It is not
very often that we get a chance to read about Japanese aces, so when a book
comes out on the subject, it is generally highly sought. This one is
particularly nice as it covers what to me, are two of the nicest looking
aircraft of the Pacific War, the Ki-16 Hien and the Ki-100. The Ki-100 was a
variant of the earlier plane that used a radial engine, a modification that
transformed the aircraft into a superlative fighter. Typically, it was too
little too late, and was so unknown to the Allies that it was never provided a
code name. Allied pilots who met it often referred to it as a Ki-84 or Zero.
Its reason for being was to develop a fast, high
altitude fighter, and for the Japanese, this meant an in-line engine. For this
they developed a Japanese derivative of the Daimler-Benze DB.601, the Ha-40.
Unfortunately, the Japanese had not much experience with these types of engines
and the Ha-40 was plagued with issues throughout its operational career. This
issue in operational units was exacerbated by mechanics who were not used to
working on the more complex engines and a nearly total lack of parts
availability. It would not be too far fetched to state that a third of the
aircraft in any given unit were inoperable due to a lack of what would be common
parts. Cannibalization was a major way of providing bits to keep planes in the
air.
The Ki-61's first air combat was when prototypes ran
across planes participating in the Doolittle Raid of April 1942. Fortunately for
the Mitchells in question, the Ki-61s were only armed with practice ammunition
and so were unable to knock down any of the low flying bombers. It wasn't until
the New Guinea campaign that units deployed and though they were relatively
effective, the lack of spares and Allied bombing of their airfields took a heavy
toll. Few pilots who flew in the New Guinea campaign survived with war with most
being turned into foot soldiers and killed in combat. Still, there were pilots
who did quite well. When functioning properly, the Ki-61 was hard to beat and
the equal of just about all the Allied planes it met.
The aircraft also operated during other campaigns while
the Allies island-hopped, but as with units flying other types, the quality of
pilots degraded and few were able to reach ace status flying the plane. Many of
those who were the most successful were flying during home defense missions. The
244th Sentai was one of the best known units that were able to shoot down B-29s
during their raids, many of these successes coming at night and quite a few
daylight scores were due to ramming. Some of these were on purpose while others
were simply due to the high closing speeds and minute errors in judgment.
During the last months of the war, the IJAAF pretty much
stopped intercepting B-29, concentrating on saving pilots and planes for the
incoming invasion and also concentrating on fighting US fighters. Prior to this
time, the majority of training was on shooting down bombers and so there was a
major effort in fighter to fighter combat training. It was during this time that
the Ki-100 entered the mix. There were no pilots who achieved ace status flying
the Ki-100 though several added to their scores.
In all, the author has done a great job of covering the
development of the aircraft, the units that flew it in various theaters of the
war, and stories of the men who flew the plane. All this is superbly illustrated
with period photos, something very difficult to find when it comes to Japanese
aviation. There are the usual huge number of full color profiles based on photos
and appendices that include a list of successful pilots.
It is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading and can
quite easily recommend to you.
October 2015
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