Micubiši Ki 51 Guntei [Sonia]

Mitsubishi Ki-51
三菱 / Guntei / Sonia
九九式襲撃機 / Kjukjushiki shugekiki / Army assault aircraft of the type 99


Brief history:

- 大日本帝国陸軍航空本部 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun Kōkū Hombu (command of the imperial army air force) in 1937 pinned to the established practice, that at the time of the adoption of the new aircraft in the arsenal of the commissioned immediately the development of a new aircraft in the same category. Such a system, if worked, yield the advantage that in a time when just to the equipment adopted by the aircraft began a performance lag, was already prepared his successor, who could be put into production and assigned to a loadout.
- In 1937 he was [and subsequently adopted in the arsenal of the light bomber Mitsubishi Ki-30 (Ann), its mass production and subsequent supply to army units began in early spring of the following year. In 1938 he was in the arsenal of the adopted competitive aircraft Kawasaki Ki-32 (Mary).
- At that time (from February 1938) already in the company 三菱重工業株式会社 - Mitsubishi Jūkōgyō Kabushiki Kaisha (hereinafter referred to as Mitsubishi) worked with a team of designers on a new project light bomber, this project received from the army designation of Ki-51 (designation according to the system Kitai has been allocated already planned project).
- Specifications that the army air force requested a new aircraft, assembled already at the end of 1937, an experienced army pilot and engineer captain Yozo Fujita. These technical requirements are directly transmitted to the factory Mitsubishi based in Nagoya. Rikugun Kōkū Hombu trying to save time so that the team of designers, who just finished work on the Ki-30, could almost without interruption continue on the proposal for a new more powerful machines.
- According to the specified requirements of the army air force was supposed to be new aircraft be able to carry out battle tasks and tasks of the direct support of ground units. Designers, therefore, from the very beginning of the work on the project counted with an effective passive protection. Design and construction work continued very fast forward and so was the first prototype is completed and then also [already in June 1939.
- The resulting piece was a low-wing fairly curvy shapes with a fixed gear. This chassis supplied this aircraft is somewhat outdated in appearance, but the retractable landing gear, however, Rikugun Kōkū Hombu or not require. Using a fixed chassis will certainly accelerate the development of the aeroplane and in addition, the aircraft was simpler to operate. New aircraft thanks to the rigid chassis had no logic, no problems with the hydraulics (these problems were at the japanese planes very common). Unlike most japanese aircraft had a new plane very good passive protection, the lower part of the hull to protect the steel plate thick 6 mm. Compared to its predecessor (Ki-30) was smaller and the aerodynamics of the plane was at a much higher level, the test pilots of the agility of the new machine compared even to single-digit jets.
- In August 1939 the tests involved the second prototype and from September to December of this year were factory delivered eleven pre-series aircraft. In these aircraft were disposed of minor childhood illnesses, and improved stability when flying at low speed. The aircraft from the beginning seemed like a very good design.
- After the end of military trials was adopted into service under the designation "army battle aircraft Type 99" or Mitsubishi Ki-51.
- Aircraft in this category were the japanese army air force the highly anticipated and sought after, the first deliveries were made already in January 1940. In contrast, the last aircraft were delivered in march 1944!!! The first place of the combat deployment was the chinese battlefield, the aircraft quickly gained a significant popularity not only with pilots and airport staff, but also for ground units. The new aircraft was very often used for direct support of the troops. On this battlefield, he allied intelligence service assigned also code name Sonia.
- Success has helped spawn next to the already mentioned passive protection also bigger hlavňová weaponry, that has been compared to the older Ann double, Sonia was in the wings of the two machine guns Type 89 the caliber of 7.7 mm and the aircraft later production date then got even more efficient half-inch scale machine guns Ho-103. The designers completely dropped the bomb bay, and so to all the cougars were carried by the only on the external hinges, most often, they were hanged, four bombs weighing 50 kg.
- New aircraft of their performances does not exceed its predecessor, powered it about the same powerful engine Mitsubishi Ha-26-II on the take-off power 940 hp, yet it was his use value is disproportionately higher. Sonia has done on all the battlefields of the good work and if in addition operate there, where there was no enemy fighter force sufficiently numerous and strong, then fully has been sufficient to their tasks. In the second part of the war there were aircraft Ki-51 increasingly being given the exploratory tasks.
- It is a relatively little-known fact that several dozen cars were involved and to patrol against american submarines. This task with the Ki-51 have performed great and meritorious service to the destruction of many american submarines, which represented a great danger not only for the japanese freight shipping, but for even warships. Perhaps the most famous of the japanese army protiponorkovým ace was Hiko Socha (rtn.) Chikara Watanabe of the alleged eleven submerged submarines, which had to its credit, these submarines destroyed just on the Ki-51.
- Production lasted until the end of march 1944, when he was made the last of 2 385 aircraft of this type.
- The end of the war planes were also deployed in suicide missions, for this task were under the fuselage hung one puma weighing 250 kg and the aircraft took flight with only one man of the crew.
- Further development of the aeroplane took place in the parent factory, she tried to about him, the manchu factory 満州国飛行機製造株式会社 - Manshūkoku Hikōki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha, which in cooperation with the army arsenal in Tachikawě 陸軍航空技術研究所 - Tachikawa Rikugun Kōkū Gijutsō Kenkyujō (Rikugun, Giken), designed the airplane Manshu Ki-71 Edna, the new aircraft had a retractable landing gear and a more powerful engine Mitsubishi Ha-112-II (1 500 hp), the overall performances, however, increased so fundamentally, in order to be worthwhile to introduce another type into production. The heir remained produced in only three prototypes..

Photos Of The Mitsubishi Ki-51 Sonia.

On the photos - Start the engine using an external source
and the view of the front part of the aircraft
Source: http://www.ijaafphotos.com/jbwki492.htm.

sources:
René J. Francillon Ph. d., Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, USA, Reprinted 1990, ISBN:0-87021-313-X
Mondey, David-The Hamlyn Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II, Book Sales Publisher, 2002, ISBN:9780785813637
Vaclav Nemecek, Military aircraft 3 part, the second supplemented edition, Our Troops, Prague 1992, ISBN 80-206-0117-1
Zbyněk War, single-engine bomber and torpedo aircraft 1939-1945, Jan Piskiewicz, Větrovany, 2003, ISBN 80-83768-01-5
Martin Ferkl, anti-Submarine ace of Chikara Watanabe, Revi no. 56/2004, ISSN 1211-0744
avia.russian.ee
http://www.go2war2.nl/artikel/170
http://www.cofe.ru/avia/M/M-151.htm
http://www.airwar.ru/enc/aww2/ki51.html
www.century-of-flight.net
www.historyofwar.org
http://samoloty.webd.pl/japonskie/sonya.htm
archives of the author.

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