Ki-109
Contents
Description
The Ki-109 is based on the Mitsubishi Ki-67 heavy bomber, refitted as an interceptor in an attempt to counter the American high-altitude bombing raids that devastated Japan. It is armed with a 75 mm anti-aircraft gun modified for aircraft use, and almost all defensive armament from the bomber version has been stripped, except for the tail turret, to maximize performance.
This bomber-interceptor was introduced in Update 1.71 "New E.R.A.". Its 75 mm gun is effective against bombers but should not be used on agile fighters or fast-moving vehicles. The Ki-109's defensive armament is poor, and conflicts with fighters should be avoided at all costs. Alternatively, the 75 mm gun is also effective against tanks if a clean hit can be obtained.
General info
Flight performance
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 6,050 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 531 | 515 | 9300 | 21.0 | 21.8 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 650 |
| Upgraded | 570 | 550 | 19.1 | 20.0 | 14.0 | 10.9 | ||
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 | + | - | ||
| 650 | 300 | 428 | 399 | 250 | ~5 | ~1 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 360 | < 360 | < 360 | > 313 |
Survivability and armour
The fuselage durability is strong enough to shrug off machine gun fire and some cannon rounds. The Ki-109 doesn't have any armour except on the bottom of the gun itself, which is quite meaningless for the overall plane. The pilot has neither bulleproof glass nor armoured seat and the tail gunner is not protected either. Due to this, head-on attacks are strongly unadvised. Use the aircraft's manoeuvrability to evade incoming enemies in front of the plane. The Ki-109 is equipped with self-sealing tanks, meaning it can survive one of its wings being set alight and continue to fly. Though, it is advised to retreat to base if that happens.
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Offensive armament
The Ki-109 is armed with:
- 1 x 75 mm Type 88 cannon, nose-mounted (15 rpg)
Defensive armament
The Ki-109 is defended by:
- 1 x 12.7 mm Ho-104 machine gun, dorsal turret (500 rpg)
There is a rear machine gunner who can protect the plane's tail. Its defensive armament can be underwhelming to deal with fighters that will attack you.
Usage in battles
The Ki-109 isn't only about using the gun to attack ground targets, its also about intercepting enemies and returning safe and sound. While designed as an interceptor, the climbing rate is inadequate for this role when in stock condition. Sideclimbing is a mandatory rule one should obey to. Despite its size, which resembles a medium bomber, the Ki-109 is surprisingly manoeuvrable. Comparable to all twin-engined heavy fighters and on par with Germany's Fw 190 series. Still, it's better not to use those blessings for dog-fighting a fighter: use the Ki-109's manoeuvrability to evade the enemy bomber's defensive gunners if the first pass of a bomber interception fails. Another way to use the manoeuvrability is to outmanoeuvre inexperienced pilots in a heavy bomber who try to evade the first shot by making a turn like a single-engine fighter for another pass. Or, in ground attack at low altitude, the Ki-109 can regain its position quickly for another pass on enemy tanks below.
Boasting a 75 mm Type 88 cannon, the gun is quite versatile in taking down both air and ground targets. This, however, is not without drawbacks: 15 rounds of ammo total, combined with its very low rate of fire and relatively low bullet velocity, means every shot counts since there are no other offensive weapons on the Ki-109. It is advised to seek assistance from teammates to hunt down bombers. The recoil of the gun itself is another issue to consider, so in order to minimise inaccurate shots, try to shoot the target during a shallow dive. The armour-piercing rounds used in the Type 88 have a large explosive filler. While they are very deadly against ground and smaller naval targets, the shells will often simply fly though an enemy plane's airframe and will not detonate. They still can severe a wing but this requires an unusual accuracy. Thus it is still recommended to use the HEIF-T belts against air targets as it features a much better shell velocity and will detonate on impact.
The armour-piercing rounds used in the Type 88 do not penetrate light/normal pillboxes in direct hits, but they are very effective against all tanks upon direct hit.
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Controllable | Controllable Not auto controlled |
Not controllable Not auto controlled |
Controllable Not auto controlled |
Combined | Controllable 2 gears |
Not controllable |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Powerful 75 mm gun, effective against both bombers and tanks
- Relatively good performance and agility for its size
- Self-sealing fuel tanks
Cons:
- No forward-firing armament besides the 75 mm gun
- Very low rate of fire for the main gun and low ammunition capacity
- Extremely weak defensive armament
- No armour besides the 75 mm gun cradle
History
In 1943, the decision was made to develop a new heavy fighter/interceptor based on the existing Ki-67 bomber. The new design was part of Japanese efforts to counter strategic high-altitude bombing conducted by heavy US bombers, such as the B-29 Superfortress, on the Japanese home islands. To achieve this, Mitsubishi engineers proposed the installation of the 75mm Type 88 anti-aircraft cannon inside the aircraft's nose. The project, designated as Ki-109, was approved in early 1944 and the first two prototypes were already completed in late summer of the same year.
However, as initial testing showed that the aircraft was lacking speed due to its high mass, measures were taken to remove unnecessary equipment in order to save on weight. During this process, the Ki-109 lost most of its defensive turrets and only retained the one located in the tail section. Another attempt to improve the aircraft's speed was the intended installation of the new, more powerful Ha-104ru engines in the following production batch, however this idea was quickly dropped due to the engine having reliability issues, thus production continued with the standard Ha-104 engines.
In March of 1945, 22 Ki-109s were delivered to the 107th Sentai unit, which was tasked with protecting the strategically important cities of Tokyo and Yokohama from air raids. In July, only a few months before the war came to a close, the 107th Sentai was formally disbanded, leaving behind some Ki-109s to be tested for effectiveness against ships, this also marking the end of the aircraft's operational service.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
External links
- [Devblog] Mitsubishi Ki-109: "An Unexpected Threat"
- Official data sheet - more details about the performance
| Mitsubishi Company (三菱商会) | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | A5M4 · Hagiri's A5M4 |
| A6M2 mod. 11 · A6M2 · A6M3 · A6M3 mod. 22 · A6M3 mod. 22Ko · A6M5 · A6M5 Ko · A6M5 otsu · A6M5 Hei · A6M6c | |
| A7M1 (NK9H) · A7M2 | |
| J2M2 · J2M3 · J2M4 Kai · J2M5 · J2M5 (30 mm) | |
| Hydroplanes | F1M2 |
| Interceptors | Ki-83 · Ki-109 |
| Bombers | G4M1 |
| Ki-21-Ia · Ki-21-I hei · Ki-67-I Ko · Ki-67-I otsu | |
| Jet Fighters | Ki-200 |
| Captured | ▃A6M2 · ␗A6M2 |
| See also | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Post-War) |
| 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 |
