Hayabusa (Fighter plane)

The Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa (隼, Peregrine falcon), formal Japanese designation Army Type 1 Fighter (一式戦闘機, Ichi-shiki sentōki) is a single-engine land-based tactical fighter designed and produced by the Japanese manufacturer Nakajima Aircraft Company. The Allied reporting name was "Oscar", but it was often called the "Army Zero" by American pilots because it bore a certain resemblance to the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, the Imperial Japanese Navy's counterpart to the Ki-43. It was the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service's (IJAAS) first all-metal enclosed cockpit aircraft with retractable landing gear. Development began in December 1937, headed by the aeronautical engineer Hideo Itokawa, as a successor to the preceding Nakajima Ki-27 monoplane fighter. Twelve months later, the first prototype was completed, performing its maiden flight in January 1939. While satisfying the performance requirements of the IJAAS, test pilots expressed dissatisfaction over the limited improvements over the Ki-27. In response, Nakajima enacted a weight reduction programme, slimmed the fuselage, redesigned both the tail unit and canopy, and adopted Fowler flaps (which improved performance during tight turns). In response to these improvements, the company was instructed to proceed with quantity production in November 1939. Beyond the initial production model, designated Ki-43-I, further development of the aircraft proceeded, resulting in the more powerful Ki-43-II (entered service in December 1942) and the Ki-43-III (entered service in summer 1944). The Ki-43 was first introduced to service by the IJAAS in October 1941, just prior to Japan's entry into World War II. It would serve on every front that the IJAAS engaged in. Akin to the Zero, the radial-engined Ki-43 was light and relatively easy to fly, attributes that helped the aircraft become legendary for its combat performance across East Asia in the early years of the conflict. The Ki-43 could reportedly outmaneuver any opponent, but did not initially have armor or self-sealing fuel tanks, and its armament was relatively poor until its final version, which was produced as late as 1945. Allied pilots often reported that the nimble Ki-43s were difficult targets but burned easily or broke apart with a few hits. Total production amounted to 5,919 aircraft, making it the second-most produced Japanese fighter aircraft during the war after the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. Many of these were used during the last months of the conflict to conduct kamikaze missions against the American fleet. After the conflict, abandoned Ki-43s were used by numerous other services, including the French Air Force and the newly formed Indonesian Air Force.