Nakajima Ki-27

what is it?

The Nakajima Ki-27 (九七式戦闘機, Kyūnana-shiki sentōki; Type 97 Fighter) is a fighter aircraft designed and produced by the Japanese manufacturer Nakajima Aircraft Company. Its Allied nickname was "Nate", although it was called "Abdul" in the "China Burma India" (CBI) theater by many post-war sources; Allied Intelligence had reserved that name for the nonexistent Mitsubishi Navy Type 97 fighter, expected to be the successor to the carrier-borne Type 96 (Mitsubishi A5M) with retractable landing gear and an enclosed cockpit. Derived from the Nakajima Type P.E, the Ki-27 was developed during the mid 1930s to replace the Kawasaki Ki-10 biplane fighter flown by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS).

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 11.3 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 470 km/htop speed
• range 630 kmwithout refuelling
• size 1,790 kgmax take-off weight
• built 3,400made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 90 years ago, in 1936.
• 🏎️Top speed is 3.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 11.3 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1936-10-15

introduced

1937

retired

1945

status

retired

number built

3,400

role

fighter aircraft

origin

🇯🇵 Japan

makers

Nakajima

engines

1× Nakajima Ha-1 Kotobuki Otsu (Ha-1b) / Kotobuki

length

7.5 m

wingspan

11.3 m

height

3.3 m

max take-off weight

1,790 kg

top speed

470 km/h

cruise speed

350 km/h

range

630 km

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.