:laugh:How well did this fighter plane perform against Hellcats Mustangs and the like? It sure looks like a winner to me but, I know nothing about it Thanks everyone! Glenn
The Nakajima Ki-44 (Army Type 2) Shoki was developed alongside the Ki-43 (Army Type 1) high performance interceptor and was of similar configuration to its stablemate apart from a different engine. Flown for the first time in August 1940 the new fighter successfully passed its trials and was ordered into production as the Army Type 2 Single-seat fighter model 1A Shoki (Ki-44-1a). Initially the Shoki (Devil-queller) was unpopular with service pilots. Its high landing speed and limited manoevrability (caused by a comparatively high wing loading for its day) could make it a difficult aircraft to handle by inexperienced pilots, but with increased experience these same pilots soon grew to respect the Ki-44 as a capable fighting machine. When production ended in late 1944 a total of 1,225 aircraft of all versions had been built by Nakajima (including prototypes). The Ki-44 (codename Tojo by the Allies) was primarily deployed for the Air Defence of the home islands against bomber attacks.
