Wading through the verbal bullplop a few members can only contribute....
I think that some of those units are receiving preproduction airframes. They may not have been called preproduction, but the Japanese had a history of field-testing planes to prove them ready (or not). On the other hand we also have multiple renowned authors quoting the start-date for actual serial production of the Ki-43-III. Green, Francillion, others.
Nakajima stopped producing the Ki-43-II in favor of the Ki-84. It was up to one factory (Tachikawa) to continue Ki-43 production. After this they began producing the Ki-43-III. We know that Nakajima decided against the Ki-43-III in favor of the Ki-84, so the time they stop producing Ki-43-IIs and start producing Ki-84s is also an indication of when the Ki-43 began rolling off production lines.
Citing:
Bergerud (2000)
Francillon (1979)
Molesworth (2008)
This page:
http://pwencycl.kgbudge.com/K/i/Ki-43_Oscar.htmBreaks down the production dates. The lines get blurred because Tachikawa produced Ki-43-IIs along with the Ki-43-III development, and I don't see many sources breaking down the specific numbers. However, we know that Nakajima stopped production of the Ki-43-II in 10/1944. Therefore the production of the -III would fall on Tachikawa after this date. Nakajima is suggested to have made some of the early 1944 prototypes but no production models.
Joe Baugher can be quoted as saying:
"The Ki-43-IIIa was the last Hayabusa variant. Ten prototypes were built starting in May of 1944. It was similar in airframe and armament to the Ki-43 KAI, but was powered by a Najajima Ha-115-II Sakae air-cooled radial rated at 1230 hp at 9185 feet. This engine employed individual exhaust stacks to provide a certain amount of exhaust thrust augmentation. Production began in December of 1944, most of the aircraft being built by Tachikawa Hikoki K.K.."
(as noted previously in other threads:
http://www.warbirdforum.com/hayabus2.htm )
On this j-aircraft production breakdown for the Ki-43 we find similar dates:
http://www.j-aircraft.com/main/newkits/ki43desc.htm"10 Ki-43-III prototypes (May 1944 - Aug 1945)
Tachikawa Hikoki K.K. at Tachikawa
2629 Ki-43-II & Ki-43-IIIa production aircraft (May 1943-Aug 1945)
2 Ki-43-IIIb prototypes(spring 1945)
Tachikawa Dai-Ichi Rikugun Kokusho at Tachikawa"
Those are the production numbers for Ki-43-IIIs, and note again it lumps Ki-43-II dates along with this, because Tachikawa was producing thousands of Ki-43-IIs throughout the war before switching to the Ki-43-III variant.
Referencing several books including Francillion, this is a fairly good write-up of the Ki-43:
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=28823&sid=501b41c3e46de622c0471990c6383c39Although it doesn't specify dates, all the rest of the details supporting Tachikawa are there, reinforcing the rest of this post. See "Pt. 9" of the discussion.
Now as for total production numbers, one or two online places list 1000 Ki-43-III frames out of the total 2600 from Tachikawa, such as:
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_nakajima_ki-43.htmlBut it's vague on some of the details and sources cited.
A number of early prototypes were built before December. In fact, earlier in the year as early as May. Do not confuse these with production types. They were used in combat units to field-test the aircraft. This is not unique to the Ki-43-III, and you will also find other units did the same with different airframes (Ki-44 prototypes were flying and fighting over Rangoon, for example -- but again not to be confused with production models).
Commentary on a preproduction Ki-43-III in use with 64th over Burma, so we know the 64th was in the habit of receiving early airframes for combat testing:
http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=6015(Just the easiest reference I can find on google right now.)
We know they also fielded early model (prototype) Ki-44s as well at one point.
So as you can see the early 1944 dates are counting the prototypes. The development phase. This continued through half the year. It may be unclear if 10 were made in May 1944, and then more prototypes as the year progressed, or if it means 10 up until full production. You can also see that series production (serial production) did not begin until the end of the year.
The airplane was built in only one plant. All sources on this plant state the same date for production of this airplane at this plant. Therefore any airplanes before this time (before the production date) must be something other than production craft. They must be preproduction models, whether you want to call them "prototype" or not.
So what is more likely? That all the sources (all sharing the same details) stating when the ONLY factory that made this plane began its production are wrong? Or that the units you're talking about received preproduction models, which we have already seen they did regularly, to test in combat?
For example you might say "Here's an entry from a book showing a Ki-43" -- I'm not denouncing the book as wrong per se. I'm saying that's not a production-run airframe.
So far the only photos I've ever seen of a Ki-43-III fall into 3 categories: 1) circa 1945, sometimes kamikazes 2) airfield wrecks or post-war captures impossible to date (can't say they were there before 10/1944), 3) one instance of a prototype with unusual camo over Burma. I'd be interested to see a Ki-43-III production model from 1944. 1000 were made, right? Surely with the overabundance of Japanese photos on every plane type they had, personal photos, anything like that... Surely there are photos of 64th Sentai's runway with a dozen airframes lined up ready for action? 48th Sentai? 33rd?
P.S. I'm not really all
that against them as an inclusion into AH. What I'm arguing is the details about the history of the plane. As a tangent I think they serve little purpose and fill a very small hole in the planeset
because of that. So far the history doesn't support claims of widespread use in 1944. The use was limited. We have cited production start dates. We have units known to fly preproduction models in combat. We have established practices of the IJA. From that you can paint a picture.
