actually kept.

[HighTone]

Not your smartest idea.


Don't they give a warning when you're about to bump a really old thread? 

I used the search function to find out what threads or info I could find that was posted here about the Ki-102.

I posted to this one because I though that Mitsu had posted some good info in it.

Its not quite like theres a ton of post about it.

Chill out bud, if this ruins your day then you need medication.

[Volron]

It may fall on Busa and Mitsu to find the information for us, as they are in a much better position to get it for us.   Unless you've all become very good in reading and speaking Japanese.   I would like to see more detailed information about this aircraft.

[Slade]

+1 on this plane.