Nakajima combat aircraft books - history (1/2)

Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa : In Japanese Army Air Force RTAF - CAF - IPSF Service

Reknowned Japanese aircraft historians Richard Bueschel revises and updates his classic series of books on Japanese Naval and Army Air Force aircraft of World War II. The Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa is presented in this volume. All variations and markings are covered.

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P-40 Warhawk vs Ki-43 Oscar (Osprey)

Known for the distinctive "sharkmouths" decoration on their noses, P-40 fighters first saw combat in China during World War II.Their most common adversary was the Japanese Nakajima Ki-43, nicknamed "Oscar."
Carl Molesworth describes and explains the design and development of these two foes, the products of two vastly different philosophies of fighter design.

The P-40 was heavily armed and sturdy with armor protection and self-sealing fuel tanks, but paid for this with the loss of speed and a sluggish performance at altitude.
The Ki-43 was a rapier to the battleaxe P-40 and the Ki-43 was immensely nimble, though with less firepower and durability.

This book examines these two different fighters, and the pilots who flew them over China, with an action-packed text, rare photographs and digital artwork.

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Nakajima Ki.44 Shoki I-II in the Japanese Army Air Force Service

This book describes the Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki in Japanese Army Air Force Service. All variations and markings are covered in this the third book in a multi-volume series.

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B-29 Superfortress vs Ki-44 'Tojo' - Pacific 1944-45 (Osprey)

By the time the Americans began their aerial bombardment of Japan in 1944, both the JAAF and IJNAF were spent forces. What the Japanese did have though was the Ki-44 "Tojo". Armed with two 40 mm cannon, it was the most heavily armed and feared single-seat fighter to see action against the new American bomber, the B-29 Superfortress.

For the bomber crews, they had what they believed was their `ace in hole': a fully armed B-29 carried four remotely operated gun turrets and a tail gunner's position, making it the world's most advanced self-defending bomber.
In every respect the Ki-44 pilots were fighting a desperate battle. Many who made their mark did so using suicidal ramming attacks or "taiatari".

Illustrated with full colour artwork, this volume examines why the Ki-44 was unable to break up bomber formations conventionally during the Pacific War, and how its ramming tactics, while terrifying, graphically revealed Japan's inability to stop the B-29.

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The Nakajima Ki-49 Donryu in Japanese Army Air Force Service

The JAAF Nakajima Ki-49 Donryu (Helen) is presented in this volume. All variations, markings and units are covered in this, the seventh in a multi-volume series.

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