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3 unusual facts about Mitsubishi Ki-21


Mitsubishi Ki-21

The 3rd, 12th, 60th and 98th Air Groups, based in French Indochina, struck British and Australian targets in Thailand and Malaya, bombing Alor Star, Sungai Petani and Butterworth under escort by Nakajima Ki-27 and Ki-43 fighters.

One of the noted operations was an attack on the Allied-held Yontan airfield and Kadena airfield on the night of 24 May 1945.

Mitsubishi Shinten

Initially Ha-6 Shintens were to be installed on Mitsubishi Ki-21 bomber aircraft, but it was decided to use a competing engine, the Nakajima Ha-5 instead.


Karigane

Mitsubishi Ki-15 Karigane, a Japanese military plane of the 1930s and 1940s

Mitsubishi Ki-1

Militarized into the Junkers K37 by Junker's Swedish subsidiary AB Flygindustri at Limhamn near Malmö, it was able to reach altitudes not reachable for the fighters of 1927.

Mitsubishi Ki-15

A number of abandoned Ki-15s were captured near Harbin in June 1946, and by 1948, they were completely repaired and entered service as trainers.

The aircraft proved useful in the early period of the Second Sino-Japanese War and performed missions deep into Chinese strategic rear areas, as far as reaching Lanzhou.

Mitsubishi Ki-2

Militarized into the Junkers K37 by Junker's Swedish subsidiary AB Flygindustri at Limhamn near Malmö in Sweden, it was able to reach altitudes not reachable for the fighter aircraft of 1927.

Mitsubishi Ki-20

During World War II, the Japanese originally intended to utilize the Ki-20s to attack the forts at the entrance to Manila Bay in the Philippines and for deep penetration missions into Siberia.

Mitsubishi Ki-51

However, it performed a useful ground-attack role in the China-Burma-India theater, notably from airfields too rough for many other aircraft.


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