finsrin: I suppose the blotches broke up the outline. But, applied over silver or natural metal ?
Setting Sun ... the End of the Tachikawa Ki-63mo Ookaze fightersOne final
Ookaze variant was complete ... but by Nakajima rather than Tachikawa. This was the sole Ki-63mo-Vb. The Tachikawa Ki-63mo-V series were powered by Nakajima's 18-cylinder Ha-45
Homare radial. A complex engine, the Ha-45 was also surprisingly light and compact for its output of 1,900 hp. This dictated slightly longer engine-bearers than those employed on Nakajima's metal Ki-84
Hayate fighters.
Priority was given to the cannon-armed Ki-63mo-Vb. The wings of this variant were modified to accomodate the new 37mm Ho-203 37mm cannon within the wing structure (rather than in underwing pods). The prototype Ki-63mo-Vb was completed in early June 1945 and transferred to Nakajima to have its engine and its Ki-84 cowling fitted on 09 June 1945.
On the following night, B-29s of XXI Bomber Command dropped vast numbers of HE and incidiary bombs on the Tachikawa factory (target code-name 'Modeller'). The raid was devastatingly effective. The plant buildings were largely destroyed and wooden structures stockpiled for Ki-63mo construction were perfect tinder for the incidiaries. Tachikawa Hikoki K.K. had effectively ceased to exist. [1]
At war's end, the completed Ki-63mo-Vb was found at the Tokyo plant of the Nakajima Hikoki KK. Collected on behalf of the USAAF Technical Data Laboratory (TDL), the '
Homare Ookaze' was prepared for flight testing. However, on its first flight, the engine seriously overheated and the USAAF pilot made an emergency landing. On touch-down, the starboard main undercarriage leg collapsed and a wing was heavily damaged. The Ho-204 guns were removed and the airframe scrapped.
[Top] Tachikawa Ki-63mo-Vb prototype repainted in USAAF TDL markings. Tokyo, September 1945.
The
Ookaze was more thoroughly tested by US forces. Using the remains of five different Ki-63mo-IIIb airframes collected at Clark Field in the Phillipines, theTechnical Air Intelligence Unit–South West Pacific Area (TAIU-SWPA) was able to create a single, flyable Ki-63mo-III. With the war over, this fighter was sent first to Yokohama Naval Base and thence to the USAAF Air Depot at Freeman Field, IN.
[Bottom] Tachikawa Ki-63mo-IIIb in TAIU-SWPA markings, Clark Field, Luzon, August 1945.
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[1] Also destroyed were the facilities of Showa hikoki kogyo KK. Showa had been working on the L2D5, a wooden DC-3 derivative. Tachikawa assisted Showa with the installation of the 1560 hp Mitsubishi HA-33
Kinsei radials in their wooden
Tabby.
... Fin
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