Wild_Bill_Kelso
Senior Master Sergeant
- 3,231
- Mar 18, 2022
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HiBurma
Losses 14 March - 11 April 1943
RAF fighter units claimed 23 confirmed and 20 probable victories.
Actual JAAF losses were 9 planes - 5 x Ki-48, 3 x Ki-21, 1 x Ki-36. no Ki-43s were lost, except the forced landing caused by the B-24.
(they also lost 4 x Ki-43 in late February)
The JAAF overclaimed to an incredible extent, claiming 416 aircraft destroyed, which the author notes is more aircraft than the RAF had in the Bengal area.
Actual RAF losses to fighters were 17 x Hurricanes, 1 x Mohawk IV, 2 x Blenheims, 1 x Beaufighter (I couldn't figure out what unit). Which is still pretty bad.
On 21 April the 50th Sentai mixed it up with the USAAF 51st FG, shooting down 2 x P-40Ks, but losing 2 x Ki-43s
On 1 May 4 x Ki-43s from 64th Sentai intercepted 8 x B-24s from the 492nd BS. In the extraordinary engagement that followed, Sgt Miyoshi Watanabe used up all his ammunition on one B-24, which was damaged but not going down yet, meanwhile his own aircraft was damaged and vibrating, so he intentionally rammed it, cutting off the tail turret with his prop! Watanabe was then able to nurse his Ki-43-II back to base. The B-24 fell out of formation and was finished off by two other Ki-43s. The crew were captured. This will not be the last ramming attack!
On 6 May another extraordinary combat took place when Lt Hirao Yukimoto intercepted a Lockheed F-4, which he damaged an engine on, before his 'cannon' jammed, but he still managed to force the P-38 / F-4 to crash land in a rice paddy, and the pilot was captured. This would not be the last P-38 caught by Ki-43s! Yukimoto's fame was short lived though, as he was killed by B-24 gunners on 11 May.
There was a big raid against the Americans on 15 May, with both 64 and 50 Sentai joining to escort 30 x Ki-48. They claimed 9 x P-40Ks but none were actually lost, the JAAF lost 4 x Ki-43s, including 3rd Chutai leader Lt Takeshi Endo.
On 21 May they attacked the British, 30 x Ki-43 did a fighter sweep and destroyed 2 x Hurricanes from 79 sqn and 1 x Blenheim from 11 Sqn for no loss.
Losses 9 September 1942 - 29 May 1943
64th Sentai lost 19 Ki-43s and 15 pilots, while 50th Sentai lost 16 Ki-4s and 11 pilots (35 Ki -43 total)
RAF lost 36 x Hurricanes to Ki-43s with 25 pilots killed, 5 x Mohawk IVs, 1 x Beaufighter, 1 x Wellington, 5 x Blenheim IVs, 1 Hudson to Ki-43s (41 fighters and 8 bombers total)
USAAF lost 3 x P-40s, 2 x B-25, 1 x B-24, and 1 x F-4 /P-38 to Ki-43s (3 fighters, 3 bombers and 1 recon plane total)
Observations: The JAAF pilots were going out of their way to kill Allied pilots in their parachutes, in some cases colliding with chutes in their zeal. They also kept trying to do ramming attacks which cost at least 3 JAAF pilots their lives, and were taking heavy damage, (though not that many lost planes yet), to B-24 and B-25 gunners.
Overclaiming by the JAAF was so extreme here that it was certainly going to be a strategic problem vis a vis planning etc., if they believed them.
In the next period the P-38G, P-51A and Spitfire V arrive...
(I know these loss periods overlap, I'm just quoting the sections from the book)
All volumes of Bloody Shambles cover elements of the air war in 1942.
Bloody Shambles Vol 1 Air war in SE Asia from Dec 1941 to Fall of Singapore in Feb 1942
Bloody Shambles Vol 2 Defence of Sumatra to Fall of Burma Feb-May 1942
Bloody Shambles Vol 3 The rest of the war in South East Asia June 1942 to Aug 1945.
You're confusing two stage supercharging with two speed supercharging, or the author of your reference is. There were no B-17s captured in the CBI. If there was one used for practice, it would have had to be on of the three captured in the Philippines or Java, which given the time frame is highly doubtful.So the book is broken down into three sections - Burma (and a little bit in India), China, and "The Green Hell" of New Guinea. I have read through (rather hastily) the first two sections and already found some surprising revelations. I'll break this down by section, so starting with Burma.
Burma
Fighter opposition faced: Brewster "Buffalo" F2A, P-40B, Hurricane I, Mohawk IV, Hurricane IIC, P-40E, P-51A, Spitfire Mk V, P-38, P-40K, Spitfire VIII, P-51B, P-47, P-51D
Bombers faced: Blenheim, Hudson, B-25, B-24, Beaufighter, Mosquito
This part starts with a section on the fighting in Malaya etc., which I'm not going to get into except to note that the early Ki-43-1a (armed with two 7.7mm mg) and the Ki-43b (armed with one 7.7 and one 12.7mm mg) were having some teething problems with structural strength, cracks and wrinkles in the wings, premature detonation of 'cannon' (12.7mm) ammunition, and so on. These seem to have been somewhat hastily addressed with repairs and modifications done at depots. Periodically in the book he breaks down losses on both sides for a specific date range, allegedly these are checked against Allied records though obviously we should double check.
Burma - Early Phase
In Burma, the book focuses largely in the 64th Sentai, equivalent to a Fighter Group. In addition there was also 11th and 50th Sentai. In the begginning they had Ki-27s, these were quickly replaced by Ki-43s, of which seem to have been using mostly Ki-43-1b and Ki-43-1c, with a few left over Ki-27s. There were also some other JAAF units in the area flying K-45 and later Ki-44.
One thing I was told repeatedly in other threads, was that the reason the vague rumor about K-43s dominating Hurricanes was extant, was that Hurricanes in the China / Burma region were being used exclusively for ground attack, so they were being caught low and slow, and so this was the reason for the heavy losses they suffered. This does not appear to be the case. From 1942-late 1943, several Hurricane units were being used to fly escort for Blenheims and Hudsons, and were used to try to intercept Ki-21, Ki-48 and Ki-49 bombers which were escorted by Ki-43 fighters. This cannot have been a fun duty for the RAF. They finally replaced the Hurricanes with Spitfire V in later 1943.
Hurricane mentioned in Burma in this period included 17 Squadron RAF and 136 squadron RAF
AVG was flying mostly P-40B with new P-40E coming in.
RAF bomber units mentioned included 60 RAF (Blenheim IV), 62 RAF (Hudsons), 113 Sqn (Blenheim IV)
US 436 Bomber Squadron was flying B-17s
Dec 11 1941 - 7 March 1942 -
Japanese losses 28 x Ki-27 and 2 x Ki-43 and 26 pilots
Allied losses 7 Buffaloes, 4 Hurricanes, 9 P-40s, and 12 pilots
By early March 64th Sentai had mostly Ki-43s, but they were still suffering in engagements with the AVG. For example on 8 April, 64th Sentai neglected to put top cover over a strafing attack and were attacked by nine AVG P-40E and 4 x Hurricanes, losing four Ki-43s with their pilots, including a squadron leader, for no losses on the Allied side. On 10 April, the 64th attacked again, and were detected by radar or early warning. 9 x Ki-43-1c engaged with 4 x 17 Sqn Hurricanes and 4 x AVG P-40E. The 64th lost 2 more Ki-43s, with one badly damaged, for 1 Hurricane. On 28 April, the 64th was escorting Ki-21s on a raid to Loiwing and lost 2 more Ki-43s to AVG P-40Es. On 4 May they shot down one AVG P-40E.
Losses March - June 1942
Japanese 64th Sentai lost 11 Ki43s and 10 pilots, all but one to AVG P-40s (the one was shot down by defensive fire from a Blenheim).
Allied lost 1 x P-40E, 6 x Hurricanes, 2 x Hudson, 1 x Blenheim, and 1 x B-17E
There was a lull in combat during Monsoon season, which then resumed in September 1942.
In this period RAF fighter units included 135 Sqn (Hurricane), 136 Sqn (Hurricane), 607 Sqn (Hurricane), 615 Sqn (Hurricane IIC), 155 Sqn (Mohwak IV)
RAF bomber units included 113 Sqn (Blenheim IV), 60 Sqn (Blenheim IV), 62 Sqn (Hudson)
US fighter units included the (former AVG) 23rd FG and 51st FG, both with P-40E and P-40K
US bomber units included B-24s (I couldn't figure out what unit)
The 64th Sentai was at this time re-equipping with Ki-43-IIC (twin 12.7mm mg, better self sealing tanks and 13mm pilot armor, two stage supercharger, shorter wings, 3 blade prop, bomb racks, better exhaust stacks, 140 gallons more fuel) but also had Ki-43-1c
The 50th and 1st Sentai were also active, requipped from Ki-27 to Ki-43-Ib
The 64th had a captured B-17 that they practiced attacking.
RAF bomber units were suffering badly. For example, on 9 September they lost three Blenheims and one Hudson, with one more of each badly damaged. Then on Oct 14 they lost six Blenheims on another raid. These seemed to be without any escort.
Later they were being escorted by Mohawk IV, (possibly because these had better range than the Hurricane). The Mohawks did surprisingly well, in one engagement Mohawks of 155 Sqn were escorting 8 x Blenheims from 60 and 113 Sqn that were trying to bomb a troop transport ship. One Ki-43 was lost and two Mohawks, but no bombers. The author notes that "both JAAF and RAF pilots felt that the Curtiss fighter was almost as maneuverable as the Ki-43". In a second engagement the same day, 9 x Ki-43 engaged 4 x Mohawk IV escorting 11 Blenheim IVs, One Ki-43 was destroyed in a collision with a Mohawk (which survived to fly home), 2 Blenheims were destroyed by Ki-43s and one by flak. On 5 December they clashed again, with 1 Mohawk IV and one Ki-43 destroyed.
Hurricane units got into combat mainly while intercepting escorted bomber strikes, in which Ki-43s from 64th Sentai were escorting Ki-21 and Ki-51. It wasn't going well. On 15 Dec they tried to intercept a bomber raid over Chittagong, losing 2 Hurricanes to 64 Sentai, then on the same day 2 more to 50th Sentai, with one Ki-43 lost. No bombers hit in either attempt.
64th Sentai also destroyed their first B-24 on 26 November. 50th Sentai claimed four B-24s in January, but these were only damaged (with Ki-43s damaged in return). This would become an escalating conflict between the two types!
Toward the end of this period in December 1942 64th Sentai rotated out to Japan to finish reequipping with Ki-43-IIC, and 50th Sentai held the line.
Losses Dec 1942- February 1943
50th Sentai claimed 40 enemy fighters, for 3 losses. Allied records show 5 x Hurricanes and 2 x P-40s lost. Both sides were overclaiming very heavily.
That is enough for now, this is only the beginning!
HiAnyway to continue
BURMA
Dec 1943 starts with raids into India, with a mission on 5 Dec that combined IJAAF Ki-43s and IJN A6Ms escorting Ki-21 bombers against Calcutta. They were intercepted by Hurricane IIs (units not indicated) who lost 6 x Hurricanes for 1 x Ki-21 destroyed. On 10 Dec another 684 PR Mosquito was intercepted and shot up, and appeared to be surrendering (white cloth in window) when it crashed. Much of the fighting before the end of the year shifted to bomber strikes in northern China. 50th, 64th and 204th Sentai were active. By this time they had received Ki-43-IIc which had new external fuel tank braces that cost a loss in speed of 15 mph, which did not please the pilots. They also had poor radios. It was not until August that they got the new and improved Ki-43-III with 20mm cannon and improved exhaust stacks, and a more robust engine, among other boons. Other units would convert to the Ki-84 around the same time. It was at this time that some of the RAF fighter units finally started transitioning from the hapless Hurricane II to Spitfire Mk V and some of the much better Mk VIII. The IJAAF pilots were intimidated by the Spitfire, which showed much better climb performance than any other Allied fighters in the Theater, but they seem to have held their own after some initial problems.
RAF Fighter units: 136 RAF (Spitfire*), 607 RAF (Spitfire*), 81 RAF (Spitfire*), 20 Sqn RAF (Hurricane IID), 211 Sqn RAF (Beaufighters)
IAF Fighter units: 6 Sqn IAF (Hurricane**)
RAF Bomber units: 159 Sqn (Liberator III), 215 RAF Wellington, 335 Sqn Liberator III, + other bomber units I couldn't yet identify.
RAF Recon units: 684 Sqn PR (Mosquito)
USAAF Fighter units: 51 FG (P-40K and N), 80th FG (P-40N), 459 FS (P-38G and P-38J), 311 FBG (P-51A), 530 FBS (P-51A)
USAAF Bomber units: 490th BS (B-25s), 9th BS (B-24Js), 492 BS** (B-24Js), 493 BS** (B-24J), 308 BG (B-24J)
USAAF Recon: 9th photographic squadron (light) (F-4)
USAAF Transport: Air Transport Command, Troop Carrier Command C-46, C-47, C-87 (cargo version of B-24)
* Spitfires seem to have mostly been Spitfire Vc, but some Spitfire VIII were also in Theater.
** I assume IAF was flying Hurricane II but the book doesn't say. The Wiki says Hurricane IIb.
There were apparently some P-51B and some P-47s flying in this Burma / India area by mid 1944 but I could not determine which units. If i do figure it out I'll come back and edit this post.
The IJAAF was tangling with the British during the IJA invasion of India. On 14 Jan in three engagements with Spitfire units 64th Sentai lost 4 Ki-43s, shooting down only 1 IAF Hurricane. On 4-5 Feb 64th and 204 Sentai shot down 1 x Spitfire and 4 x Hurricanes with no losses. On 21 Feb they engaged with 136 Sqn RAF and 6 Sqn IAF and shot down 2 x Spitfires and 1 x Hurricane for no loss. Meanwhile 50th Sentai was engaging the Americans, claiming 2 x P-51A on 14 Feb.
Losses February 1944.
RAF / IAF lost 4 x Spitfires, 10 x Hurricanes
USAAF lost 2 x P-51A, 1 x C-47
On 1 March Hayabusa pilots proved once again they could make fairly effective night fighters, when with the aid of ground based search lights, they downed two Liberator IIIs from RAF 159 Sqn during a night attack. Ki-43s were also being used as fighter bombers at this point. On 7 March 1944 64th and 204th Sentais sent 40 (50 kg) bomb laden Ki-43s against the RAF base "Broadway". They shot down one 81 Sqn Spitfire that scrambled, another one, flown by Aussie Ace Larry Cronin, evaded all attacks and shot down an "Oscar". On 16 March during U-Go, 34 Ki-43-IIs from 50th, 64th and 204th Sentai attacked airfields around Imphal, engaging Spitfires from 136 Sqn. One Ki-43 was seriously damaged, pilot wounded, but managed to make it home.
Losses March 1944
USAAF claimed 177 JAAF planes destroyed.
Actual losses were 14 x Ki-43s, 2 x Ki-46, 1 x Ki-48, and 9 x Ki-49 (the latter all shot down by P-51s in one raid). Plus 30 more aircraft destroyed on the ground by bombers.
Allied losses wee 4 x P-51A, 3 x P-38, 3 x Spitfire, 2 x B-24, 1 x P-40, 1 x Hurricane, and 1 x Beaufighter all directly shot down by Ki-43s.
April continued to be bloody. On 2nd 15 x Ki-43s were destroyed on the ground in a bombing raid. On 17 April 50 x Hayabusa from all threeSentai were escorting Ki-21 bombers to Imphal and were intercepted by ten P-51A and 20 Spitfires, losing 4. On 25 April another big escort mission for Ki-48s ran into some C-47s being escorted by Spitfires from 81 Sqn. For once, the JAAF underclaimed, believing they got two transports, losing 1 x Ki-43. Troop Carrier command reported 5 x C-47s lost.
In May and June 64 Sentai clashed several times with USAAF P-38s before being withdrawn to Saigon for refit with the new Ki-43-IIIs. In one engagement on 6 June, a Ki-43 II pilot rammed a P-38 (buzzed the rudder with his prop) and took it down. Same pilot was later shot down by Spitfires. 50 and 204 Sentai continued to fight with the Allied units into the Monsoon season. At this time (May and June) they engaged with USAAF P-47s, claiming several victories. I couldn't figure out which unit this was or how many, if any of the victories were real. The 50th Sentai also shot down some B-25s.
Quotes:
Cpl Toswhimi Ikezawa (12 victory Ace) "When a "Spit" attacked from below, we would dive to attack it. When the enemy noticed that, he'd lower his nose, then zoom right up in no time, far above us. The Spitfires were so much better than our Ki-43s."
Cpl Masahiro Ikeda "A shorter takeoff run was one of Model III's benefits. it could also maintain full throttle combat power for 40 minutes. if I'd done that for only 30 minutes with the Model II, I'd have had an earful from the mechanics. he model II just couldn't handle that kind of load. Pitted against the Ki-44 and the new Ki-84, the Model III made the best start."
"Ki-43 was poorly armed, poorly protected, slow, fragile, and maybe of shoddy construction."
The described a/c is probably the Ki-44?By the time they started producing the Ki-43 III, with even more power ,1500 hp, two fifties, and even wing 20 mms, and even some with 40mm in the wings.
Oops, I did go too high on the hp. The Ki-43-III had 1230 hp, but a few experimental ones had 1300hp.The described a/c is probably the Ki-44?