Ki-96

Ki-96

Ki-96

Japan

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.0	3.7	3.7

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Interceptor

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

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Description

The Ki-96 was a twin-engined heavy fighter developed by Kawasaki as a private venture in 1942 after the success of their Ki-45 line. Like the Ki-45, it was a two-seat, twin-engined fighter with larger and more powerful Ha-112 radial engines to replace the Ki-45's Ha-104 engines. However, as the Japanese Army showed interest in the plane, it requested the plane as a single-seat interceptor, which resulted two of the three prototypes being built with a smaller cockpit canopy, leaving the first with a two-seat sized canopy for a single seat. The Ki-96 demonstrated excellent performance and handling, exceeding the estimates, but the Army changed its requirements back to a two-seat fighter, so the project was cancelled. The wings and tail unit of the Ki-96 were used for the Ki-102 two-seat fighter. The Ki-96 was armed with one 37 mm Ho-203 cannon and two 20 mm Ho-5 cannons mounted in its nose.

The Ki-96 was introduced in Update 1.35. Based on the latter 2 prototypes (most likely No.3), it has a smaller single-seat canopy, the Ki-96 is beyond what the Army initially requested. A twin-engine single-seat interceptor-fighter with great performance and handling, it will perform it's role of interceptor to its full potential in tearing apart bombers from oblique angles, and outfighting enemy fighters in Boom-N-Zoom tactics. While it's a twin-engine aircraft, it's deceivingly agile and will be capable of dogfighting with single-engine aircraft. One last thing to note is while the armament packs a punch, ammunition is relatively scarce and should be used sparingly with trigger discipline.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 5 000 m600 km/h

Turn time24 s

Max altitude10 000 m

Engine2 х Nakajima Ha-112

TypeRadial

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight6 t

The Ki-96 is a generally smooth flyer and is characterized by its powerful armament, high speed, high climb rate, interceptor spawn and relatively good turn rate. All of these traits make for a solid interceptor that can shred through bombers like a hot katana through wet bamboo.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 5,000 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	568	553	10000	25.3	25.7	14.5	14.5	380
Upgraded	634	600		23.7	24.0	30.9	19.5

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
762	310	437	408	260	~9	~8

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 360	< 400	< 400	> 296

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear310 km/h

• 12 mm steel plating in the nose
• 16 mm steel plating behind the pilot
• Critical components located at the front of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)
• Self-sealing fuel tanks in the wings

For a Japanese plane, the Ki-96 has a decent survivability, with armour plate protecting pilot from head-on and tailing attacks, thought one should never rely on it as the Ki-96 lacks a bulletproof glass and therefore is vulnerable to pilot sniping.

As with any other Japanese plane, the Ki-96 is volatile and will catch fire very easily. But, unlike any other Japanese fighters, the Ki-96 is able to survive a fire damage by turning off its engine and let its effective self-sealing fuel tanks do its job.

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB1 419

RB4 569

SB2 332

Crew training10 000

Experts165 000

Aces590

Research Aces710 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 80 / 220 / 350 %

2 × 148 / 148 / 148 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Radiator Compressor Wings repair Engine Engine injection	Airframe Cover	ho5_belt_pack ho5_new_gun ho203_new_gun

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 137 mm Ho-203 cannon

Ammunition25 rounds

Fire rate100 shots/min

Weapon 22 x 20 mm Ho-5 cannon

Ammunition400 rounds

Fire rate948 shots/min

The Ki-96 is armed with:

• 1 x 37 mm Ho-203 cannon, nose-mounted (25 rpg)
• 2 x 20 mm Ho-5 cannons, chin-mounted (200 rpg = 400 total)

The Ki-96 is equipped with one 37 mm Ho-203 cannon and two 20 mm Ho-5 cannons mounted in its nose. The 37 mm gun has poor muzzle velocity and ammunition count, but a high rate of fire for its calibre and devastating damage output. While the 20 mm guns have a lesser damage output, they have a greater accuracy and ammunition count. Due to different gun characteristics, weapon selection should comes in handy, as you can choose between two set of guns for different situations. Use the 37 mm against slow or big targets like bombers to quickly finish them off, while the 20 mm are more useful against fast opponents and in a dogfight.

Usage in battles

One should fly the Ki-96 in its stated role: interceptor. When engaging bombers, be sure to approach from oblique angles and never tail one, as you have no bulletproof glass to protect your pilot from snipes. While bombers with good aim can snipe you, you can do the same to their plane in seconds when you land your devastating 37 mm cannon and 20 mm cannon shots. If all you encounter are fighters, it can make for a decent Boom-&-Zoom aircraft with its good speed, climb rate, and armament. It is good at turn-fighting as well and perhaps even one of its key strengths but should only be considered by experienced players because of its vulnerability, slow roll speed, and large wing span together with its low and heavy ammo. With these in mind, always try to engage fighters with an energy advantage, although be careful as the Ki-96's roll rate heavily stiffens above 643 km/h (400 mph), which makes it hard to control at high speeds.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Controllable Auto control available	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful offensive armament mounted in the centre of the plane
• 37 mm gun has a good rate of fire for its calibre
• Fast, quicker than most Japanese planes at the same rank
• Turns well for a twin-engined fighter
• High climb rate
• Responsive elevator allows a quick snap turns
• Can survive multiple fires with proper engine control
• 360° cockpit view

Cons:

• Wings are littered with fuel tanks
• No bulletproof glass to protect the pilot
• Flight characteristics still has some limitations:
• Still outmanoeuvred and outsped by most single-engine fighters
• Poor energy retention
• Poor roll rate at all speed, especially above 640km/h
• Cockpit visibility is hampered by a large amount of structural bars
• 37 mm cannon has relatively low muzzle velocity

History

The Ki-96 was a twin-engined heavy fighter developed by Kawasaki Aeronautics in 1942 after the success of their Ki-45 line. Like the Ki-45, it was a two-seat, twin-engined fighter with larger and more powerful Ha-112 radial engines to replace the Ki-45's Ha-104 engines. It was intended to replace the "Toryu's" for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service, but the Imperial Japanese Army Aviation Bureau insisted that it be converted to a single-seat fighter. The first prototype made retained the cockpit canopy intended for a two-seat fighter, and the next two prototypes were fitted with smaller canopies.

Despite showing performance exceeding estimates and having excellent handling, the Army's requirements had changed back to two-seat fighters, resulting in production and development on the Ki-96 being halted, with only three prototypes being made. However, the wings and tail unit would later go on to form the Ki-102 wings and tail.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Ki-96 from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance

Japan twin-engine fighters and strike aircraft
Navy
Land-based Fighter
J1N	J1N1
J5N	J5N1
Army
Ki-45	Ki-45 ko · Ki-45 otsu · Ki-45 hei · Ki-45 tei
Ki-83	Ki-83
Ki-96	Ki-96
Ki-102	Ki-102 otsu
Ki-108	Ki-108 Kai
Ki-109	Ki-109