Manshūkoku Hikōki Seizo KK

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Manshūkoku Hikōki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha (満州国飛行機製造株式会社, Manchurian Aircraft Company) was the aircraft factory in Manchukuo for Nakajima Hikoki KK (Nakajima Aircraft Company) of Japan. For short it was Manshū.

These installations were in Harbin, and began to manufacture air engines for the first national Manchu airplane, the Manshū Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon) Mark I, II, and III. It was part of the standard equipment of Manchukuo National Airways.

The factory constructed under license, or on its own behalf, the following planes, from the 1930s to August 1945:

  • Transport Mansyu Hayabusa I,II,III (30 units)
  • Advanced trainer Manshū Ki-79
  • Light fighter Nakajima Ki-27 "Nate" (1,379 units)
  • Advanced fighter Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate "Frank" (94 units)
  • Advanced cannon armed-dive bomber Manshū Ki-71 "Edna" (some one prototype with permit of 1st Tachikawa Army Arsenal/Mitsubishi Company)
  • Advanced twin-fuselage high altitude Interceptor Manshū Ki-98 (only certain prototypes along Nakajima company technical advisers)
  • Mansyu Ki-116 (Nakajima Ki-116) special attack plane
  • and other aircraft and prototypes.

Additionally it was a repair shop for Manchu and Japanese aircraft. Some types maintained for the Japanese and Manchukouan Air Forces were:

Other production included the Nakajima Ki-84 Ia fighter: the (Manshū type) Hayate "Frank" for the 1st Chutai of 104th Sentai of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service, stationed in Anshan, Manchukuo. This was to defend the Showa Steel Works Iron & Steel Factory against B-29 bombers of the USAAF, on raids over Manchukuo in the final stages of the war, based in South China.

The factory was confiscated by the Soviet Army before the war ended. Its equipment was shipped to Siberia, and some aircraft given to Chinese Communists, in August 1945. The Chinese Aircraft Company now in the same city redeveloped the site.