So many people fail to fully grasp just how functional this design feature was, and how it was meant to be employed during combat. The designers knew that the bombers would likely have fighter escorts. So the plan was to come screaming in at high speed, and to let loose with the overwhelming firepower on the bombers. It was expected that by the second bomber pass, the escorts would have had enough time to form up on their invader. This is where that backerds engine comes in. Just as the invader started taking fire from the escorts, the backerds engine would be employed to quickly reverse the direction of flight. Since the escorts can't go backerds, they would go zooming past the invader without putting any shots on target, and now they're in front of the invader. Now the invader pilot switches back to the front engine. Now he has the bomber AND the escorts in his sites and shoots them all down. (My 5 year old grandson explained all the finer details to me.)
Literally 3 nations designed an aircraft of this configuration. Netherlands and their Fokker XXIII Hungary, and the RMI-8 X/V Márton Japan, and the Ki-94 So yes, it is probably something a lot of people have "dreamt up"
@@johnreed9435 Ah, a fellow modeler enjoying the work of this channel I see! Personally I don't like to build models of prototypes and rather stick with aircraft that saw operational service as a participant nation between 1935 and 1975. While I like the general fare of aircraft that were most common as combat, support, transport or training aircraft during a conflict I really favor the more obscure types. I really like the aircraft that had absolutely no business serving in any capacity during wartime! Still there have been times when I've been seriously tempted to build prototypes. Some of the coolest designs I've seen just never went into operational history for one reason or another. If I expanded my collection to include all of those now, even within the constraints of those years though, I'd need to rent or buy a separate home or small business front to display all of my built models!
Judging by our american history museums past record, if it wasnt felt worthy of preservation, it went to the scrapper for the korean war scrap metal drives. Our military museums have a sad history of doing this .
At the very outset of the occupation insurgency was a concern of our brass as war crimes tribunals were a concern of much of their brass. So we did what we could to make that less tempting including making incomplete work of the trials. From what I gather we dug ditches, filled them with their aircraft and burned then buried the temptation.
The quoted fate of the Ki94-II sounds very like what befell a bunch of Axis (and some Allied) stuff that had been tested and then stored at Freeman Field and elsewhere for what is now NASM. Much of the storage space these aircraft occupied was requisitioned during the Korean War, and much was sadly scrapped, with a few aircraft escaping to other collections (eg. the Ki84 Hayate, which was rescued by Ed Maloney and is today in a museum in Japan; it was probably already the last Hayate when Ed acquired it, and certainly is now). The Ki94 would have been considered of negligible historic significance. Most of a G4M "Betty" was scrapped during the 50s, and several others were disposed of. I'd hazard a guess that's why the 94 was around, then wasn't...
0:34 The Arrow bro just call it the Arrow Also fascinating video as always. Yeah you don't hear much about Japan close to the end of the war, but from what little I do know, they were going to really suprise us if we had tried an invasion of the home islands.
Ed, I know that you can write knowledgeably on multiple military topics. That said, I am a great fan of these videos on the lesser-known backwaters and dark alleys of military technology.
Warplanes with 6-bladed propellers were extremely rare during WWII, the only other example I could think of other than the Ki-94-II was the J7W-I Shinden prototype. While having enough thrust output to match early turbojets, 6-bladed propellers would've produced so much torque, vibration and noise that it would prematurely wear the engines in service. I don't think the Japanese aeronautics research made any study on different propeller tips like the later, post-war XF-84H Thunderscreech, otherwise they would've made a much simpler 3-bladed propeller that literally produces mini-sonic booms every full revolution. Can't believe only today I found out that Tachikawa made crazy planes on par with the Germans. Neat, obscure stuff as always!
One problem the Nippers had was they went to war against the country that they could steal the most tech from. They definitely made up for it under Emperor Dugout Doug
@@brucewelty7684 Also, they went to war with a country that never had it's industries bombed (except for the odd submarine raid.) Uninterrupted production counts for a lot.
I might not be here if these came out…. Dad had enough trouble with the zeros, tonys, flak and R3350s. These planes may have been taken to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.
Ed you really are the best at this sort of thing,no one goes into such detail as you on airplane's🛩....As a former Navy pilot l do love such detail🤠.....l thank you for it and all of your excellent research👍👀
Good to see Japanese Army representation. Everybody online seems hyperfocused on how out of date the Zero was by the end of the war they forgot that the IJN's greatest enemy also had aircraft.
Luv it when you delve into little known aircraft, protoypes! The Mitsubishi A7M, 2200 hp, combat flaps, might have given the Allies headaches, at least on a small scale. Almost as big as a P47, much lighter. Nothing would have saved Japan, but their ingenuity was quite interesting.
Eh, their pilots were pretty much noobs at the time. The vast majority of Japan's elite pilots were long dead. Japan, like Germany depended on the war being short, and neither could sustain a long-term war.
The second version of this aircraft had it met its performance expectations could have been a huge pain in the ass as this would have matched the performance of everything from the Merlin engine Mustang to the p-47n thunderbolt and the F4U -4 Corsair This might have put a pause on the b-29 raids until something like the Boeing F8B the p82 twin Mustang had entered service it could have also prolonged the war for another couple of years because enola gay and boxcar would have been shut down before they reached their intended targets
Any new high performance aircraft would not put a pause on the B29 bombing. The USAAF was intent on Japan destruction. Japans ability to produce aircraft in any numbers, train pilots, find fuel and even feed themselves though would have been an issue to getting much of a result from any new aircraft.
Ed, depending how you Feel about it you may wish to File this for future reference: The Geman word Pfeil (arrow) is pronounced (depending on regional accent) as 'file/phial' with a soft inflection at the end, or as 'feel' with emphasis on the 'ee' , short L.
Pusher prop planes all were subject to over heating, Dual counter rotating propellers was a deep hole everyone fell into. Returns were more limited and research lasted well into the jet age
This brings up more questions for me. I was born on the FEAMCOM air base in Tachikawa in 1951, my dad was U.S. Air force. I didn't realize that there was a Tachikawa aircraft company. Was it located in Tachikawa?? Interesting history. I wish I had been more interested in this stuff while my folks were still alive. Thanks for posting this .
According to tachihi co jp /company /history, the Ishikawajima company of Tokyo moved its manufacturing to Tachikawa in 1930 before changing its name to Tachikawa Aircraft Co., Ltd. in 1936.
I'd love to see them modeled on 3d computer to see what their flight characteristics might have been. I'd also love to see some super rich people build a couple to see what they would have done.
ironic that while the Japanese were working hard to build a high altitude interceptor the Americans were resorting to low level bombing in order to improve accuracy.
General Curtis LeMay switched from low-level bombing to high-level saturation bombing because of the extreme losses inflicted upon the American Air Forces during the second World War. That's the reason the Japanese wanted to develop high-altitude fighter planes to deal with the American threat.
IF it made it stateside, was tested, and was sent to a museum, it was most likely set aside for the National Museum of the United States Air Force, then yet to be built at Wright-Patterson AFB. This means that, most likely, the Ki-94II would have been crated up with all the other aircraft (many of which were WWII captures, and the sole surviving examples left in the world) set aside for the NMUSAF and stored in Chicago at O'Hare Airport. This is a tragedy. When things started getting hot in Korea, and with the Soviet Union, O'Hare was expanded dramatically to enable it to serve as an ad-hoc air base in event of emergency. Thus, they needed space. All those crates, full of near-extinct aircraft, were in the way, so, instead of having them loaded on rail cars and removed, some mental giant decided to bulldoze them flat and build the airport expansion on top of them. So, IF the Ki-94II rumors are true, that's most likely where she met her fate.
Yes, although it wouldn't enter service until after the end of the second world war. It did fly in anger during the Korean War though, initially as a ground attacker and artillery spotter and later as an escort fighter. A flight of Sea Furies even shot down a MiG-15 which is an interesting story in itself; the Royal Navy attributed the kill to the officer in charge of the flight while later interviews with the other pilots involved claim it was a group effort and a different pilot who scored the killing blow, while the officer in charge just strafed a sandbank on the way back to make it look like he fired his guns at the MiG.
This was quite interesting - I hadn't heard of the Ki-94. Do you have a video about the J7W1 Shinden ? I have a Hasegawa Model of it - It sure would have been dangerous to B-29's but flew the day after Hiroshima first flight.
1 weird point about the shiden...it flew and was designed to do the same mission (bomber intercept/high altitude heavy fighter) and yet still the Japanese tried 3 designs (probably more as I'm picking right off the top of my head) for the same job wasting resources...also...the Shiden had designs drawn up for a jet version to be made in the near future (never got passed the paper obviously lol) also there is video on you tube showing the shiden being wheeled out and a take off and landing of it...grainy as hell but you do get to see just how big of a plane it is
@@rongray8416 Indeed there were more high altitude interceptor designs and prototypes, for example: J6K1, A7M3-J, Ki-83 and Ki-93. Overall it's a good thing they tasked multiple design teams try out their best, so they could pick the best performing type from actually working prototypes. Other countries also had similarly overlapping designs going on, even in service, althouigh Japan usually gets to the top thanks to army and navy friendship. In practically all cases they ran into insurmountable problems with turbocharging systems, which simply couldn't be improved with their available metallurgy.
@@rongray8416 My dad said the women and teens had dug an underground assembly plant for J2Ms somewhere near Osaka and it was being stocked just at the surrender. So I guess J2Ms with the 14 cylinder Kasai sporting either a 3 speed centrifugal supercharger or a 2 stage turbo into centrifugal supercharger would be the way they'd go The "Jack" also came with 4 ea. 20 mm cannons.. Probably comparatively low velocity that would best do their task up close and personal . . . Some of the surviving Naval aces of the 343rd liked to go earthward shooting up the pressurized pilot cabin and twisting to the opposite side of the fuselage behind the wing so the top turret wouldn't get a shot as they went by. Sounds dangerously desperate but doable . . . with skill and practice. I'm thinking some of those ramming passes might've been timing missteps at this tactic.
@@icewaterslim7260 Interesting tactics I never knew granted I have never met a bomber crewman from the Japanese theatre of the war so my loss there, All the pilots both fighter and bomber I had a chance to meet were European theatre, Except for Gregory "Pappy" Boyington and the Japanese ace who shot him down Masajiro "Mike" Kawato (though theres some questions of if he really did or not) still both were awesome to talk to but that the extent of it, still oddball planes are my thing and the shiden is a long long time favorite😁
I figured the Germans, *being German,* would have addressed this on the DO-335. FROM WIKIPEDIA: _"The presence of the rear pusher propeller also mandated the provision for an ejection seat for safe escape from a damaged aircraft, and designing the rear propeller and dorsal fin mounts to use explosive bolts to jettison them before an ejection was attempted - as well as twin canopy jettison levers, one per side[3] located to either side of the forward cockpit interior just below the sills of the five-panel windscreen's sides, to jettison the canopy from atop the cockpit before ejection."_
@@Matt_from_Florida While that's true for the Pfeil, the Japanese were notably less interested in pilot safety. No armor plate or self-sealing fuel tanks on the Zero or the Betty, and you can bet, no rear-prop jettison for this contraption.
It's 'pfeil', pronounced 'file', I think. It means 'arrow'. Or you could call it the name the flight crews gave it due to its long honker: the 'amiesenbar', which means 'anteater'!
@@benlaskowski357 Not much fun, we were told about Stihl's future goals, spent half a day overseeing the chainsaw factory in Waiblingen, next day we went to see the guide bar factory, and were told about Stihl's history, and the next day we went to Switzerland to see the saw chain factory. And some mountains. And in the evenings we had something good to eat and drink, especially the last evening. It was in fact very interesting, but we weren't alloved to take photos.
I am a lay person in this area. However... giant bombers flattening your country? Running out of raw materials? You need something fast? Build a Mosquito with more armor. Just take 2 of the best motor's you have already. Slap a bigger turbosupercharger on each of them to give them the altitude requirements. Stick them in the sleekest, simplest design you can imagine. Build it out of wood - if you can swing it. Stick four cannon and a bunch of armor around the cockpit and engines? Presto - fling them at the B-29's. It's gotta be better than existing fighters that wheeze and struggle to even get to the B-29's combat altitude. Or developing silly experimental models that have NO realistic chance of ever entering service before the Emperor's palace has been obliterated. Seems common sense to me. Thank you again, Edward. ☮
Push pull configuration was the best way to pack more power without increasing drag, when more powerful engines were not available, in order to increase speed. . So it is not surprising that several designers went for it. The issue was the poor cooling of the back engine and the weight of the aircraft. Weight reduces maneuverability. It was not so important for an interceptor, supposed to shoot down bombers , but was for a fighter supposed to fight other fighters.
@@chefchaudard3580 Fokker was doing a lot of testing and designing many different engine configurations for that fighter. The Fokker G1 was an exelent dogfighter even outmatching Me 109s in dogfights. The fokker D23 was a full blown stream lined version of the G1 as singel seat fighter . And was designed with Rolls Royes Merlins and Merceded engines in mind . Even with some gnome rhone engines . pushing the aircraft to 624 km /hr in 1939. Even with the walter sagita engines they provided 570 Km/hr . Sadly that plane was still in development in may 1940. th-cam.com/video/ZmP5Y9cPUW8/w-d-xo.html
If we want to go the "what if" route, they'd be going up against Bearcats and Tigercats which were already in production. the Ki-94 was cool, but Japan was woefully behind the power curve on aircraft and powerplant development - granted, mostly due to immense economical and materials impacts from the war.
"Behind the curve on aircraft and powerplant development"? The Ki-83 fighter. 430 mph. 2200 mile range. Ceiling over 40,000 ft. 2 x 2200 hp engines. Maneuverability equal to the best single engine fighters. Doesn't sound too far behind the curve to me. Could have made dog food out of the Grumman cats.
I looked it up and as suspected the Tachikawa Company was located at what became Tachikawa AFB in Tachikawa, a suburb of Tokyo. Tokyo was firebombed during the war with much destruction, allowing the Americans to seize many facilities in the Tokyo area for their own use, including Tachikawa. A large military hospital was built there and took in a lot of wounded from the Korean and Vietnam wars. It was the scene of a crash of a C-124 Globemaster in 1953, loaded with troops mostly on R&R in Tokyo, headed back to S. Korea, for a while the air crash with the most casualties. When the USAF tried to expand length of the airfield to take in jet aircraft, it was scene of large bloody riots, opposition sponsored by local farmers and the Socialist Party of Japan. I was an American air force brat in Tokyo in the 70s and though not stationed there, often went there to use the hospital or base exchange (store). The Japanese govt put pressure on the Americans to give up much of the land it held in the Tokyo area. When I was there the air field was already closed down and in fact there was a tower built outside the base along the flight line courtesy of the Japanese Socialists to make it even less useful, operations moved to nearby Yokota AFB which was/is long enough for jets. The hospital was shut down while I was there and in fact I was able to walk through it as a large abandoned building, somewhat creepy. It was mostly being used as a housing base, the 'Tachi kids' were our little league rivals and it was an odd base in that there was an opening in the fence where you could walk into Bamboo Village (?), an off-base area and suburb of Tokyo that had a lot of Americans living in it. It was turned over to the Japanese Self-Defense forces and converted into an Emergency Response facility as well as Showa Park and some commercial buildings.
Thanks Skip, I always thought Tachikawa AFB was Just big Base with an Olympic size swimming pool. FEAMCOM AFB was on the east side of Ry 1-19. I was an USAF Brat and my father was on a B-29/50 Crew with the 6091SRS at Yokota AFB 1954-57; As a 12-15 year old I enjoyed all the Teenage Clubs and swimming pools at all the bases the Security Bus System would take me. My 4 years in the USAF were not so glamorous : Bolling AFB DC...when planes still flew in there.
@@leonardcanter4596 very interesting, Thank You! It takes me back to my AFBrat life and it's always nice meeting another brat and talking about where they've lived.
@@skipperson4077 Dad was with the 37th Cavalry during WW2, island hopping in the South Pacific, When the USAF formed in Sep 1947 he enlisted: went to Chanute AFB, IL then Davis-Monthan AFB for trying. We were there too. !948 was Randolph AFB, TX, Loredo AFB, TX, and Chatham AFB, (nos Savannah-Hilton Head Intl Airport), GA. 1949-54 Hunter AFB, GA, (SAC, 49th Bomb SQ B-50's), 1951 He did a 6 month TDY with his crew at McClellan AFB, Sacramento, CA (Did the last half of the school year at North Sacramento Elementary school), 1954-57 Yokota AFB Japan, B-29's & B-50's (SAC-6091 SRS), First year HS at Narimasu, Grant Heights , Japan -over an hour bus ride back then) !957-59 Biggs AFB, TX, He was on a B-36 Crew (SAC), until the USAF stopped flying B-36's. His B-36 is in the SAC Museum, Ashland, NE today...A couple years ago I got to climb inside and look around. 1959 He went to Wakkanai, Japan-while my mother & I went to Columbus, OH. Dad returned after 1 year to Wright-Patterson AFB, OH and flew in a test outfit as War Defense Operator on B-52's. He Retired from the USAF in 1964 - I enlisted 1961 and was sent to HQ Command, Bolling AFB, DC (Not Glamorous). Dad worked for Dyna-Electron in Ton Son Nhut AB, VietNam 1966-67. I went with the FAA as anAir Traffic Control Specialist, later Supv/Mgr.....OH, AK, PR, GA, AK, PR, FL., (43 years), then 6 years with Lockheed-Martin doting the same thing, followed by 11/2 years working at Orlando's Disneyworld. As an Air Force Brat I was used to moving every 2-4 years and it carried over into adulthood. It's got it's good and bad qualities/memories if you can deal with it. Wouldn't trade my 80 year od life for anything else..
@@leonardcanter4596 Very cool, thanks for relating this. My dad was from Iowa, attended the Naval Academy but went Air Force (prior to the AFA). He wanted to be a pilot but the Air Force, seeing he had an EE degree decided to put him in charge of an AP dog team(!!) in Wheelus AFB Tripoli Libya where I was born. With an EE and a security clearance his next stop was a Titan II missile silo at Little Rock AFB. Somehow he talked the AF into sending him to SMU in Dallas for a Masters in History and he then taught history for 4 years at the AFAcademy. He was offered a job at the small history office at Ton Son Nhut, MACV HQ, one year assignment but it was Vietnamization end of the war, got rotated out before his year was up, avoiding the long-arm of SAC, ended up in PACAF, next stop Tokyo Japan where he liasoned with the Japanese 'self-defense forces, in 4 years we lived at Fuchu, Kanto Mura, and Yokota.' After that Wheeler and Hickam AFB in Hawaii. He retired and worked at Cal Maritime in Vallejo and Army Corp of Engineers in SF. I'm glad I lived the mobile life for at least awhile but felt like I'd done 18 years by the time I was 18, didn't go back in although some of my friends did and retired early. I'd love to see that B-36 and it's crazy to think the B-52 is still flying. I've read ATC is one of the most stressful jobs out there, no margin for error. Thank You and Your Dad for your service!!
Likewise, for your father's service.. Sounded awesome. In Ton Son Nhut; Dad worked on the Gatling guns for C-47's, He passed away at 81 in 2003. My Son was USAF working on C-123's and changed to the Army as Crew Chief on an Army Kingair until they contracted them out in 1986-87. Then he went to the 101st Airborne-Assualt in chafe of a Howitzer crew for awhile. He did a tour on Fire Base Charlie in Korea while I was working at San Juan, PR Airport. He called from the operations at Tadhikawa that he was trying to get a Military Hop to Ohio for a 2 week leave and the flight just took him from Korea-Tachi, and he got bumped off. I called AA and got him a ticket departing Narita in about 6 hours. Called him back with the info and told him what I remember about walking to the Tachikawa Train Station, etc. He made to the flight on time-they saw his uniform and upgraded him to first class, but when he got in his seat he just slept for the flight. After Korea, he went to Kuwait/Iraq, (Desert Shield/Storm). His SF Team was on the south side of Mogadishu, Somalia when the stuff hit the fan over there. He retired from Ft Riley, KS and has a farm near Abilene, KS.. lenjcanter@aol.com is a good address, if you'd rather not use You-Tube. One of my grandson's was an USMC Sgt, did a Afghanistan Tour...got out after 5 years and joined the Army Res, kept his rank; Did TDYs in Japan, Australia, & Syria...now he's out of the Army and is a Lt with the FD at Cherry Point, NC. I 'm just retired in Northern CA trying to play some of the old Rockabilly & Surf on a guitar, gardening, and doing family things.
It's interesting how the best piston engined aircraft ever produced came right at the end of the war but were just as piston engines were being superseded by the jet engine.
they designed em, when jets were seen as unpractical future dreaming…so, imagine if jets would have failed. we would have seen aircraft like in crimson skies
The last generation of piston engined aircraft is a fascinating subject but only one reached operational status and produced in large numbers -- the P51H -- which for some reason were given to the reserves instead of the active force after the war. The German aircraft only saw some combat because the airwar was fought over Germany. Neither the TA-152 or DO 335 were produced in numbers. They would be considered operational test aircraft today. The Germans probably would have been better off putting their limited resources into the TA 152 instead of the M 262.
Did those sources list the mounted or planned armour protection in either model? For now I've encountered Ki-94-II in four books, but sadly none list any of it. I would suppose it's the same as in Ki-87, though I cannot know if protection was indeed specified by the army in their request.
You right about the file part, but the P is spoken, german language does not put silent letters on the beginning of words. Mile with the M replaced by Pf is the best description.
@@sim.frischh9781 What I meant is it's a very clipped 'p', not like 'per-file' in how it's pronounced. It's a bit like the the end of the English word 'Humph'. I do speak German, having lived in Wiesbaden and Osnabrueck wyhan my Father was stationed there.
I've heard historians lament about the loss of information in Japan at the end of the war due to military and government basically burning every document they could find before the surrender. Was this plane spared the torching of plans, or do we know all this in spite of the attempted purge?
I highly doubt that because the only reason there are two flying zeros today is because apparently a Japanese engineer hid a set of plans at his house and it was discovered in the 1990s allowing some restoration groups 2 remanufactured critical parts to put the planes in the air.
@@tarstakars Well, that's what I'm curious about. Was Ed's information sourced from something hidden in an attic, or were they so busy burning blueprints for the Zero that they hadn't yet gotten to these documents before the occupation started?
@@johnladuke6475 there's a museum here in California called the planes of Fame that has an operational zero and when you go there they have an entire story about how this engineer had the plans at his house. he was still alive at the time the plans were released to the public and then when the plane was finished he actually was brought to California so he could sit in it. the problem they ran into was that the plans were in something called technical Japanese and from what I understood from the presentation there were only one or two people left alive who could actually translate that into English and this guy was one of them. that was the presentation I saw at this Museum now this was a number of years ago I might have a couple of the details incorrect but that being said there's a Flying zero at the planes of Fame Museum 1 of 2. From what I understand the second zero has its original Sakai engine.
You leave the impression that the Arrow saw active service. This is in fact not correct, the nearest it got was to be chased by a P51 while on test. It showed the P51 a very clean set of heals. There is no doubt that if they had managed to get it into service it would have been a headache for the Allies as it is said to have been able to out preform the Miskito which at that time was considered the fastest piston aircraft in the world
The generation of Fighters are talking about where the penultimate piston engine fighters, a few saw Service most only existed as prototypes The ultimate piston engined Fighters had performance rivaling that of the early Jets. They never got past the early design stage
Of course the Americans took it, they took everything of value from the Axis powers. That is what victors do. But a great video Ed, really enjoyed it. Cheers
An odd question lives in the back of my head. Is the pusher prop receiving enough of a boosted airspeed from the front puller prop to have a more aggressive pitch to take advantage of it? Or maybe higher rpm? I suppose it would depend a lot on length, shape, and laminar flow of the fuselage.
I suspect you've answered your own question, though I dont know I must admit. The complexity of mixed prop drives must have been a nightmare to figure out. Plenty tried, but not many were any good.
I do get tired of hearing about some of the German wonder weapons such as the Ta 152 and Dornier 335 . Best data available for each is none too impressive , Ta 152 maybe 7 victories and 4 losses , 335 no combat recorded and maybe 15 aircraft delivered to a combat unit. If a song and dance is to be made for those two planes , lets make comparisons to what they may have been up against on the allied side ignoring Jets. The Mustang P-51H , Supermarine Spiteful , DH-Hornet , Hawker Fury. etc.
IF it was shipped back to America for evaluation and testing it almost certainly would have gone to Wright Field and there should be some documentation in the archives for some diligent researcher to dig out.
'Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana' . . . . . As a native Sherwood time fly, I find this acceptable. : )
I was rolling around thinking that Mr. Nash was gonna go Groucho on us, but his Pfffft was also entertaining.
The Ki-94 looks like the plane every child has dreamt up of, specifically with the ingenious purpose of being able to fly in both directions
It was indeed designed by Dr Doolittle San for that very purpose.
For parallel parking.
So many people fail to fully grasp just how functional this design feature was, and how it was meant to be employed during combat.
The designers knew that the bombers would likely have fighter escorts. So the plan was to come screaming in at high speed, and to let loose with the overwhelming firepower on the bombers. It was expected that by the second bomber pass, the escorts would have had enough time to form up on their invader. This is where that backerds engine comes in. Just as the invader started taking fire from the escorts, the backerds engine would be employed to quickly reverse the direction of flight. Since the escorts can't go backerds, they would go zooming past the invader without putting any shots on target, and now they're in front of the invader. Now the invader pilot switches back to the front engine. Now he has the bomber AND the escorts in his sites and shoots them all down.
(My 5 year old grandson explained all the finer details to me.)
Literally 3 nations designed an aircraft of this configuration.
Netherlands and their Fokker XXIII
Hungary, and the RMI-8 X/V Márton
Japan, and the Ki-94
So yes, it is probably something a lot of people have "dreamt up"
These would be excellent for model kits .
RS Models made one in 1/72. I was lucky enough to find a Ki-94II. Unicraft makes a I model
@@johnreed9435 Ah, a fellow modeler enjoying the work of this channel I see! Personally I don't like to build models of prototypes and rather stick with aircraft that saw operational service as a participant nation between 1935 and 1975.
While I like the general fare of aircraft that were most common as combat, support, transport or training aircraft during a conflict I really favor the more obscure types. I really like the aircraft that had absolutely no business serving in any capacity during wartime!
Still there have been times when I've been seriously tempted to build prototypes. Some of the coolest designs I've seen just never went into operational history for one reason or another. If I expanded my collection to include all of those now, even within the constraints of those years though, I'd need to rent or buy a separate home or small business front to display all of my built models!
Some people have built beautiful RC versions of this airplane:
th-cam.com/video/Peu-utoyHbI/w-d-xo.html
@@SolarWebsite Thanks for sharing it was neat seeing it actually fly; Even if in miniature! 😉
Judging by our american history museums past record, if it wasnt felt worthy of preservation, it went to the scrapper for the korean war scrap metal drives. Our military museums have a sad history of doing this .
At the very outset of the occupation insurgency was a concern of our brass as war crimes tribunals were a concern of much of their brass. So we did what we could to make that less tempting including making incomplete work of the trials. From what I gather we dug ditches, filled them with their aircraft and burned then buried the temptation.
The quoted fate of the Ki94-II sounds very like what befell a bunch of Axis (and some Allied) stuff that had been tested and then stored at Freeman Field and elsewhere for what is now NASM. Much of the storage space these aircraft occupied was requisitioned during the Korean War, and much was sadly scrapped, with a few aircraft escaping to other collections (eg. the Ki84 Hayate, which was rescued by Ed Maloney and is today in a museum in Japan; it was probably already the last Hayate when Ed acquired it, and certainly is now). The Ki94 would have been considered of negligible historic significance. Most of a G4M "Betty" was scrapped during the 50s, and several others were disposed of. I'd hazard a guess that's why the 94 was around, then wasn't...
Excellent! Please do the Kyushu Shinden - love the incredibly advanced look of that plane! ( and it did actually fly!)
You can pronunciate the "eil" part of Pfeil like the "Ile" from mile. Anyway great hearing about those rare Japanese Late war fighters
Wrong. It is pronounced PFFFFFFFFFFFF.
Ed was correct.
@@CaptainLumpyDog Pffff to that
To many in Germany, the puzzling thing is that Chobbledocker seems to be pronounced 'vichser'
@@Farweasel I’m sure there’s a funny joke there, but I seem to have missed it!
Don’t worry, Ed. With a bit of pronunciation practice, you’ll soon get the pfeil of it
@@sapiotone Nice.
0:34 The Arrow bro just call it the Arrow
Also fascinating video as always. Yeah you don't hear much about Japan close to the end of the war, but from what little I do know, they were going to really suprise us if we had tried an invasion of the home islands.
easy : file
The surprise was on them.
Just add a „p“ to „feil“. Almost perfect Pfeil. Greetings from Germany!@@mikehoare6093
Ed, I know that you can write knowledgeably on multiple military topics. That said, I am a great fan of these videos on the lesser-known backwaters and dark alleys of military technology.
The Ki-94-I looks like a combination of the Do-335 and the P-38 Lightning. Interesting plane. Would be cool to see it come to War Thunder.
Or like a bigger Fokker D.XXIII.
@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 Or perhaps a SAAB 21, Moskalyev SAM-13
Or perhaps if it ever really existed a Marton XV-01
It looks tiny in comparison to the 335. I saw it in person, and it is huge in comparison to most fighters of that period.
@@burnttoast111
Definitely, they make a P-47 seem small. Split the difference between a Lightning and a Mosquito in terms of size (for the -335).
Actualy looks more like the Fokker D23 Prototype fighter.
th-cam.com/video/ZmP5Y9cPUW8/w-d-xo.html
Warplanes with 6-bladed propellers were extremely rare during WWII, the only other example I could think of other than the Ki-94-II was the J7W-I Shinden prototype. While having enough thrust output to match early turbojets, 6-bladed propellers would've produced so much torque, vibration and noise that it would prematurely wear the engines in service. I don't think the Japanese aeronautics research made any study on different propeller tips like the later, post-war XF-84H Thunderscreech, otherwise they would've made a much simpler 3-bladed propeller that literally produces mini-sonic booms every full revolution.
Can't believe only today I found out that Tachikawa made crazy planes on par with the Germans. Neat, obscure stuff as always!
One problem the Nippers had was they went to war against the country that they could steal the most tech from. They definitely made up for it under Emperor Dugout Doug
@@brucewelty7684 Also, they went to war with a country that never had it's industries bombed (except for the odd submarine raid.) Uninterrupted production counts for a lot.
@@brucewelty7684 kido talking !!
Ki-93 had also 6 blade props
Thank-you for your continued coverage of obscure aircraft!
If you take requests, please do a video on the Nakajima Kikka.
I might not be here if these came out…. Dad had enough trouble with the zeros, tonys, flak and R3350s. These planes may have been taken to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.
I just call it the Dornier Boris, it's close enough to one of BoJo's many middle names for me.
So it's pronounced 'tosser' then?
Yes! The Dornier Pfeffel!
Thank you Ed for another well researched and entertaining video on an aircraft almost forgotten in time.
Another wonderful video, thank you, Ed!
Ed you really are the best at this sort of thing,no one goes into such detail as you on airplane's🛩....As a former Navy pilot l do love such detail🤠.....l thank you for it and all of your excellent research👍👀
Same configuration for the Ki-94 1 as the Fokker D23 !
Good to see Japanese Army representation. Everybody online seems hyperfocused on how out of date the Zero was by the end of the war they forgot that the IJN's greatest enemy also had aircraft.
Lots of japanese aircraft I want to do :)
Great work Sir thank you
Luv it when you delve into little known aircraft, protoypes! The Mitsubishi A7M, 2200 hp, combat flaps, might have given the Allies headaches, at least on a small scale. Almost as big as a P47, much lighter. Nothing would have saved Japan, but their ingenuity was quite interesting.
Eh, their pilots were pretty much noobs at the time. The vast majority of Japan's elite pilots were long dead. Japan, like Germany depended on the war being short, and neither could sustain a long-term war.
Loving your videos, keep up the good work!
The second version of this aircraft had it met its performance expectations could have been a huge pain in the ass as this would have matched the performance of everything from the Merlin engine Mustang to the p-47n thunderbolt and the F4U -4 Corsair
This might have put a pause on the b-29 raids until something like the Boeing F8B the p82 twin Mustang had entered service it could have also prolonged the war for another couple of years because enola gay and boxcar would have been shut down before they reached their intended targets
Any new high performance aircraft would not put a pause on the B29 bombing. The USAAF was intent on Japan destruction. Japans ability to produce aircraft in any numbers, train pilots, find fuel and even feed themselves though would have been an issue to getting much of a result from any new aircraft.
Ed, depending how you Feel about it you may wish to File this for future reference:
The Geman word Pfeil (arrow) is pronounced (depending on regional accent) as 'file/phial' with a soft inflection at the end, or as 'feel' with emphasis on the 'ee' , short L.
It sounds litterally as you read "file" in English. The "P" is almost mute. But was very fun :D
Awesome video as always!
Thankfully Ed never says "Luftwaffle," as is the case in another channel!
Same
Pusher prop planes all were subject to over heating, Dual counter rotating propellers was a deep hole everyone fell into. Returns were more limited and research lasted well into the jet age
Hahaha love the pc homicide edited in 👌😎
This brings up more questions for me. I was born on the FEAMCOM air base in Tachikawa in 1951, my dad was U.S. Air force. I didn't realize that there was a Tachikawa aircraft company. Was it located in Tachikawa?? Interesting history. I wish I had been more interested in this stuff while my folks were still alive. Thanks for posting this .
According to tachihi co jp /company /history, the Ishikawajima company of Tokyo moved its manufacturing to Tachikawa in 1930 before changing its name to Tachikawa Aircraft Co., Ltd. in 1936.
I'd love to see them modeled on 3d computer to see what their flight characteristics might have been. I'd also love to see some super rich people build a couple to see what they would have done.
They would have had to deal with the P-51H and the P-80
They would have been at a performance disadvantage and outnumbered
Japans problem was it’s pilot shortage.
ironic that while the Japanese were working hard to build a high altitude interceptor the Americans were resorting to low level bombing in order to improve accuracy.
General Curtis LeMay switched from low-level bombing to high-level saturation bombing because of the extreme losses inflicted upon the American Air Forces during the second World War. That's the reason the Japanese wanted to develop high-altitude fighter planes to deal with the American threat.
IF it made it stateside, was tested, and was sent to a museum, it was most likely set aside for the National Museum of the United States Air Force, then yet to be built at Wright-Patterson AFB. This means that, most likely, the Ki-94II would have been crated up with all the other aircraft (many of which were WWII captures, and the sole surviving examples left in the world) set aside for the NMUSAF and stored in Chicago at O'Hare Airport. This is a tragedy. When things started getting hot in Korea, and with the Soviet Union, O'Hare was expanded dramatically to enable it to serve as an ad-hoc air base in event of emergency. Thus, they needed space. All those crates, full of near-extinct aircraft, were in the way, so, instead of having them loaded on rail cars and removed, some mental giant decided to bulldoze them flat and build the airport expansion on top of them. So, IF the Ki-94II rumors are true, that's most likely where she met her fate.
That's heartbreaking!
@@EdNashsMilitaryMatters You've got that right.
never knew of this thanx for posting this and educating me on this wonderful aeroplane and a huge what if?
Thank you so much for this!
The British had the Hawker Sea Fury and one of the fastest propeller driven plane
Yes, although it wouldn't enter service until after the end of the second world war. It did fly in anger during the Korean War though, initially as a ground attacker and artillery spotter and later as an escort fighter. A flight of Sea Furies even shot down a MiG-15 which is an interesting story in itself; the Royal Navy attributed the kill to the officer in charge of the flight while later interviews with the other pilots involved claim it was a group effort and a different pilot who scored the killing blow, while the officer in charge just strafed a sandbank on the way back to make it look like he fired his guns at the MiG.
@@marmite8959 Where did you read this about the MiG 15 ?
Please send us the link.
This was quite interesting - I hadn't heard of the Ki-94. Do you have a video about the J7W1 Shinden ? I have a Hasegawa Model of it - It sure would have been dangerous to B-29's but flew the day after Hiroshima first flight.
1 weird point about the shiden...it flew and was designed to do the same mission (bomber intercept/high altitude heavy fighter) and yet still the Japanese tried 3 designs (probably more as I'm picking right off the top of my head) for the same job wasting resources...also...the Shiden had designs drawn up for a jet version to be made in the near future (never got passed the paper obviously lol) also there is video on you tube showing the shiden being wheeled out and a take off and landing of it...grainy as hell but you do get to see just how big of a plane it is
@@rongray8416 Indeed there were more high altitude interceptor designs and prototypes, for example: J6K1, A7M3-J, Ki-83 and Ki-93. Overall it's a good thing they tasked multiple design teams try out their best, so they could pick the best performing type from actually working prototypes. Other countries also had similarly overlapping designs going on, even in service, althouigh Japan usually gets to the top thanks to army and navy friendship. In practically all cases they ran into insurmountable problems with turbocharging systems, which simply couldn't be improved with their available metallurgy.
@@rongray8416 My dad said the women and teens had dug an underground assembly plant for J2Ms somewhere near Osaka and it was being stocked just at the surrender. So I guess J2Ms with the 14 cylinder Kasai sporting either a 3 speed centrifugal supercharger or a 2 stage turbo into centrifugal supercharger would be the way they'd go The "Jack" also came with 4 ea. 20 mm cannons.. Probably comparatively low velocity that would best do their task up close and personal . . . Some of the surviving Naval aces of the 343rd liked to go earthward shooting up the pressurized pilot cabin and twisting to the opposite side of the fuselage behind the wing so the top turret wouldn't get a shot as they went by. Sounds dangerously desperate but doable . . . with skill and practice. I'm thinking some of those ramming passes might've been timing missteps at this tactic.
@@icewaterslim7260 Interesting tactics I never knew granted I have never met a bomber crewman from the Japanese theatre of the war so my loss there, All the pilots both fighter and bomber I had a chance to meet were European theatre, Except for Gregory "Pappy" Boyington and the Japanese ace who shot him down Masajiro "Mike" Kawato (though theres some questions of if he really did or not) still both were awesome to talk to but that the extent of it, still oddball planes are my thing and the shiden is a long long time favorite😁
Bailing out of that thing would have been dicey - as in you'd get diced, guaranteed.
I figured the Germans, *being German,* would have addressed this on the DO-335. FROM WIKIPEDIA: _"The presence of the rear pusher propeller also mandated the provision for an ejection seat for safe escape from a damaged aircraft, and designing the rear propeller and dorsal fin mounts to use explosive bolts to jettison them before an ejection was attempted - as well as twin canopy jettison levers, one per side[3] located to either side of the forward cockpit interior just below the sills of the five-panel windscreen's sides, to jettison the canopy from atop the cockpit before ejection."_
Yes, but they were germans, the japanese on the other hand....
@@Matt_from_Florida While that's true for the Pfeil, the Japanese were notably less interested in pilot safety. No armor plate or self-sealing fuel tanks on the Zero or the Betty, and you can bet, no rear-prop jettison for this contraption.
Hey Ed, Pfeil Is The German Word For Arrow, Pronounced File. Great Video As Always!
The Absolute Best Aircraft Design @ 3:25
This would've changed the game and altered history.
The Dornier Pfeil! Is this really so hard to speak out?!?!?!
Great video
Great video !😎
Hayate and Raiden pilots and tacticts were not worse than Me-109 and Me-262. All the islands were covered by B29 remains.
It's 'pfeil', pronounced 'file', I think. It means 'arrow'.
Or you could call it the name the flight crews gave it due to its long honker: the 'amiesenbar', which means 'anteater'!
I was about to suggest calling it Ameisenbär too, but you were first!
@@leifvejby8023 Read it in one of my late dad's books. Say what you will about the Germans, they did have a wry sense of humor.
@@benlaskowski357 They still have, visited the Stihl factories a few years ago.
@@leifvejby8023 Sounds fun! What happened? 😁
@@benlaskowski357 Not much fun, we were told about Stihl's future goals, spent half a day overseeing the chainsaw factory in Waiblingen, next day we went to see the guide bar factory, and were told about Stihl's history, and the next day we went to Switzerland to see the saw chain factory. And some mountains.
And in the evenings we had something good to eat and drink, especially the last evening.
It was in fact very interesting, but we weren't alloved to take photos.
if the planes were made, the japanese had another problem... experienced pilots, you know, with the kamakazi stuff going on...
The experienced pilots escorted the fodder, and were supposed to come back.
@@petesheppard1709 Indeed, the Kamakazi were extremely low hour pilots.
The Magnificent Lightning 1:37 was a cool plane. Sadly it needed a few kinks worked out and by that time the war was over.
Velly good fright enverope..
LOL. Good one.
I am a lay person in this area.
However...
giant bombers flattening your country?
Running out of raw materials?
You need something fast?
Build a Mosquito with more armor.
Just take 2 of the best motor's you have already.
Slap a bigger turbosupercharger on each of them to give them the altitude requirements.
Stick them in the sleekest, simplest design you can imagine.
Build it out of wood - if you can swing it.
Stick four cannon and a bunch of armor around the cockpit and engines?
Presto - fling them at the B-29's.
It's gotta be better than existing fighters that wheeze and struggle to even get to the B-29's combat altitude.
Or developing silly experimental models that have NO realistic chance of ever entering service before the Emperor's palace has been obliterated.
Seems common sense to me.
Thank you again, Edward.
☮
Bomber Command forbid hitting the Emperor's Palace and grounds, just a reminder 👩🔧🇺🇲🛠️🇷🇺
Love the funny stuff in this video
Awesome!
Bit of a Westland Wyvern tail fin there, or just my imagination ?
If you are a fan of round engines and acres of glass... Japanese aircraft fit that bill! Some unusual designs and excellent aircraft...
Just call it the Dornier "Arrow." The two seater was so beautiful ❤️👩🔧🇺🇲🛠️🇷🇺
KI-94 see Fokker D23 1939. for insperation .
Push pull configuration was the best way to pack more power without increasing drag, when more powerful engines were not available, in order to increase speed. .
So it is not surprising that several designers went for it.
The issue was the poor cooling of the back engine and the weight of the aircraft. Weight reduces maneuverability. It was not so important for an interceptor, supposed to shoot down bombers , but was for a fighter supposed to fight other fighters.
@@chefchaudard3580 Fokker was doing a lot of testing and designing many different engine configurations for that fighter. The Fokker G1 was an exelent dogfighter even outmatching Me 109s in dogfights.
The fokker D23 was a full blown stream lined version of the G1 as singel seat fighter . And was designed with Rolls Royes Merlins and Merceded engines in mind . Even with some gnome rhone engines . pushing the aircraft to 624 km /hr in 1939. Even with the walter sagita engines they provided 570 Km/hr .
Sadly that plane was still in development in may 1940.
th-cam.com/video/ZmP5Y9cPUW8/w-d-xo.html
@EdNashsMilitaryMatters >>> 👍👍
so cannons would be in tail booms? interesting
Ki-94-II was also HUGE. I've read it was the largest single seat aircraft of ww2. It looks a bit like an enlarged Ki-84 to some extent
P-47 huge or bigger?
Ki-94-II was bigger
I think you should do some videos on more german aircraft, like th blohm und voss nv 155, or the horton ho 229
If we want to go the "what if" route, they'd be going up against Bearcats and Tigercats which were already in production. the Ki-94 was cool, but Japan was woefully behind the power curve on aircraft and powerplant development - granted, mostly due to immense economical and materials impacts from the war.
Don't forget the P-51H which was in the process of being deployed when the war ended
@@johnshepherd8687 and the J model 👍
@@chriscarbaugh3936 We British also had the Sea Fury and the Hornet on the way.
"Behind the curve on aircraft and powerplant development"?
The Ki-83 fighter.
430 mph.
2200 mile range.
Ceiling over 40,000 ft.
2 x 2200 hp engines.
Maneuverability equal to the best single engine fighters.
Doesn't sound too far behind the curve to me. Could have made dog food out of the Grumman cats.
@@mikearmstrong8483 Actually USAAF/USN tests clocked it at some 473-mph.
I looked it up and as suspected the Tachikawa Company was located at what became Tachikawa AFB in Tachikawa, a suburb of Tokyo. Tokyo was firebombed during the war with much destruction, allowing the Americans to seize many facilities in the Tokyo area for their own use, including Tachikawa. A large military hospital was built there and took in a lot of wounded from the Korean and Vietnam wars. It was the scene of a crash of a C-124 Globemaster in 1953, loaded with troops mostly on R&R in Tokyo, headed back to S. Korea, for a while the air crash with the most casualties. When the USAF tried to expand length of the airfield to take in jet aircraft, it was scene of large bloody riots, opposition sponsored by local farmers and the Socialist Party of Japan. I was an American air force brat in Tokyo in the 70s and though not stationed there, often went there to use the hospital or base exchange (store). The Japanese govt put pressure on the Americans to give up much of the land it held in the Tokyo area. When I was there the air field was already closed down and in fact there was a tower built outside the base along the flight line courtesy of the Japanese Socialists to make it even less useful, operations moved to nearby Yokota AFB which was/is long enough for jets. The hospital was shut down while I was there and in fact I was able to walk through it as a large abandoned building, somewhat creepy. It was mostly being used as a housing base, the 'Tachi kids' were our little league rivals and it was an odd base in that there was an opening in the fence where you could walk into Bamboo Village (?), an off-base area and suburb of Tokyo that had a lot of Americans living in it. It was turned over to the Japanese Self-Defense forces and converted into an Emergency Response facility as well as Showa Park and some commercial buildings.
Thanks Skip, I always thought Tachikawa AFB was Just big Base with an Olympic size swimming pool. FEAMCOM AFB was on the east side of Ry 1-19. I was an USAF Brat and my father was on a B-29/50 Crew with the 6091SRS at Yokota AFB 1954-57; As a 12-15 year old I enjoyed all the Teenage Clubs and swimming pools at all the bases the Security Bus System would take me. My 4 years in the USAF were not so glamorous : Bolling AFB DC...when planes still flew in there.
@@leonardcanter4596 very interesting, Thank You! It takes me back to my AFBrat life and it's always nice meeting another brat and talking about where they've lived.
@@skipperson4077 Dad was with the 37th Cavalry during WW2, island hopping in the South Pacific, When the USAF formed in Sep 1947 he enlisted: went to Chanute AFB, IL then Davis-Monthan AFB for trying. We were there too. !948 was Randolph AFB, TX, Loredo AFB, TX, and Chatham AFB, (nos Savannah-Hilton Head Intl Airport), GA. 1949-54 Hunter AFB, GA, (SAC, 49th Bomb SQ B-50's), 1951 He did a 6 month TDY with his crew at McClellan AFB, Sacramento, CA (Did the last half of the school year at North Sacramento Elementary school), 1954-57 Yokota AFB Japan, B-29's & B-50's (SAC-6091 SRS), First year HS at Narimasu, Grant Heights , Japan -over an hour bus ride back then) !957-59 Biggs AFB, TX, He was on a B-36 Crew (SAC), until the USAF stopped flying B-36's. His B-36 is in the SAC Museum, Ashland, NE today...A couple years ago I got to climb inside and look around. 1959 He went to Wakkanai, Japan-while my mother & I went to Columbus, OH. Dad returned after 1 year to Wright-Patterson AFB, OH and flew in a test outfit as War Defense Operator on B-52's. He Retired from the USAF in 1964 - I enlisted 1961 and was sent to HQ Command, Bolling AFB, DC (Not Glamorous). Dad worked for Dyna-Electron in Ton Son Nhut AB, VietNam 1966-67. I went with the FAA as anAir Traffic Control Specialist, later Supv/Mgr.....OH, AK, PR, GA, AK, PR, FL., (43 years), then 6 years with Lockheed-Martin doting the same thing, followed by 11/2 years working at Orlando's Disneyworld. As an Air Force Brat I was used to moving every 2-4 years and it carried over into adulthood. It's got it's good and bad qualities/memories if you can deal with it. Wouldn't trade my 80 year od life for anything else..
@@leonardcanter4596 Very cool, thanks for relating this. My dad was from Iowa, attended the Naval Academy but went Air Force (prior to the AFA). He wanted to be a pilot but the Air Force, seeing he had an EE degree decided to put him in charge of an AP dog team(!!) in Wheelus AFB Tripoli Libya where I was born. With an EE and a security clearance his next stop was a Titan II missile silo at Little Rock AFB. Somehow he talked the AF into sending him to SMU in Dallas for a Masters in History and he then taught history for 4 years at the AFAcademy. He was offered a job at the small history office at Ton Son Nhut, MACV HQ, one year assignment but it was Vietnamization end of the war, got rotated out before his year was up, avoiding the long-arm of SAC, ended up in PACAF, next stop Tokyo Japan where he liasoned with the Japanese 'self-defense forces, in 4 years we lived at Fuchu, Kanto Mura, and Yokota.' After that Wheeler and Hickam AFB in Hawaii. He retired and worked at Cal Maritime in Vallejo and Army Corp of Engineers in SF. I'm glad I lived the mobile life for at least awhile but felt like I'd done 18 years by the time I was 18, didn't go back in although some of my friends did and retired early. I'd love to see that B-36 and it's crazy to think the B-52 is still flying. I've read ATC is one of the most stressful jobs out there, no margin for error. Thank You and Your Dad for your service!!
Likewise, for your father's service.. Sounded awesome. In Ton Son Nhut; Dad worked on the Gatling guns for C-47's, He passed away at 81 in 2003. My Son was USAF working on C-123's and changed to the Army as Crew Chief on an Army Kingair until they contracted them out in 1986-87. Then he went to the 101st Airborne-Assualt in chafe of a Howitzer crew for awhile. He did a tour on Fire Base Charlie in Korea while I was working at San Juan, PR Airport. He called from the operations at Tadhikawa that he was trying to get a Military Hop to Ohio for a 2 week leave and the flight just took him from Korea-Tachi, and he got bumped off. I called AA and got him a ticket departing Narita in about 6 hours. Called him back with the info and told him what I remember about walking to the Tachikawa Train Station, etc. He made to the flight on time-they saw his uniform and upgraded him to first class, but when he got in his seat he just slept for the flight. After Korea, he went to Kuwait/Iraq, (Desert Shield/Storm). His SF Team was on the south side of Mogadishu, Somalia when the stuff hit the fan over there. He retired from Ft Riley, KS and has a farm near Abilene, KS.. lenjcanter@aol.com is a good address, if you'd rather not use You-Tube. One of my grandson's was an USMC Sgt, did a Afghanistan Tour...got out after 5 years and joined the Army Res, kept his rank; Did TDYs in Japan, Australia, & Syria...now he's out of the Army and is a Lt with the FD at Cherry Point, NC. I 'm just retired in Northern CA trying to play some of the old Rockabilly & Surf on a guitar, gardening, and doing family things.
I am looking at the KI 94 2 from the side view. Looks good, but how are they going to get it out? Maybe Gibbs picked the place to build it.
3:19 - Turbo supercharger?
It's interesting how the best piston engined aircraft ever produced came right at the end of the war but were just as piston engines were being superseded by the jet engine.
they designed em, when jets were seen as unpractical future dreaming…so, imagine if jets would have failed. we would have seen aircraft like in crimson skies
Useful information . Why the childish inserts ?
Great video. Could we have one on the Me262 inspired (and NOT copied) Nakajima Karyu
No bailing out of a pusher.
The last generation of piston engined aircraft is a fascinating subject but only one reached operational status and produced in large numbers -- the P51H -- which for some reason were given to the reserves instead of the active force after the war. The German aircraft only saw some combat because the airwar was fought over Germany. Neither the TA-152 or DO 335 were produced in numbers. They would be considered operational test aircraft today. The Germans probably would have been better off putting their limited resources into the TA 152 instead of the M 262.
The Ta-152H was issued to combat units; JG 301, saw combat and scored kills!
@@chriscarbaugh3936 Because the test program was flown in a combat zone, not because the aircraft were anywhere near operational.
@@johnshepherd8687 that is partially true; you need to read Reschke’s book on JG301/302 “Wilde Sau”. A good read 👍
Did those sources list the mounted or planned armour protection in either model? For now I've encountered Ki-94-II in four books, but sadly none list any of it. I would suppose it's the same as in Ki-87, though I cannot know if protection was indeed specified by the army in their request.
DO 335: Say FILE and simply put an extra P in front of it. So PHILE. It's german for ARROW.
Your video shows a pic of the Japanese Shinden, pusher, tricycle landing gear fighter. Did that ever get off the ground?
Well done Ed your best story so far (hopefully surpassed by the Firebrand story 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽😁 hint hint)
Don’t shed any tears over the Japanese aircraft industry, they’re doing just fine..
Pfeil is pronounced 'File'. 'Pfeil' means 'Arrow'. The 'P' in Pfeil is almost silent, just a slight 'p' at the beginning.
You right about the file part, but the P is spoken, german language does not put silent letters on the beginning of words.
Mile with the M replaced by Pf is the best description.
@@sim.frischh9781 What I meant is it's a very clipped 'p', not like 'per-file' in how it's pronounced. It's a bit like the the end of the English word 'Humph'.
I do speak German, having lived in Wiesbaden and Osnabrueck wyhan my Father was stationed there.
Good video. Quite an interest in Japanese aircraft but I never came across this before.
A two parter? How exotic!
Why not a trilogy (in four parts)?
I've heard historians lament about the loss of information in Japan at the end of the war due to military and government basically burning every document they could find before the surrender. Was this plane spared the torching of plans, or do we know all this in spite of the attempted purge?
I highly doubt that because the only reason there are two flying zeros today is because apparently a Japanese engineer hid a set of plans at his house and it was discovered in the 1990s allowing some restoration groups 2 remanufactured critical parts to put the planes in the air.
@@tarstakars Well, that's what I'm curious about. Was Ed's information sourced from something hidden in an attic, or were they so busy burning blueprints for the Zero that they hadn't yet gotten to these documents before the occupation started?
@@johnladuke6475 there's a museum here in California called the planes of Fame that has an operational zero and when you go there they have an entire story about how this engineer had the plans at his house. he was still alive at the time the plans were released to the public and then when the plane was finished he actually was brought to California so he could sit in it. the problem they ran into was that the plans were in something called technical Japanese and from what I understood from the presentation there were only one or two people left alive who could actually translate that into English and this guy was one of them. that was the presentation I saw at this Museum now this was a number of years ago I might have a couple of the details incorrect but that being said there's a Flying zero at the planes of Fame Museum 1 of 2. From what I understand the second zero has its original Sakai engine.
You leave the impression that the Arrow saw active service. This is in fact not correct, the nearest it got was to be chased by a P51 while on test. It showed the P51 a very clean set of heals. There is no doubt that if they had managed to get it into service it would have been a headache for the Allies as it is said to have been able to out preform the Miskito which at that time was considered the fastest piston aircraft in the world
The generation of Fighters are talking about where the penultimate piston engine fighters, a few saw Service most only existed as prototypes
The ultimate piston engined Fighters had performance rivaling that of the early Jets. They never got past the early design stage
Aren't the FXX-J planes, while US-designed, actually made in Japan? I'm pretty sure Mitsubishi makes one of them.
I have to ask... If that was a real office, where'd he get a sledgehammer🤔
this aircraft looks very much like the air racers of post war era. that may be a route that somebody could look into ??
Dornia arrow, fast, prop in front and back. Fastest prop, as far as I know, at the time. Rear engine caught fire all the time due to cooling problems.
First I ever heard of that.
Another well done and informative video. But it leaves me one question: How did you get that video of me from work?
0:38 This is too accurate 😂
PFEIL - Arrow
That's what I said...
@@EdNashsMilitaryMatters and pronounced as in 'FILE'... :-)
@@EdNashsMilitaryMatters 🤣
please do Nakajima Kikka history
This thing looks like it should have a reverse gear.
Dutch designers:
Hungarian designers:
Japanese designers:
Basically all designed the same aircraft, with different engines:
Of course the Americans took it, they took everything of value from the Axis powers. That is what victors do. But a great video Ed, really enjoyed it. Cheers
"File" is close enough for pronunciation of the Do335's name. Or just say Arrow, which is what Pfeil means...
An odd question lives in the back of my head. Is the pusher prop receiving enough of a boosted airspeed from the front puller prop to have a more aggressive pitch to take advantage of it?
Or maybe higher rpm?
I suppose it would depend a lot on length, shape, and laminar flow of the fuselage.
I suspect you've answered your own question, though I dont know I must admit.
The complexity of mixed prop drives must have been a nightmare to figure out. Plenty tried, but not many were any good.
Sorta like a multi-stage jet compressor but on the outside? Interesting idea..
Last video was FUUUU, this is PFFF
wow you remember ZD TV 1:05
I do get tired of hearing about some of the German wonder weapons such as the Ta 152 and Dornier 335 . Best data available for each is none too impressive , Ta 152 maybe 7 victories and 4 losses , 335 no combat recorded and maybe 15 aircraft delivered to a combat unit. If a song and dance is to be made for those two planes , lets make comparisons to what they may have been up against on the allied side ignoring Jets. The Mustang P-51H , Supermarine Spiteful , DH-Hornet , Hawker Fury. etc.
2 on 3 335's were shot down. At least one by RAF tempests
Dornier Pfeil ( said Pfile in English)
Hello very creative 👌 saludos
IF it was shipped back to America for evaluation and testing it almost certainly would have gone to Wright Field and there should be some documentation in the archives for some diligent researcher to dig out.
All depends tbh most don't realise the Warbirds in the Potomac had no paper work explaining why they were dumped
I come for the 'what ifs', gripped by the humor... 😆
'What if'...the Ki-24 II is gathering dust in an old barn or hangar...
@@adamlannerd1408 We so wish!
0:55 I've seen this video in 1997, I think, by first ever Internet link in Russia. How the hell is survives?
Bro, at 0:43 , you practically forgot how to said it and that made the video much more funnier