WOW264 Kawasaki Ki-100 ‘Battle for Japan’

Description

The Kawasaki Ki-100 is a fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in World War II. It combined excellent power and manoeuvrability, and although its high-altitude performance against USAAF Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers was limited by the lack of an efficient supercharger, it performed better than most other IJAAF fighters.

Operational missions began in March 1945. From the first engagements, the

Ki-100 performed well against the B-29 and showed itself to be equally effective against U.S. Navy carrier fighters. A new variant, the Ki-100-Ib, was produced during the last weeks of the war in time to equip five sentai for home defence duties.

The Ki-100 made its combat debut on the night of 9 March 1945 and suffered its first loss on 7 April 1945, when a Ki-100 flown by Master Sergeant Yasuo Hiema of the 18th Sentai was shot down by a B-29 after “attacking the formation again and again”. Allied aircrews soon realised that they were facing a formidable new fighter Although far fewer Ki-100s were available than the Ki-84s, it was considered one of the most important fighters in the inventory. However, during interception of the high-flying B-29s (the B-29 raids soon became low-level missions) the new Japanese fighters struggled as the Ha-112-II engine’s performance decreased at high altitudes. The most effective way to attack the Superfortress was by making very dangerous head-on attacks, with the fighter hanging its approach path as it neared the bomber. A failure while attempting this was deadly, because of the concentration of defensive fire from the bombers.

Our 1/30 scale variant is painted in late war defence of Japan colour scheme and is one of only 2 models available.

Please note that this plane comes with a FREE MAT006. The rather excellent figures shown are a mix of Thomas Gunn and K&C and are shown for scale purposes only.

Priced at $499 plus $100 shipping via Fedex or similar courier.