The Ki-67-I otsu is a high-mid tier bomber in the Japanese tech tree. Its powerful defensive weaponry and incredible survivability make it worth purchasing and playing, even if it requires researching the entire line.
| Pros | Cons |
| Hard hitting 12.7 mm Ho-104 machine guns and a 20 mm Ho-5 cannon, which both fire HE rounds and have quite good traversal and elevation | Front turret rotates slowly when rotated around the forward axis |
| Four machine guns and the cannon can all fire and chasing enemies at the same time | Low wing rip speed |
| The side and front guns can be used as Schräge Musik cannons against bombers | Very small bomb load compared to some other medium bombers |
| Strong airframe that will rarely be destroyed | Can only drop bombs in at most a shallow dive |
| Self sealing fuel tanks with a neutral gas pressurization system rarely catch on fire and fires will go out almost immediately | |
| Good maneuverability, bomber airspawn, and enough speed to outrun other bombers or fighters just out of a dogfight | |
| Flaps can be used for pitch incase of an elevator or tail control failure |
Weaponry
While the Ki-67-I is poor at bombing bases or ground targets because of its poor bomb load of 750-800 kgs of 50, 100, 250, or 800 kg bombs, it excels at air to air combat.
The most notable part of the plane is its armament, which consists Ho-104 12.7 mm machine guns and an Ho-5 20 mm cannon. Even the machine guns fire HE rounds, making them more powerful than some other guns like the 20 mm Hispano. The four powerful rear-facing machine guns and cannon can prevent enemies from getting too close and destroy them if they do. The forward-facing Ho-104 can stop attackers from the front or even be used offensively. Even one of the Ki-67's guns can do massive damage.
Flight Performance
For a bomber, the Ki-67 has quite good performance. Its speed and airspawn allows it to outrun climbing fighters or to catch other bombers. While it is faster than most bombers, it still cannot exceed 600 kph IAS. It can climb at around 12-15 m/s, meaning it usually will be a little higher when it meets fighters or slow bombers at the start of the game. Turning performance is mostly irrelevant, whether playing it as a bomber, interceptor, or fighter, but it can dodge some shots and turn around quickly enough to get guns on a target before it gets too close.
Survivability
The Ki-67 is also very survivable. It can take many hits to the wings and tail without being destroyed. If the fuel tanks catch on fire, which they rarely do because of the neutral gas pressurization system, the fire will almost always go out quickly because they are self-sealing. The only true dangers to the Ki-67 are planes like the Yak-9K and Fw 190 A-8 that have many or high caliber cannons.
Air Realistic Battle Guide
Note that this is an opinion on the best way to play the plane in air realistic battles. Playing the Ki-67-I otsu can be simple, but requires strategy to maximize effectiveness while minimizing risk.
First, if the bomber is being played as a fighter, take the 500 kg bomb and jettison it immediately. It is the lightest loadout so it has the least impact when taking off after rearming.
After spawning in, the first targets that should be prioritized are strategic bombers, starting from the highest altitude ones to the lowest altitude ones, though targets should only be pursued if they do not mean losing too much altitude or going to a position that can easily be attacked. In the Ki-67-I otsu, there are three main ways of attacking a bomber. The first is approaching from the front, using the front turret to deal most of the damage, and finally finishing off the bomber with the rear turrets. This is the safest, but does not guarantee a kill. Care should be taken to avoid the dead zone directly in front of the aircraft. The other tactics are approaching from below and also using the front gun or approaching from the side, parallel to the enemy and using the side and top guns. These tactics are riskier, but almost guarantee a kill.
After bombers, fighters and attackers are next. Aircraft with high caliber guns like German aircraft with the MK 103, the P-39/63, and the Yak-9T/K should be avoided because they can deal heavy damage from beyond the range of the defensive guns. Since getting shot at from an effective range is always a risk, the best thing to do is to make enemies chase the bomber from directly behind and fire at them to keep them just beyond where they would fire from. The plane should never be in a position where it is getting shot and not returning effective fire. While slow at killing, this tactic makes it very hard to be shot down and lose the match and 1v3’s can be won. Depending on the confidence of the pilot, enemies can be allowed closer and the front gun can be used offensively in some situations. Kill to death ratios of over 10 are very possible and maintainable.
Manual Engine Control Information:
| Supercharger Gear | Change at ~3500 m |
| Radiator | ~25% |
| Prop Pitch | 100% |
