AHC: different design philosophy for the IJAAF

The Ki-43 "Hayabusa" was designed based on the Japanese experience in the skies over China. Therefore, they built it with very low wing loading for extreme maneuverability, but with poor survivability or firepower. However, the Ki-44 "Shouki" was designed at the same time, with completely different objectives in mind. It was designed based on the observations of Japanese military attaches in Europe regarding the nature of the European air war. The Shouki, then, had quite high wing loading, a truly impressive rate of climb, high speed, good offensive firepower, and good stability as a gun platform. It was designed for hit-and-run, dive-and-swoop tactics, not dogfighting. Now, the Ki-44 was meant to be a point defense interceptor, not a fighter. The point remains, though, that the plane showed that the Army High Command understood how to build airplanes for the kind of fighting that would soon be the norm.

Your challenge is to create a situation where the IJAAF requests all its new fighters--twin-engined, escort, everything--to be designed for this kind of fighting. How can this be acheived, and what sort of aircraft result?
 
The Ki-43 "Hayabusa" was designed based on the Japanese experience in the skies over China. Therefore, they built it with very low wing loading for extreme maneuverability, but with poor survivability or firepower. However, the Ki-44 "Shouki" was designed at the same time, with completely different objectives in mind. It was designed based on the observations of Japanese military attaches in Europe regarding the nature of the European air war. The Shouki, then, had quite high wing loading, a truly impressive rate of climb, high speed, good offensive firepower, and good stability as a gun platform. It was designed for hit-and-run, dive-and-swoop tactics, not dogfighting. Now, the Ki-44 was meant to be a point defense interceptor, not a fighter. The point remains, though, that the plane showed that the Army High Command understood how to build airplanes for the kind of fighting that would soon be the norm.

Your challenge is to create a situation where the IJAAF requests all its new fighters--twin-engined, escort, everything--to be designed for this kind of fighting. How can this be acheived, and what sort of aircraft result?

The best bet would be a continuation of the border clashes with the USSR, in which the limitations of light construction, limited firepower, and relatively low speeds would become increasingly apparent as more modern Soviet fighters appeared. Also, a military ethic that valued pilot survivability would help.

But I would argue that the JAAF never really learned the right lessons until too late when the Ki-84 Hayate came into wide service in 1944. You are correct, the Ki-44 Shoki was optimized for climb rate and speed (by JAAF standards, at least) and was a bit more powerfully armed than the Ki-43. It was still unarmored and in overall capability it was maybe equivalent to a 1940 Bf-109E when it came into service in 1942. By then it was having to face faster, better armed, and better protected US and USN planes. Even the Ki-61, which also was a JAAF attempt to borrow European technology (including a DB 600 series engine and wing cannon) was a compromise, still favoring light wing loadings and manuverability over speed, hitting power, and staying power.

I also believe the exceptionally high standards of Japanese flight training and tactical advantages in the early part of WW2 gave the Japanese (both JAAF and JNAF) a false sense of material superiority, when in fact their aircraft, even the vaunted A6M, were not as superior to equivalent allied types as both sides initially believed.
 

Hendryk

Banned
Your challenge is to create a situation where the IJAAF requests all its new fighters--twin-engined, escort, everything--to be designed for this kind of fighting. How can this be acheived, and what sort of aircraft result?
I believe "Superpower Empire" meets the challenge, as the IJAAF has to fight on roughly equal terms against a well-equipped Chinese Air Force.
 
The best bet would be a continuation of the border clashes with the USSR, in which the limitations of light construction, limited firepower, and relatively low speeds would become increasingly apparent as more modern Soviet fighters appeared. Also, a military ethic that valued pilot survivability would help.
Unfortunately, that requires firing all the senior officers at IJAAF HQ, because all the guys issuing the specs & approving the types are enamored with maneuverability, believe morale trumps science,:eek::rolleyes: & are too technically incompetent to know better.:rolleyes:
 
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