Fighters of the Dying Sun The Most Advanced Japanese Fighters of the Second World War

The first B-29 flew over Tokyo on 1 November 1944. It was a photographic reconnaissance aircraft ironically named 'Tokyo Rose.' The Ki.44 fighters of the 47th Sentai took off to intercept it but as it turned out the Superfortress flew at such an altitude and speed that they could not reach it. The Ki-44-II-Otsu had been specifically designed for this type of interception and could reach the astonishing rate of climb of 5,000 m in four minutes; however it was not good enough. During the following ten months, a devastating bombing campaign of thousands of Superfortresses destroyed 67 Japanese cities and half of Tokyo. The cultural shock and the political consequences were huge, when it was realized that the Japanese industry was not able to produce the specially heat and stress-resistant metallic alloys that were required to manufacture the turbo superchargers needed by the fighters in charge of defending the Japanese mainland. They lacked the essential chromium and molybdenum metals to harden the steel. This fact thwarted the manufacturing of numerous advanced projects of both conventional fighters and those derived from the transfer of German technology fitted with turbojets and rocket engines. They are thoroughly described in this book.
Table of Contents
The Japanese Aggressor (28 January 1932 to 15 August 1945)
Imperial Japanese Army Aircraft and Projects
Nakajima Ki.44 Shoki
Kawasaki Ki.45 Toryu
Mitsubishi Ki.46 Shin Shitei
Kawasaki Ki.60/Ki.61/Ki.100 Hien
Nakajima Ki.62, Ki.63, Ki.84, Ki.106, Ki.113, Ki.116 and Ki.117 Hayate
Kawasaki Ki.64, Ki.78 (Ken-3) and Ki.88
High-altitude interceptors Nakajima Ki.87 and Tachikawa Ki.94
Manshu Ki.65 and Ki.98
Rikugun Kogiken Heavy Fighter
Nakajima Ki.201 Karyu
Imperial Japanese Navy Aircraft and Projects
Mitsubishi A6M Zero
Mitsubishi J2M Raiden
Kawanishi N1K1-J...

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