Kawasaki Ki-60

Kawasaki · Japan · first flew 1941 · fighter

The Kawasaki Ki-60 was a Japanese single-seat interceptor prototype of 1941, designed around the Daimler-Benz DB 601 liquid-cooled engine imported from Germany.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	Slender fuselage with liquid-cooled in-line engine and prominent nose radiator
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

Slender fuselage with liquid-cooled in-line engine and prominent nose radiator
Narrow-chord tapered wing set well back on fuselage
Enclosed cockpit with framed canopy and spatted undercarriage

The long, slim nose housing the liquid-cooled engine with a pronounced chin radiator distinguishes the Ki-60 from the radial-engined contemporaries that dominated Japanese fighter development at the time.

Specifications

The Kawasaki Ki-60 has a length of 8.47 m (28 ft).
It has a wingspan of 10.5 m (34 ft).
Its maximum speed is 560 km/h (348 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Kawasaki's Takeo Doi designed the Ki-60 as a high-altitude interceptor with a slim, aerodynamically refined airframe to exploit the powerful in-line engine. Three prototypes were evaluated from March 1941 but the type proved inferior to the Ki-61 in overall performance, and the programme was abandoned after testing.

Variants

Only three prototypes were built; no production variants reached service.

Where you'll see it

The Ki-60 never entered operational service; its development informed the successful Ki-61 Hien, which used the same engine family in a refined airframe.

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