Mitsubishi Ki-51 | Finally, A Plane That Didn't Explode/Catch Fire Instantly

Today, we explore the history of the rather good, but forgotten, Mitsubishi Ki-51.
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Recommended Reading:
Francillon.R.J (1987), Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War - amzn.to/3Pj7Eor
Tadashi.N & Iwata.T (1958) Encyclopedia of Japanese Aircraft 1900-1945 Volume 1: Mitsubishi.
Maru Mechanic # 35 (1982) (Translated from Japanese) " Type 99 Assault/Recon Plane, Ki-51"

[@RexsHangar]

Q&A / Request Section - Ask your questions, or post suggestions, here :)

[@oddballsok]

A different topic format suggestion: How did the Japanese manage to obtain and let function and supply a freshly taken grass roots airfield in Malaya and DEI soooo quickly as to make an IMMEDIATE (within ONE day!) operation possible in full capacity. I was thinking of the Dutch airfield Kalidjati taken in 1942 from the shores (still some distance to bring stuff over on bad roads) and made a CRUCIAL effect felt on all the Dutch haphazardly organised counter strikes…

[@chriscalvin5083]

I have a suggestion the Curtiss SC seahawk the last scout floatplane the US Navy put into service and unfortunately no models survive today

[@MyCaptainPugwash]

The rise and fall and semi rise again of the Royal Australian Navy carrier ships and their aircraft.

[@sebastienchuti9358]

What of Charles Lindberg's single combat with a Ki-51

[@CakePrincessCelestia]

Please stop with the (in my case) German video titles and descriptions. Your content is in English! Disable that Google Autotranslate BS at once, it only distracts people that might not be good at English or not understand it at all by serving them content they think is in their native language (which usually is the one set on their devices), only to then have to deal with comprehending English. I luckily don't have that issue, but I absolutely hate what Google does here and I keep telling every channel that plays their game. Just turn that hot garbage off!

[@panjikusumo9779]

We Indonesians call this plane "Guntei" meaning "Army Type" IIRC. And the museum is close by from where I live, less than 3 miles or so.

[@wahtx7717]

The traffic is insane though 😅

[@oddballsok]

Museum .. where?? Yogya ? Adres and name..

[@ThePckupelan]

This is the comment im looking for, all i remember is the guntei but cant remember the code.

[@SushiItzMe]

The term "Guntei" served as an abbreviation for the extended designation of the Japanese aircraft, 九九式軍偵察機 (kyukyushikigunteisatsuki), which translates to "Type 99 Military Reconnaissance Aircraft." This convention of abbreviated nomenclature is evident in several ex-Japanese aircraft acquired by the Indonesian Air Force during that era. Below, I have provided a list of the examples I am familiar with: Tachikawa Ki-36: Frequently identified by the tail code 'T' for Tjoekioe or 'Cukiu' (reflecting the shift in Indonesian orthography). The name derives from '直協' within the original 九八式直接協同偵察機 designation. Nakajima Ki-43: Typically marked with the tail code 'S' for Sen, referencing the '戦' from 一式戦闘機. Kawasaki Ki-48: As referenced in certain Indonesian articles, this type was noted in connection with the aircraft dubbed "Prince Diponegoro II," bearing the tail code 'P.D. II.' The name Sokei originates from '双軽' in 九九式双発軽爆撃機. Mitsubishi Ki-51: Commonly seen with tail codes such as 'GT' or simply 'G,' representing Guntei, derived from '軍偵' in 九九式軍偵察機. Mansyu Ki-79: While often lacking a tail code, a photograph of the single-seater Ki-79a from PU Bugis Malang depicts the code 'NK' for Nishikoren, drawn from '二式高練' in 二式高等練習機. Yokosuka K5Y: Regularly bearing the tail code 'TJ' for Tjoereng or 'Cureng,' this designation stems from '中練' in 九三式中間練習機. Some contend the name Cureng also applies to the Ki-9 Spruce (九五式中間練習機), a claim that holds merit as both aircraft share identical designations apart from the differing type numbers.

[@johnanita9251]

Terima kasih

[@poikoi1530]

I like how the Ki-51 that hit the sussex is imprinted like cartoon imprints on walls

[@chrismaguire3667]

Wile E. Coyote must've been flying it. That's all, folks!

[@johnculver2519]

why do i feel that this is the crew taking the p***, in the tradition of the rn.

[@MrDmitriRavenoff]

Ahbidee, ahbidee, ahbidee, That's all folks!

[@keegantripp1245]

That's probably what everyone onboard the ship and those who saw the picture thought as most would have seen the classic 1940s Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry.

[@Rose.Of.Hizaki]

Ti's but a scratch.

[@jkorshak]

The comparative wealth of film of this aircraft, particularly in flight, is remarkable.

[@VersusARCH]

Ki-51 was the only kill Charles Lindbergh claimed in WW2. Flown by a veteran pilot and a squadron CEO Saburo Shimada, it gave a lot of trouble to a whole squadron of P-38s avoiding their firing passes with its great maneuverability, but while avoiding one pass it came head to head with Lindbergh's P-38 and he managed to hit it and shoot it down. The pilot was KIA.

[@quentinking4351]

Imagine getting laughed out of Japanese Valhalla because you went nose-to-nose with a pacifist.

[@PaulMcElligott]

@@quentinking4351 Lindbergh was no pacifist. He was an isolationist and a Nazi sympathizer.

[@AtomicBabel]

Imagine going to Shindo Valhalla after being taken out by an isolationist. Esp. With Japan being an isolationist "country" for centuries.

[@PaulMcElligott]

@@quentinking4351 Lindbergh was no pacifist. He was an isolationist and a Nazi sympathizer.

[@mirthenary]

​@@AtomicBabel Senator Palpatine: Ironic

[@CapitanRastrero]

The Ki-51 is underrated. Nice to see some coverage of it. Also very refreshing hearing the CORRECT pronounciation of "Ki" !

[@Redhand1949]

A minor factual addition. When Charles Lindberg was flying combat missions with the 475th FG, he reportedly (his diary) scored an aerial victory while attacking a Japanese airfield on an island near New Guinea on July 28, 1944. I read somewhere that the A/C was a Ki-51.

[@MyCaptainPugwash]

That picture of the imprint on the hull of the Sussex is amazing, reminds me of a bird hitting a window. I can only wonder of what the people on the other side of the hull must of thought as it hit.

[@kieranh2005]

Like being on the other side of a gong, I imagine.

[@datadavis]

@@kieranh2005 Their hearing loss is not service related

[@dannycalley7777]

MCP.............had a dove mistake my glass and screen door .......small feathers and smudge marks only !

[@marckyle5895]

Same here for a bird which hit my helmets face shield while I was riding. It left a perfect imprint of feathers (presumably feather oil and bird dander) and a chip from the beak _right over my eye_ . Can't imagine surviving a bird strike thru my eye socket at 70mph.

[@samadams2203]

Reminds me of the smudge mosquito dust leaves in between my clapped hands.

[@davidk2906]

The Ki-51 is another example of a good looking aircraft that served for the Japanese armed forces WWII. Can't think of any that are ugly. Thanks another excellent video.

[@WafflePlaneRC]

The briefly mentioned ki-32, while more of an interwar design, did see action in the earliest stages of conflict and was truly an ugly duckling of a machine.

[@puebespuebes8589]

​@@WafflePlaneRC I like the engine cover of the ki-32

[@CapitanRastrero]

I find the D4Y1 and Y2 to be quite awkward looking.

[@davidk2906]

@puebespuebes8589 Yes it's really cool. I built the 1/72nd model of it.

[@davidk2906]

@@CapitanRastrero Maybe a bit boring , but it is sleek and tidy compared to the Fairey Barracuda.

[@sixstringedthing]

Not A Pound For Air To Ground drops a detailed video on the Fulcrum, now Rex's Hanger kicking off with a video about a rather less well known Light Bomber/Attack plane... a good start to 2025, feels like everyone is comfortably in their lane, so to speak. :) AeroTube fans are getting pretty spoiled at this point, looking forward to more great content from RH this year!

[@michaelinsc9724]

Thanks for this look at a relatively unknown Japanese aircraft!

[@jamesharris4695]

Never heard about this until today. Good video

[@rmamartins]

My partner likes to give nicknames to the KZbin creators I watch regularly. You are "the aviation guy with incredible diction" :)

[@AirJimInCT]

I was just thinking about when this video was gonna come out considering the Ki-30 video you made. Another excellent video, Rex!

[@geoffkeeys6946]

Aesthetically, not a bad looking aircraft.

[@TheKingofbrooklin]

I really loved your Do 17 video. If you ever find the time and interest I would love to have a continuation of it with the Do 217.

[@j_aguilar4329]

Love your videos, thank you so much for posting!!

[@RichardEvers-jy1fk]

Thanks Rex! Your way of presenning even rather uninteresting aircraft make them - interesting! Keep up your good work!

[@shooter2055]

Gratitude for this! I've been an aviation geek for sixty years but was totally not familiar with this type.

[@marckyle5895]

5:46 Au contraire, the gunner had excellent armour against gunfire from the front (including the slowing of projectiles by the presumably dead pilot and his uniform before they hit the seatback) of the plane, presumably allowing him to use the rudimentary flight controls at his position. IIRC, the SBD also had a set of instruments and a stick which could be inserted into a socket for use as a control by the gunner but I have yet to hear of any documentation that a gunner ever actually used this in combat reports.

[@HardThrasher]

Great video mate, thank you for that

[@Flaming-Hedgehog]

I've had a couple of Mitsubishi's, they were quick enough but I wouldn't say they flew.

[@davidg3944]

So you'd rate them as "Zeros"?

[@Flaming-Hedgehog]

@@davidg3944 😆 When new they were pearlers.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Your fault for not finding better hills at high speed, I guess?

[@Flaming-Hedgehog]

@@MonkeyJedi99 Or a cliff for an altitude over airspeed attempt. 🤕

[@madbrowndog4887]

They don't make 'em like they used to, do they. (Mitsubishi, Kawasaki too.)

[@stevetournay6103]

Whoa, this bird could dogfight a Ki27? The "Nate" was famously one of the sweetest-flying "pilot's airplanes" ever...

[@MrTheblackopsdude]

I owned a Mitsubishi. It lasted about 3 months, then it exploded. Well, the engine exploded, but that’s neither here nor there

[@ricanderson5717]

😂

[@AtomicBabel]

Did you have a wicked time dropping the clutch with 2+ bar boost?

[@alfavulcan4518]

That probably didn’t effect the resale much😁

[@MrTheblackopsdude]

@@AtomicBabel I had the time of my life pulling away from a red light at 20mph before hearing what could be be described as two mechanics having a fist fight under the hood. Insurance said, “here’s $14,000” get something else

[@wirelessone2986]

OHHH a CAR mitsubishi!!Dang SON I thought you had ya a ZERO fighter!!

[@wojciechkoska3515]

Hello. At approx 9:40 minutes you got a picture of Tachikawa Ki-36/55 aircraft. Just to let you know. Great material. Thank you. And Happy New Year.

[@stevetournay6103]

Thought I saw an "Ida" there!

[@jurgmesser7723]

Thanks!

[@ianbell5611]

Very good as always. Cheers

[@lewisbenzie845]

That sounds good... the not catching fire and exploding part:)

[@MonkeyJedi99]

"Listen, lad. I built this kingdom up from nothing. When I started here, all there was was swamp. Other kings said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show 'em. It sank into the swamp. So, I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So, I built a third one. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp, but the fourth one... stayed up! And that's what you're gonna get, lad: the strongest castle in these islands."

[@littlefluffybushbaby7256]

Re: pilot protection. I guess his crew-mate was just another layer in that protection in that anything bouncing off the pilot's armour plate had passed through the gunner before hand. Charming.😂

[@mattwilliams3456]

Kind of like how tank riders on T-34s were just ablative meat armor

[@michaelwright2986]

I wonder what their respective ranks were.

[@Siddich]

never heard of that aircraft. and i am played all the pacific war sims there are and read buck danny since i was 12… Thanks for another vey interesting and informative video.

[@RobertWilliams-us4kw]

Great video and information, thanks Rex. I, for one, was ignorant of the Ki-51 design until recently, it being far too long that the Japanese aspect being ignored through a combination of racism, shame, and an irrufutable weird romantic fascination with the Wehrmacht.... Sorry, but a point of contention, if I could be so blunt, in relation to your comment: "However, it's effectiveness, like that of many other Japanese strike planes, was quickly diminished when faced with determined aerial opposition....." This just didn't apply to Japanese attack aircraft, it applied to all attack aircraft, be it British, German, American or Japanese - the much vaunted Junkers Ju-87 being a historical sample - much feared and revered by all in the Polish, Low Lands, French Campaigns, Greek Campaigns. But when the Ju-87 meet solidified RAF resolve and combat experience, the Ju-87 became very vulnerable and susceptible to being shot down..... Regards

[@philsharp758]

You say "an enthusisatic collector of niche Japanese archival records " like it was a bad thing 🙂 Great video as always with thorough research and contemporaneous footage/photographs. Best wishes to you for 2025.

[@GBooth]

Probably referring to Maru Mechanic publications, from which some of the schematics appear to have been sourced. I understand as I have a similar affliction.

[@philsharp758]

@@GBooth It is not an affliction. It is a receptacle of human knowledge. Mine, is geomorphology. oil lamps and triangulation pillars. All the best

[@philsharp758]

@@GBooth You are to be admired.

[@chriscalvin5083]

Good video rex

[@drstevenrey]

Hey Chris, Happy new year. Hope you well and good.

[@iamcosmik]

A new rex video at 3 am? we really are blessed

[@upcoming]

You mean 12:00 on the dot, of course

[@Bob-Of-Bobs]

I see someone is either in Canada, or somewhere on the western coast of the US

[@WarblesOnALot]

22:00 Eastern Daylight Saving Time, Oz. Just(ifiably ?) sayin'. Such is life, Have a good one... Stay safe. ;-p Ciao !

[@ilpoomatili9549]

It was 1 o'clock in the day here

[@MM22966]

Huh. It's like a IJA Stuka-lite. Not sure giving up the ability to carry a heavy bomb was completely worth it, but it sounds like it did a lot of work.

[@Tim.NavVet.EN2]

BTW: That "stub" sticking out of the propeller's hub is a Starting "Boss" where a truck with an engine on the rear of it's cargo deck would drive around and use that small engine with a shaft angled to match it's "boss" to various airplane engine's "boss" to start the aircraft. Not sure if there was a "Mil=Spec" for the angle and height of aircraft engine "bosses" or if they were able to adjust the starting engine, or if they had to have more than one truck, with each having a different height and angle on their starting engine... Starting (Engine (i.e. Internal combustion) .vs. Motor (i.e. electric))

[@darekkijewski713]

Thanks a lot, Rex, I tremendously enjoy your videos; my 1/72 scale modelling includes Japanese subjects, but mostly those operated by IJN, but, sure enough, right after I write this comment I'm going to browse the net for available Sonias!

[@AtomicBabel]

If it looks right, it is right and this looks so right! Almost, as right as an A6M2, and there are so many shared geometric, Aero and mechanic features between these 2 Mitsubishis. What would have been if some of those survivability features made it to the A6M... yes, a bit slower, lower climb rate and range. Just speculating on the trade offs.

[@icewaterslim7260]

The horizontal stabilizers of the Ki51 are lined up with the vertical whereas on the A6M the horizontal stabilizers sit ahead of the vertical making it the Hineri-Komi king.

[@redrampoly9321]

Good way to finish Saturday arvo. Thx Rex

[@cfg83]

I made the Sonia in 1:72 scale with the spotted paint scheme at 12:51 in your video. I assumed it was a recon plane because the model had a clear window under the fuselage between the fixed landing gears. I have always liked it from an aesthetic POV. Hard to believe it had 14 pistons.

[@lancejohnson1406]

Around 8:30, that's a Tachikawa Ki-36 IDA. Similat layout, but the canopy, two-blade prop and tailfin give it away. Easy to mix up. In the background is what looks like a Seversky A8V export fighter.

[@markpaul-ym5wg]

Rex, I love the humor you crank out in your shows.Thank you.😊

[@icewaterslim7260]

I'm thinking they were in the inventory of the 64th Sentai but for certain in Malaysia. Don't recall seeing photos of them on the ground at Wewak in west New Guinea but that doesn't mean they weren't there. Great post !

[@sadwingsraging3044]

_The rear gunner received no protection at all_ This is called 'Built in motivation' no doubt.😊

[@gwenweight6916]

For some reason every time you say bomb bay I see that scene from Black Panther. BOMBBAY!

[@roryrdmb6667]

You can really see the familial resemblance to the zero in the tail surfaces and engine - like a ground attack zero

[@jasonz7788]

Thanks Rex

[@philgraf1465]

Awesome video! This is one of my favorite Japanese aircraft. The only downside of this documentary is the inclusion of a photo of a ki-36 in a few places.

[@kubuspuchatek4262]

This is Tachikawa Ki-36 at 4:36

[@MrCateagle]

Fixed gear makes sense for rough field operations. You don't have to worry about FOD damaging the retracting mechanism.

[@user-gj9cn7tn5r]

When the weight of a retractable landing gear is more of a performance hindrance than the drag caused by fixed landing gear.

[@stevetournay6103]

That was Jack Northrop's belief for most of the 30s. SO many aircraft, including "Sonia" here, show Northrop's influence...

[@charlesc.9012]

For the lower speeds and weaker engines of 30s aircraft, the gear mechanism really was too much weight to carry, and they were not going fast enough to make that extra drag a problem. They were also simpler and stronger, which made it better for front line combat aircraft than a beefy retractable gear

[@MrCateagle]

It would be interesting to see a comparison of the Ki-51 with the Northrop A-17 and BT-1.

[@terraflow__bryanburdo4547]

It sounds like rear gunner of a Ki 51 is up there with B17 ball turret gunner for worst air assignment, aside from kamikaze.

[@SnoopReddogg]

Imagine being the rear gunner on a kamikaze mission. "What's my job?" "Ballast"

[@littlefluffybushbaby7256]

I have a general question about Japanese WW2 planes that if no-one here can answer, then there is no answer. It is this... in almost every photo of Japanese planes that I've seen they all seem to have really worn paint jobs. It's not camoflage. But peeled off paint. You rarely see it on the planes of other air forces. Did the Japanese just not used oil-based paints or something? Or was their quality control just not that good. I'm old enough to remember when Japanese products were regarded as cheap knock-offs not, ones with superior quality control. Anyone have any info?

[@ripvanwinkle2002]

Declining quality of paint and lack of primer as the war went on they were often pained in the field with no primer. the images youre seeing like that, are usually all post 1941 at least thats what the people in the scale modelling community have to say about it. hope that helps

[@Ba_Yegu]

The coating problem about vanished towards the end of the war, when the last interceptor fighters made in desperation had no painting at all, revealing only patchy looking Aluminium sheets. The mismatch of the colour of the Aluminium sheets came from the fact the sheets were made in different times and facilities craving for any quality of raw materials.

[@hannibalkills1214]

​@Ba_Yegu I honestly think the 'naked silver' livery during the late war is the hottest one among all Japanese paintjobs

[@stevetournay6103]

It wasn't a QC issue...the A6M2 Zero captured in the Aleutians and tested in the USA was said by one of the impressed Americans to be "built like a fine watch".

[@ripvanwinkle2002]

@@stevetournay6103 your not understanding its not about the design its about later in the war they just skipped steps and had bad paint slowly losing a war and using all your GDP for war kinda makes you cut corners as time goes on this has NOTHING to do with a designs merit as a machine

[@XXfea]

Dang it!! What took you so long!!! ??? Thanks

[@sinisterisrandom8537]

You also have the "KI-51" replica at the Texas Air Museum. While that aircraft is not a Ki-51. It still helps bring more interest to the Aircraft itself and may have likely also helped donations and such for the Indoneasian Ki-51. Still one of my personal favorite aircraft. One that was sort of shown in the Indiana Jones Game but misnamed.

[@benhooper1956]

Pretty sure that is a Tachikawa Ki-36 at 4:48 I'll get my coat

[@richarddouglas688]

Yep, that was a Tachikawa Ki-36.

[@codyfrench7668]

Little note - the photo at 4:48 is a Ki-36/55, not a 51 :)

[@williamkoppos7039]

8:20-Appears to be a P-35 type A/C in the background? The 2AP "Convoy" fighter? I believe Japan ordered a number of these. Great vid as usual.

[@davidcolter]

A tiny nitpick at 7:31, the guns were 7.7mm calibre Type 89 machineguns, firing the the Army's Arisaka rifle cartridge.

[@deepwoods_dave7368]

Have always had an appreciation for Japanese aircraft of WW2. Their seaplanes are absolutely beautiful.

[@brianford8493]

Brilliant ta!

[@malcolmeunson5543]

I believe that the wreck in Pa’ Puti, Sarawak, Malaysia, is the ki51… Have photos. 14cylinder, twin radial, 2 seater, fixed landing gear…

[@rodrigogoncalves6165]

Rex: imagine a dogfight between a Ki51 and a Swordfish. Who would win?

[@robertlewis8295]

The P-12 that stumbled across them randomly.

[@OmarGarcia-kr4jz]

Where is popcorn?🍿

[@patjohnson3100]

What was the allied code name for this plane? I have never known about the KI51 and i am impressed about the information you found and presented. The vintage aerial photography must be very rare. Thanks

[@mikesimon9446]

"Enthusiastically remove them from existence" 😂

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

@RexsHangar >>> Great video...👍

[@bullettube9863]

One can only wonder what would have been if the Ki-51 received a more powerful engine and the armor protection, especially to the fuel tanks had been applied to the Zero fighter. It seems that the Japanese developed some of their aircraft only so far then stopped, rather then upgrading them when possible.

[@Impetus-qx5db]

The cowl looks very army.

[@avanticurecanti9998]

20:30 WITH NO SURVIVORS!!!

[@michalsoukup1021]

Mitsubishi made for army? Heresy!

[@kevindolin4315]

Mitsubishi had the design and production capacity to build aircraft for both the IJA and IJN.: eight types plus a prototype for the former and eight types plus two prototypes for the latter. Only Nakajima, which also built aircraft for both services, built more aircraft than Mitsubishi: 19,561 to 12,513. However, Mitsubishi built more engines than Nakajima: 35.6% of all engines to 31.3% for Nakajima.

[@Shrike58]

Are we sure that isn't a Ki.36 "Ida" that you're using for a lot of this video? I still love that Seversky machine in the background at around 4:30...

[@neilelsewhere9473]

A great presentation on an aircraft that had, for practical purposes, missed my attention. Much like it missed HMS Sussex. I hope 2025 brings you success in going full time with your presentations if that is your plan. Good luck!

[@MisterOcclusion]

The word Chibi comes to mind. I've never used it, let alone with an aircraft, but this thing is far too small n cute for a bomber 😂

[@frank-y8n]

Those Ki-51's fighting the Dutch in Indonesia belonged to the new state that was founded on August 16, 1945. My - Dutch - government recently accepted that the state existed before 1949. So they were not used by 'rebels'.

[@TheClone37]

Whooo! Night shift hours upload!

[@mochabear88]

ty

[@grabham59]

From your description of the specifications and indeed the pictures and the outcomes in service, it seems like a fair comparison could be made with the Junkers JU-87 Stuka? Were the Mitsubishi engineers aware of the Stuka design?

[@Ulrich.Bierwisch]

If we look at the early war Army single engine ground attackers and light bombers like Fairey Battle, Ju87, Ki-51and IL-2 I would say the IL-2 was the best approach and the Ju-87 was usable with fighter protection. The Ki-51 worked in the remote areas of China but would be shredded in Europe and the Fairey Battle was shredded in Europe. Also a comparison with the carrier based planes like the Val, Dauntless and such would be interesting.

[@charlesc.9012]

Japanese aircraft needed much longer range and had no access to powerful engines, so this really was an optimal solution for the mission requirements and manufacturing capabilities they had. It just happened to serve past its use by date. They were close to the Germans, in fact the IJA actually evaluated the Bf-109 and had simulated dogfights, but it had so little endurance, very high wing loading for the army's agility requirements and the DB-600 series was too advanced for Japanese manufacturing. They could not make it reliable in the tropics either, which is why radial engines were the go-to choice for them.

[@alfonsfalkhayn8950]

The IJA actually evaluated the Heinkel He118 dive bomber, so it can be farely asumed, that they were familiar with the concept. The outcome of this evaluation was the Aichi 'comet' dive-bomber!

[@kevindolin4315]

Well, you've done the Ki-51 and Ki-30, how about their stablemate the Ki-32? As you mentioned more were built than the Ki-30. As it was the last dedicated bomber with a liquid cooled engine (LCE), it deserves a claim to fame, of sorts. You could include how the Japanese never really was able to come to terms with LCE aircraft, with there being only two other production LCE aircraft, and the reasons why they didn't remain that way.

[@Rutgerman95]

Look, I know that sentai just means something like "squadron" in Japanese, but you can't stop me from calling the pilots the Mitsubishi Sentai Kiranger

[@TheLateBird7]

Damn, in comparison I like the Ki-30 much more. What an unexpected outcome 😂

[@drstevenrey]

Would it have a retractable gear, it would be spectacularly nice to look at.

[@Deviation4360]

In the heat of combat it would have been dificult to destinguish from a Zero had it had retractable gear.

[@TheIndianalain]

What is that tube protruding from the nose cone? It looks like the muzzle of a MG or cannon, but since it's never mentionned in your video it must be something else, but I can't figure out waht it could be. Thanks for the video, documents about the Japanese Army aircrafts are really scarse, comparing to their Navy counterparts.

[@andrewstrongman305]

Lol, Yank pilots were _exceedingly_ enthusiastic with their distribution of the pointy ends of their .50 cals 😁

[@indisputablefacts8507]

I wonder how much value those rear gunners actually provided. In this or any make.

[@marioluizandradecosta3241]

O ki -51 possui muitas das linhas do A6M!

[@06colkurtz]

Army Air Corps. Was not a separate FORCE yet

[@americansupremacist5118]

Looks like a Stuka

[@DavidHuber63]

Coolio 👍🏼

[@RemusKingOfRome]

hmmmm, I probably would have moved the 2 forward mgs to the rear . That's right 3 X defensive mgs. (if they'd fit ?)

[@ripvanwinkle2002]

they wouldnt and how would you keep them loaded? the flexible gun on Japanese planes of this type was just a Japanese version of the ww 1 lewis gun they have to be hand loaded every 97 rounds with a drum..

[@poikoi1530]

Seems i'm early, time for more peak

[@alexandremarcelino7360]

Vídeo excelente! Grato pelas informações.

[@davidgoodnow269]

What _is_ that, which gives the Ki-51's cockpit the appearance of having a schnorkel?

[@mikehimes7944]

I think they're dive bomb sights.

[@ukaszgornowicz4770]

5:00 IT looks like proper Polish "Karaś" Polish engenieers was cooperating with Japanees.

[@user-gj9cn7tn5r]

Looks like a 3/4 scale AT-6 Texan.

[@stevetournay6103]

That's true of many period single-radial monoplanes. Which has often been a great help to moviemakers...

[@bigemugamer]

Looks vaguely reminiscent of a stuka

[@leighrate]

If anything, I characterized it as equivalent to the Stuka.