Tachikawa Ki-74

Ki-74

Role	Long Range Reconnaissance Bomber
Manufacturer	Tachikawa Aircraft Company Ltd
Designer	Jiro Tanaka (in the final stage of the development from the summer of 1944 until August 1945)^[1]^[2]^[3]
First flight	March 1944
Primary user	Imperial Japanese Army Air Force
Number built	16

The Tachikawa Ki-74 was a Japanese experimental long-range reconnaissance bomber of World War II. A twin-engine, mid-wing monoplane, it was developed for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force but did not enter service.

Development

Though already conceived in 1939^[4] as a long-range reconnaissance aircraft capable of reaching west of Lake Baikal when operating from bases in Manchukuo (Manchuria), the prototype Ki-74 (designated as A-26 by Tachikawa) only first flew as late as in March 1944; it was powered by two 1,641 kW (2,201 hp) Mitsubishi Ha-211-I [Ha-43-I] radial engines. The following two prototypes were powered by the turbo-supercharged Mitsubishi Ha-211-I Ru [Ha-43-II], but as these experienced teething troubles, the following thirteen pre-production machines substituted the Ha-211 Ru engine for the lower-powered, but more reliable, turbo-supercharged Mitsubishi Ha-104 Ru (Army Type 4 1,900 hp Air Cooled Radial).^[5]

Operational history

The Ki-74 did not see operational service. Nevertheless, the Allies knew of its existence and assigned the type the codename "Patsy" after it was discovered that it was a bomber, not a fighter. Previously it had the code name "Pat" in Allied Intelligence.^[6]

Specifications (Ki-74)

Data from The Imperial Japanese Secret Weapons Museum ;^[7] Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War^[6]

General characteristics

Crew: 5
Capacity: 9,200 kg (20,300 lb)
Length: 17.65 m (57 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 18.6 m (61 ft 0 in)
Height: 5.1 m (16 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 80 m² (860 sq ft)
Empty weight: 10,200 kg (22,487 lb)
Gross weight: 19,400 kg (42,770 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Mitsubishi Ha104 Ru turbo-supercharged 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 1,500 kW (2,000 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 570 km/h (354 mph; 308 kn)
Cruise speed: 400 km/h (249 mph; 216 kn)
Range: 8,000 km (4,971 mi; 4,320 nmi)
Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,000 ft)
Wing loading: 242.5 kg/m² (49.7 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass: 0.154 kW/kg (0.093 hp/lb; 0.206 hp/kg)

Armament

1 x 12.7 mm (0.500 in) Ho-103 machine gun
1,000 kg (2,200 lb) bomb load

References

Notes

↑ Carmakers owe success to warplanes – Military's brightest aircraft designers created Japan's automotive powers The Japan Times, August 13, 2005
↑ The History and the Biography of Jiro Tanaka (Detailed PDF document attached) (Japanese) – Japan Automotive Hall of Fame
↑ From the Ki-74 to the Tama Electric Vehicles and the Prince Vehicles – Interview of Jiro Tanaka on Nov. 22, 1996 (Japanese) – The Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan (JSAE)
↑ Francillon 1979, p. 259.
↑ Francillon 1979, pp. 260–261.
1 2 Francillon 1979, p. 261.
↑ "The Imperial Japanese Secret Weapons Museum". Archived from the original on October 27, 2009.

Bibliography

Francillon, René J. (1979). Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. Putnam Aeronautical. ISBN 0-370-30251-6.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tachikawa Ki-74.

Aircraft produced by Tachikawa Aircraft Company
Imperial Japanese Army types	Ki-9 Ki-17 Ki-24 Ki-25 Ki-26 Ki-29 Ki-36 Ki-54 Ki-55 Ki-70 Ki-71 Ki-72 Ki-74 Ki-77 Ki-92 Ki-94 Ki-104 Ki-106 Ki-110 Ki-111 Ki-114 SS-1 T.S. 1
World War II Allied reporting names	Cedar Clara Hickory Ida (Ki-36) Ida (Ki-55) Pat Patsy Sonia Spruce

Imperial Japanese Army Air Service aircraft designations
1-50	Ki-1 Ki-2 Ki-3 Ki-4 Ki-5 Ki-6 Ki-7 Ki-8 Ki-9 Ki-10 Ki-11 Ki-12 Ki-13 Ki-14 Ki-15 Ki-16 Ki-17 Ki-18 Ki-19 Ki-20 Ki-21 Ki-22 Ki-23 Ki-24 Ki-25 Ki-26 Ki-27 Ki-28 Ki-29 Ki-30 Ki-31 Ki-32 Ki-33 Ki-34 Ki-35 Ki-36 Ki-37 Ki-38 Ki-39 Ki-40 Ki-41 Ki-42 Ki-43 Ki-44 Ki-45 Ki-46 Ki-47 Ki-48 Ki-49 Ki-50
51-100	Ki-51 Ki-52 Ki-53 Ki-54 Ki-55 Ki-56 Ki-57 Ki-58 Ki-59 Ki-60 Ki-61 Ki-62 Ki-63 Ki-64 Ki-66 Ki-67 Ki-68 Ki-69 Ki-70 Ki-71 Ki-72 Ki-73 Ki-74 Ki-75 Ki-76 Ki-77 Ki-78 Ki-79 Ki-80 Ki-81 Ki-82 Ki-83 Ki-84 Ki-85 Ki-86 Ki-87 Ki-88 Ki-89 Ki-90 Ki-91 Ki-92 Ki-93 Ki-94 Ki-95 Ki-96 Ki-97 Ki-98 Ki-99 Ki-100
100-	Ki-101 Ki-102 Ki-103 Ki-105 Ki-106 Ki-107 Ki-108 Ki-109 Ki-110 Ki-111 Ki-112 Ki-113 Ki-114 Ki-115 Ki-116 Ki-117 Ki-118 Ki-119 Ki-148 Ki-167 Ki-174 Ki-200 Ki-201 Ki-202 Ki-230

World War II Allied reporting names for Japanese aircraft

Aircraft in Japanese service

Foreign aircraft erroneously thought to be in Japanese service

Bess (Heinkel He 111)
Doc (Messerschmitt Bf 110)
Fred (Focke Wulf Fw 190A-5)
Irene (Junkers Ju 87A)
Janice (Junkers Ju 88A-5)
Mike (Messerschmitt Bf 109E)
Millie (Vultee V-11GB)
Trixie (Junkers Ju 52/3m)
Trudy (Focke Wulf Fw 200 Kondor)

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