5 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Tachikawa Ki-9 - Aircraft: United States Navy· Public domain
- 2. Tachikawa Ki-9 - Aircraft-2: United States Navy· Public domain
- 3. Ki-9 95siki 1gata: 撮影者不明· Public domain
- 4. Tachikawa Ki-9 and Tachikawa Ki-17 in Motooka Airfield 1941: 不明・福岡飛行訓練所関係者（書籍発行者は上瀉口武）· Public domain
- 5. Tachikawa Ki-9 in Motooka Airfield 1943: 不明・福岡飛行訓練所関係者（書籍発行者は上瀉口武）· Public domain
what is it?
The Tachikawa Ki-9 (九五式一型練習機, Kyūgo-shiki ichigata renshuki) was an intermediate training aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) designed and produced by the Tachikawa Aircraft Company Ltd. It was known to the Allies under the nickname of "Spruce" during World War II. This aircraft was mistakenly identified as a Tatchikawa by the British. The Ki-9 was a two-seat, unequal wingspan biplane design.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 10.3 m wingspan
base stats
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 91 years ago, in 1935.
- Top speed is 1.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 10.3 m: about 2 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
- 1935-01-07
- introduced
- 1935
- retired
- 1945
- status
- retired
- number built
- 2,618
- role
- training aircraft
- makers
- Tachikawa
- engines
- 1× Hitachi Ha13a (Army Type 95 350hp Air Cooled Radial)
- crew
- 2
- length
- 7.9 m
- wingspan
- 10.3 m
- height
- 3.1 m
- max take-off weight
- 1,580 kg
- top speed
- 240 km/h
- cruise speed
- 150 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 5,800 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1808236, Wikipedia: Tachikawa Ki-9 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.