Greetings
from Singapore!!
Due
to its ability to fly at high altitude (10,000m/32,000ft) and inherent high
maximum speed (630km/hr or 390mph), the Mitsubishi Ki-46 Command
Reconnaissance Aircraft was selected to be modified as a new type of high
performance heavy fighter to combat American B-29 Superfortresses. As a
result, two 20mm machine guns were fitted in the nose and a 37mm dorsal canon
fixed to fire upward at a 700 angle was installed in the fuselage
(ala the German’s schrage music). The new platform was named the
Hyakushiki Shitei III Kai Air Defense Fighter (Type 100 Model III Modified ADF)
and although differing from the base platform, the Allies retained its
original ‘Dinah’ codename. Although a good idea at that time, its lack of
climbing-power, self-sealing tanks and armour ultimately made the Hyakushiki
Kais vulnerable to the B-29 defensive firepower. And without radar, the
Hyakushiki Kais could not fight at night which was the primary domain of the
B-29. There were a few B-29 kills but in the end it was not the right weapon
for the job.
Click on
images below to see larger images
Having
built the base Hayakushiki Shitei III kit, I was intrigued by the ADF
version. Again due to the exceptional Tamiya quality, I built this kit OOB.
And again as the earlier kit, this one also came with that annoying joint
in the middle of the wheel-well. I decided to depict the kit as a machine
from the 16th Dokuritsu Hikotai (Independent Air Unit) as
recommended by the instruction sheet. This machine was painted in the
non-traditional brown finish not accustomed to Japanese aircraft with
white base behind the national ‘sun’ emblems. Apparently the lighter
brown color and white base behind the national emblem was necessary to
make the Hyakushiki Kais more identifiable to Japanese gunners on the
ground.
As
this particular air unit only saw limited action before the end of the war,
the kit was not weathered significantly. And so, it was a relatively easy
paint and weathering job for once. The brown tone making a nice break from the
monotonously and largely green of Japanese aircraft in my collection.
Rai
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