KI AIRCRAFT.44 IS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE NEW GENERATION OF JAPANESE FIGHTERS, ABSORBED THE EXPERIENCE OF AIR COMBAT IN CHINA AND KHALKIN-GOL. IT WAS A TYPICAL INTERCEPTOR, WHICH WAS BASED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH-SPEED FLIGHT. THE IDEA THAT MANEUVERABILITY WAS NOT EVERYTHING WAS GRADUALLY MAKING ITS WAY TO JAPAN. KI'S STORY.44 BEGAN IN 1939, WHEN THE AIR FORCE HEADQUARTERS OF THE JAPANESE ARMY "KOKU HOMBU" GAVE THE COMPANY NAKAJIMA TASK TO DESIGN A SPECIALIZED INTERCEPTOR AIRCRAFT. THE MAIN REQUIREMENT WAS A HIGH SPEED FLIGHT - NOT LESS THAN 600 KM/H AND CLIMB TIME 5000 M NO MORE THAN 5 MINUTES. FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DESIGN OF THE NEW MACHINE TOOK A TEAM LED BY T. KOYAMA. THE MAIN CONDITION FOR SUCCESS HE BELIEVED THE AVAILABILITY OF A POWERFUL A RELIABLE ENGINE COMBINED WITH GLIDER A NEW TYPE OF. AS THE POWER PLANT WAS CHOSEN 14-CYLINDER STAR-SHAPED MOTOR HA.41 (1250 HP) - BULKY, BUT VERY POWERFUL FOR ITS TIME. UNDER THIS ENGINE DESIGNED A SURPRISINGLY COMPACT ALL-METAL GLIDER, WHICH ABSORBED ALL THE LATEST TRENDS IN THE WORLD OF AIRCRAFT: WORKING WING AND FUSELAGE SKIN, RETRACTABLE LANDING GEAR, CLOSED COCKPIT WITH A CIRCULAR VIEW LAMP (FOR THAT PERIOD IN GENERAL A RARITY), VISH-MACHINE. THE AIRCRAFT HAD AN UNUSUALLY SMALL WING, WHICH LED TO A SPECIFIC LOAD ON THE AREA - 187,5 KG/M2. TO IMPROVE THE BEARING PROPERTIES OF SUCH A WING AT LOW SPEEDS, IT WAS EQUIPPED WITH SHIELDS THAT COULD DEVIATE NOT ONLY DURING TAKEOFF AND LANDING, BUT ALSO DURING AIR COMBAT, WHICH ALLOWED THE AIRCRAFT TO PERFORM STEEPER TURNS. ACCORDING TO THE INITIAL TASK, THE FIGHTER HAD TO BE ARMED WITH TWO 7.69-MM MACHINE GUNS TYPE 89 MODEL 2, INSTALLED IN THE FUSELAGE, AND TWO LARGE-CALIBER (12.7 MM) MACHINE GUNS HO.103, PLACED IN THE WING. IN AUGUST 1940, THE CHIEF PILOT NAKAJIMA - HAYASHI FIRST RAISED IN THE AIR EXPERIENCED KI.44. HOWEVER, BEFORE THE PLANNED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS QUITE FAR: THE SPEED DID NOT EXCEED 550 KM/H, AND CLIMB TOOK ABOUT 6 MINUTES. AND THIS WAS NOT SURPRISING, SINCE THE REAL PLANE WAS 15% HEAVIER THAN PLANNED.
