World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Ki-36 liaison aircraft designed by Tachikawa Aircraft Company Limited defeated a rival design, Ki-35 by Mitsubishi, to become Japanese Army's Type 98 Direct Co-operation Aircraft. Production began in Nov 1938 in Japan; 1,334 examples were built by the time production ceased in Jan 1944. The Manshu Aircraft Company in the Japanese-sponsored puppet state of Manchukuo in northeastern China also built a number of examples. Ki-36 aircraft first saw service in China, where they were proven to be reliable aircraft, so much so that the Ki-55 advanced trainer design would subsequently spawn from the Ki-36 design. By the time the Pacific War began, however, Ki-36 aircraft began to show signs of obsolescence, vulnerable to the more modern Allied fighters. Toward the end of the war, most of the Ki-36 aircraft were relocated to China where they saw less aerial opposition, while a small number of them were modified with externally-mounted 500-kilogram bombs to serve as special attack aircraft.

ww2dbaseThe Allied code name for the Ki-36 design was "Ida"; this name was shared with the Ki-55 advanced trainer design.

Ki-36 Timeline

SPECIFICATIONS

Ki-36

Machinery	One Hitachi Army Type 98 Ha-13a 9-cyl air-cooled radial engine rated at 510hp
Armament	1x7.7mm forward Type 89 machine gun, 1x7.7mm flexible Type 89 machine gun, up to 150kg of bombs
Crew	2
Span	11.80 m
Length	8.00 m
Height	3.64 m
Wing Area	20.00 m²
Weight, Empty	1,247 kg
Weight, Loaded	1,660 kg
Speed, Maximum	348 km/h
Speed, Cruising	235 km/h
Service Ceiling	8,150 m
Range, Normal	1,235 km

Photographs