KAWASAKI Ki-45 TORYU 65
Kawasaki Ki-45 KAIc
Type: Heavy long-range
fighter/interceptor
Crew: Two (pilot and radio-
operator/gunner)
Dimensions:
Length: 36ft 1in (11.00m)
Wingspan: 49ft 4in (15.02m)
Height: 12ft 2in (3.7m)
Weights:
Empty: 8,820lb (4,000kg)
Max T/O: 12,125lb (5,500kg)
Performance:
Max Speed: 336mph (540km/h)
Range: 1,243 miles (2,000km)
Powerplant: Two Mitsubishi Ha-102
14-cylinder air-cooled
radials of 1,080hp each
Armament: One 37mm Ho-203
cannon in ventral tunnel,
two obliquely mounted
20mm Ho-5 cannon in
fuselage, one 7.92mm
Type 98 machine gun in
rear cockpitKawasaki Ki-45 Toryu
long-range bomber interceptor and achieved
particular successes against B-24 Liberators.
The aircraft’s heavy armament also proved to
be effective against the B-29 Superfortress raids
which started in June 1944, though it struggled
to reach the high-flying invaders. The Ki-45 was
also transformed into a dedicated night fighterin the Ki-45 KAIc model series with obliquely-
mounted 37mm cannon and advanced search
radar. As the war in the Pacific drew to its
inevitable conclusion, many Ki-45s were used
effectively in aerial ramming and kamikaze
attacks. A total of 1,675 Ki-45s of all versions
were produced during the war.Left: The dramatic moment as a Japanese Ki-45
makes a head-on attack and barely misses a B-29
of the 29th Bombardment Group during a flight
over the Marianas Islands en route to mainland
Japan in 1945.