The Kawasaki Ki-48 was a Japanese twin-engine light bomber that was used during World War II. Its Allied reporting name was "Lily".
The development of the aircraft began at the end of 1937 at the request of the Japanese military high command. Kawasaki received an order to develop a "high-speed bomber" capable of 480 km/h (300 mph) at 3,000 m (9,840 ft), and able to reach 5,000 m (16,400 ft) within 10 minutes. It was inspired by the Soviet Tupolev SB.
The aircraft served in China from late 1940, replacing the Kawasaki Ki-32, and were widely used in the Philippines, Malaya, Burma, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the Dutch East Indies, where the Ki-48 Ia and Ib models, slow and badly armed, were supplemented by the marginally improved Ki-48 IIa and IIc, which were maintained in service along the older types until the end of the war.
The fact that all models continued in service until 1945 reflects that many KI-48s survived more often than not. This was due to the use of small ship formations (3 - 10 aircraft) escorted by large numbers of fighters (25 - 75), typically KI-43's. Though not as fast as more modern fighters, after 1942 the plane was still quick enabling it to often avoid interception.
