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Ki-59
Light Transport Aircraft
Kokusai
 Ki-59 Theresa . The prototype of the new aircraft made its maiden flight at the end of 1940. As a result of tests, some changes were introduced into the design - the shape of the nose was changed to improve the pilot's view, the vertical tail area was increased and the shape of the landing gear fairings was changed. In this form, in July 1941, the aircraft was adopted by the Japanese army, receiving the designation - Army transport Type 1 or the short designation Ki-59.
Despite the rather archaic appearance and low dynamic characteristics, the Ki-59 was quite consistent with the intended tasks. With its much smaller dimensions than the Ki-34 and half the powerful engines, the Ki-59 lifted almost the same weight, and flew only slightly slower.
However, the outbreak of the war soon after the adoption of the new machine greatly changed the views of the army leadership on the Ki-59. There was simply nowhere to work at short distances, for which the aircraft was designed. In addition, the low speed and lack of defensive weapons made the Ki-59 an easy target for any enemy. As a result, the only use of the aircraft was the functions of staff transport deep in the rear. To top it all off, the production capabilities of the Nihon Kokusai Koku Kogyo KK company (in 1941 Terada's company merged capital with Kokusai Kokuki KK) did not allow the mass production of their brainchild. The maximum that the company could offer was one plane per month. This was clearly not enough. The firm was unable to significantly increase the aircraft production. As a result, at the beginning of 1943, the production of the Ki-59 was discontinued on the 20th machine (according to other sources, 59 copies were built), including the prototype (two more prototypes of the first version of the TK-3 should be added to this number). And the functions of a short-range transport aircraft began to be performed by the more advanced, versatile and much more massive Tachikawa Ki-54.
The allies received the code designation "Teresa". In total, 20 copies of the Ki-59 were built, in the future, its successful design served as a prototype for the Ku-8 landing glider.
| Kokusai |
Ki-59 |
| Crew |
3 |
| Dimensions |
|---|
| Wing span, m |
16.79 |
| Wing area, m² |
38.40 |
| Length, m |
13.40 |
| Height, m |
3.05 |
| Powerplant |
| 2 × PE Army type 98 Hitachi Na-13a, hp |
2 × 450 |
| Weight, kg: |
| Empty weight |
2880 |
| Loaded weight |
4120 |
| Gross weight |
4,240 |
| Performanceе |
|---|
| Maximum speed, km/h |
307 |
| Cruising speed, km/h |
276 |
| Service ceiling, m |
|
| Service range, km |
800 |
| Payload |
|---|
| 8 passengers or cargo, kg |
1000 |
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Aircraft
Combat Use