| Ki-100 | |
|---|---|
 Kawasaki Ki-100 1b at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford | |
| General information | |
| Type | Fighter/Interceptor |
| National origin | Japan |
| Manufacturer | Kawasaki Kokuki Kogyo K.K. |
| Primary user | Imperial Japanese Army Air Service |
| Number built | 396[1] |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1945 |
| Introduction date | 9 March 1945 |
| First flight | 1 February 1945 |
| Retired | August 1945 |
| Developed from | Kawasaki Ki-61 |
The Kawasaki Ki-100 (キ100) is a single-seat single-engine monoplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) during World War II. The Japanese Army designation was "Type 5 Fighter" (五式戦闘機, Go-shiki sentouki, or abbreviated as Goshikisen). It was not assigned an Allied code name.
In early 1945, 275 Ki-100s were modified from Ki-61s as an emergency measure to accept a 14-cylinder Mitsubishi Ha-112-II radial engine in place of the original Kawasaki Ha-40 inverted V-12 inline engine, resulting in one of the best interceptors used by the Army during the war. It combined excellent power and maneuverability,[2] and from the first operational missions in March 1945 until the end of the war, it performed better than most IJAAS fighters[3] against both United States Army Air Forces B-29 Superfortress bombers and P-51 Mustang fighters, as well as U.S. Navy F6F Hellcat carrier fighters.[4]
A newly built variant, the Ki-100-Ib, was produced with a cut down rear fuselage during the last months of the war which equipped five home defence sentai. High-altitude performance was further improved with the final variant, the Ki-100-II, however only three of these were produced before the war ended and this final variant never saw operational service.