Nakajima Ki-44 Shōki

what is it?

The Nakajima Ki-44 Shōki (鍾馗, "Devil Queller") was a single-seat fighter-interceptor which was designed and produced by the Japanese aviation manufacturer Nakajima Aircraft Company. Operated by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) from 1942 to 1945 during World War II, its official designation was Army Type 2 Single-Seat Fighter (二式単座戦闘機) and its Allied reporting name was Tojo. The name Shōki refers to Zhong Kui (鍾馗), a Taoist deity in the Chinese mythology, traditionally regarded as a vanquisher of ghosts and evil beings.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 9.5 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 605 km/htop speed
• range 1,200 kmwithout refuelling
• size 2,993 kgmax take-off weight
• built 1,225made 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 86 years ago, in 1940.
• 🏎️Top speed is 4.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 9.5 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,200 km: 7× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.3× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

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

spec sheet

first flight

1940-08

introduced

1942

retired

1945

status

retired

number built

1,225

role

fighter

origin

🇯🇵 Japan

makers

Nakajima

engines

1× Nakajima Ha-5

length

8.8 m

wingspan

9.5 m

height

3.3 m

max take-off weight

2,993 kg

top speed

605 km/h

cruise speed

400 km/h

range

1,200 km

ceiling

11,200 m

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