In 1932, Rikugun Koku Hombu adopted a simpler system of marking aircraft with KITAI. Newly produced military aircraft were assigned the airframe number Ki-xx. These numbers were also retroactively assigned to older machines that were already in active service.
The simplified designation was intended both to conceal the aircraft manufacturer and to streamline the execution of production programs.
The Kitai system was intended to replace the type numbers only at the time of the start of serial production, but gradually it was found that their use would also make development more transparent, and so the Ki-xx designation was introduced and assigned to prototypes and projects.
Western literature prefers and uses the Kitai system, so in order to be able to use the Ki-xx designations here I have created overview tables with links to the aircraft described on our valka.cz
An analogue of the Kitai system for gliders is the Guraida system Ku- xx designation, and for rotary-wing aircraft the Kazaguruma Ka-xx [baa]Ka-xx designation was used.
The simplified designation was intended both to conceal the aircraft manufacturer and to streamline the execution of production programs.
The Kitai system was intended to replace the type numbers only at the time of the start of serial production, but gradually it was found that their use would also make development more transparent, and so the Ki-xx designation was introduced and assigned to prototypes and projects.
Western literature prefers and uses the Kitai system, so in order to be able to use the Ki-xx designations here I have created overview tables with links to the aircraft described on our valka.cz
An analogue of the Kitai system for gliders is the Guraida system Ku- xx designation, and for rotary-wing aircraft the Kazaguruma Ka-xx [baa]Ka-xx designation was used.