Nakajima B5N Type 97 “Kate”
In 1935 the year’s 10-Shi requirements included a request by the IJN for a new torpedo bomber to replace the B3Y Type 92, and the interim B4Y Type 96, which were both considered to be […]
Year: 2015
Mitsubishi A6M Type 0 “Zeke/Hamp”
The Mitsubishi A6M was designed by the legendary aircraft engineer Jiro Hirokoshi in response to the Japanese’s Navy’s 12-Shi requirement for a new carrier fighter to replace the A5M Type 96. The request called for […]
Khalkhin Gol Part 2: Zhukov’s Whirlwind
After two months of fighting, neither side had made a decisive breakthrough in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol. Although the Japanese had failed in their first attempt to claim the disputed area, they were determined […]
Tachikawa Ki-36 Type 98 “Ida”
The Tachikawa Ki-36 was a small Army co-operation aircraft, essentially a light bomber, of the Japanese Army. It was designed to fulfil the role of an artillery spotter and light reconnaissance type, as well as […]
Kawasaki Ki-32 Type 98 “Mary”
The Kawasaki Ki-32 was a light bomber of the Imperial Japanese Army. It was designed in response to an Army requirement for a new light bomber to replace the ancient Ki-3, but originally it lost […]
Khalkhin Gol Part 1: Border Wars
The Battle of Khalkin Gol, or the ‘Nomonhan Incident’ as the Japanese termed the battle, was the culmination of a series of skirmishes that had occurred along the disputed Mongolia-Manchukuo border. In 1938 Russian and […]
Polikarpov I-153
The Polikarpov I-153 was designed to improve on the performance of the I-15 whilst retaining the manoeuvrability inherent to biplane designs. Soviet doctrine of the time required a mixed for of fast monoplanes like the […]
Polikarpov R-5
Designed by Nikolai Polikarpov, the Polikarpov R-5 was a reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber that replaced the older R-1. In addition to being supplied in huge quantities to the Soviet air force, or VVS, it […]
Mitsubishi Ki-30 Type 97 “Ann”
The Mitsubishi Ki-30 Type 97 was a light bomber of the Imperial Japanese Army, developed as a response to a requirement for a new aircraft to replace the obsolete Kawasaki Ki-3. The Mitsubishi design beat […]
Mitsubishi Ki-15 Type 97 / C5M Type 98 “Babs”
The Mitsubishi Ki-15 was developed for the Japanese Army in response to a 1935 request for designs for a new high-speed reconnaissance aircraft. The result was a low-wing monoplane with fixed landing gear which, despite […]