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Study of the Bf109 in Japan led to the design of the formidable Ki-61 Hein.
No, it didn't!
To William Green:
The only Japanese fighter powered by a liquid-cooked engine to see operational sevice, the Kawasaki KI.61 Hien (Swallow), was mistakenly believed to be a licence-built version of the Messeschmitt Bf 109, when it was first encountered by the Allies over New Guinea, in April 1943. In fact the design of the Hien was influenced in no way by the Messerschmitt fighter, the first prototype having flown six months before the arrival in Japan of an example of the Bf 109 from Germany.
It was though "exhaustively tested in mock-combat with the Bf 109E and captured examples of the P-40E, and were generally consideredd by the japanse to be superior to both German and American fighters in nearly all respects".
Man I'm going to have to have more nay sayers on that one ..It may have not been a "licence-built" ..But the Japanese were sure the rip off king of other countrys designs at that time...And the DB German motor ..Is sure its on animal..Theres a Japanese two seat (or maybe three) seat bomber that used the motor too..Forgot the name of the plane..And there's the carcass of one out here in Arizona..It sure looks to be a DB German nock off..
Other than the engine, the Ki-61 is a totally different animal. The engine basically is a DB-601A engine which Japan successfully negotiated with Germany . The Japanese version of this engine is designated the Ha-40. The aircraft shows the strong influence in engine engineering from that of Dr Vogt on his Japanese pupils. For those that don't know Dr Richard Vogt he was a German engineer who became the Chief Designer for Blohm and Voss.
Later the Japanese engineering team made a more powerful engine called the Ha-140 but due to lack of skilled workers the Ha-140 very rarely gave full power. Also the crank shaft was found to be weak and the engine also suffered from teething troubles. Matters for the aircraft got worse when on 19 January 1945 the US Air force destroyed the Akashi engine plant.
Also note the placement of the radiator for the cooling of the engine which is center line compared to the Messerschmitt which is in the wings of the aircraft. Also the landing gear which show that they retract toward the fuselage unlike the Messershmitt that retracts towards the wing tips. Then there is the canopy. Bf-109 opens to the side while the Ki-61 slides backwards. There are more differences but those are the quick ones to identify.
In short if you start to break down the Ki-61 and the Bf-109 they are totally different aircraft except for the engine.
Top one is from the book of the squadron signal He 112 and the Dc-2 from the book Japanese aircraft by Rene J Francillon
Is it me or does it appear that the props on the Japanese DC-3 appear bent?