WOW299 Nakajima Ki-84 ‘Frank’

Description

The Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate was a single-seat fighter flown by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in the last two years of World War II. The Allied reporting name was “Frank”; the Japanese Army designation was Army Type 4 Fighter. The Ki-84 is generally considered the best Japanese fighter to operate in large numbers during the conflict. The aircraft boasted high speeds and excellent maneuverability with an armament (up to two 30 mm and two 20 mm cannon) that gave it formidable firepower. The Ki-84’s performance matched that of any single-engine Allied fighter it faced, and its operational ceiling enabled it to intercept high-flying B-29 Superfortress bombers. Pilots and crews in the field learned to take care with the plane’s high-maintenance Nakajima Homare engine and a landing gear prone to buckling. The difficulties of Japan’s situation late in the war took a toll on the aircraft’s field performance as manufacturing defects multiplied, quality fuel proved difficult to procure and experienced pilots grew scarce. Nevertheless a well maintained Ki-84 was Japan’s fastest fighter. A total of 3,514 aircraft were built.

The first major operational involvement was during the battle of Leyte at the end of 1944, and from that moment until the end of the Pacific war the Ki-84 was deployed wherever the action was intense. The 22nd Sentai re-equipped with production Hayates. Though it lacked sufficient high-altitude performance, it performed well at medium and low levels. Seeing action against the USAAF 14th Air Force, it quickly gained a reputation as a combat aircraft to be reckoned with. Fighter-bomber models also entered service. On April 15, 1945, 11 Hayates attacked US airfields on Okinawa, destroying many aircraft on the ground.

In the final year of the war the Ki-84, the Ki-100 (essentially a radial-engined version of the inline-powered Kawasaki Ki-61) and Kawanishi’s N1K2-J were the three Japanese fighters best suited to combat the newer Allied fighters.

Our striking silver Nakajima Ki-84 was flown by Cpt Isamu Ono who commanded the 29th Sentai in from January 1945 until the end of the war.

This 1/30 scale model. Figures are shown for illustration purposes only. This is a limited run of five models worldwide.