Tachikawa Ki-74

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The Tachikawa Ki-74 was a failed attempt to design an ultra long range bomber capable of bombing the mainland USA. With a range of 8000 km it could have flown from the northern island of Hokkaido to targets like San Francisco which is 7700 km away. But how would it return home? Why would you waste an aircraft and crew for a measly 1000 kg bomb load?

It is likely that the B-29 bases in the Marianas Islands would have been more suitable targets. Plans were underway to use the Ki-74 against these bases when the war ended.

Japanese aircraft manufacturers never succeeded in bringing an effective long range heavy bomber into production. There were many projects like the Nakajima G10N Fugaku with 6 engines and the one design that might have succeeded, the Nakajima G8N Renzan was just short of reaching operational status when the project was cancelled 2 months before the end of the war due to critical shortage of materials.

Another case of what might have been

Darryl
 
All of the pictures here are of the Ki-74-I except one. The -I had a shorter cabin that housed the pilot and co-pilot in a tandem seating arrangement. The -II had a redesigned cockpit that was the more conventional side by side seating arrangement. That picture is the one with wings removed with the two Americans(?) standing in front of it. I believe both planes (certainly the -I) featured a pressurized crew compartment.

Wind Swords
 
Good point,Wind Swords.
I hesitated to tell because of my respect to you but the Ki-74-II was not realized as the war was over.
The picture you pointed out looks like a variant of Ki-74-I which was modified for the communication flight between Japan and Germany as Mark Ya. We call it "Ya-go". She was not used as Germany lost the war before it flew.
 
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