Tachikawa Ki-36

Ki-36
Ki-36
General information
Type	Two-seat Army Co-operation Aircraft
Manufacturer	Tachikawa Aircraft Company Ltd
Primary users	Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Royal Thai Air Force
Number built	1,334
History
Manufactured	1938 - 1944
First flight	20 April 1938
Variants	Tachikawa Ki-55

Last updated March 19, 2025

The Tachikawa Ki-36 (named Ida in Allied reporting code) was a Japanese army co-operation aircraft of World War II. It was a two-seat, low-wing monoplane with a single piston engine and fixed, tailwheel-type undercarriage.

Design and development

The prototype, fitted with a 450 hp (336 kW) Hitachi Army Type 98 Ha-13 engine, first flew on 20 April 1938. Having outperformed the Mitsubishi Ki-35 in comparative trials, the Ki-36 was designated the Army Type 98 Direct Co-operation Aircraft and ordered into production in November 1938. Production ended in January 1944 after a total of 1,334 Ki-36 had been built (Tachikawa 862 and Kawasaki 472).^[1]

Operational history

The Ki-36 first saw action in China where it saw success. Later, in the Pacific, it proved excessively vulnerable to opposing fighters. It was thereafter redeployed to the safer theater of China. Towards the end of the war, the Ki-36 was employed as a kamikaze aircraft with a bomb of 500-kg (1,102-lb) fitted externally.^[2]

Variants

Ki-55 : Two-seat advanced trainer version.
Ki-72: An evolved version with a 600-hp (447-kW) Hitachi Ha-38 engine and retractable undercarriage. Not built.
B.F.6: (Thai : บ.ฝ.๖) Royal Thai Air Force designation for the Ki-36.^[3]

Operators

People's Republic of China

Chinese Communist Air Force operated two captured aircraft postwar as trainers until their retirement in early 1950s.

Indonesia

Indonesian People's Security Force

Japan

Imperial Japanese Army Air Force

Thailand

Royal Thai Air Force

Specifications (Ki-36)

Data fromJapanese Aircraft of the Pacific War,^[2] and The Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II^[4]

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Length: 8 m (26 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 11.8 m (38 ft 9 in)
Height: 3.64 m (11 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 20 m² (220 sq ft)
Airfoil:root: NACA 23014; tip: NACA 23006 ^[5]
Empty weight: 1,247 kg (2,749 lb)
Gross weight: 1,660 kg (3,660 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Hitachi Ha13a (Army Type 98 450hp Air Cooled Radial) 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 380 kW (510 hp) for take-off

350 kW (470 hp) at 1,700 m (5,600 ft)

Performance

Maximum speed: 348 km/h (216 mph, 188 kn)
Cruise speed: 235 km/h (146 mph, 127 kn)
Range: 1,235 km (767 mi, 667 nmi)
Service ceiling: 8,150 m (26,740 ft)
Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 6 minutes 39 seconds
Wing loading: 83 kg/m² (17 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass: 0.23 kW/kg (0.14 hp/lb)

Armament

Guns: one fixed, forward-firing 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 89 machine gun, one flexible 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 89 machine gun in the rear cockpit.
Bombs: up to 350 kg (772 lb) external bombload

References

↑ Francillon 1979 , p. 254.
1 2 Francillon 1979 , p. 253.
↑ "Thai Military Aircraft Designations". designation-systems.net. Retrieved 2025-03-18.
↑ Mondey 1996, p. 246.
↑ Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.

Bibliography

Francillon, René J. (1979). Japanese aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-30251-6. OCLC 6124909. (new edition 1987 by Putnam Aeronautical Books, ISBN 0-85177-801-1.)
Mondey, David (1996). Axis aircraft of World War II. London: Chancellor Press. ISBN 1-85152-966-7. OCLC 46705109.
Soumille, Jean-Claude (September 1999). "Les avions japonais aux coleurs françaises" [Japanese Aircraft in French Colors]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et Son Histoire (in French) (78): 6–17. ISSN 1243-8650.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Francillon 1979 , p. 254.

[Francillon1979p253-2] 1 2 Francillon 1979 , p. 253.

[3] "Thai Military Aircraft Designations". designation-systems.net. Retrieved 2025-03-18.

[mondey_axisp246-4] Mondey 1996, p. 246.

[Selig-5] Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e Tachikawa aircraft
Imperial Japanese Army types	Ki-9 Ki-17 Ki-24 Ki-25 Ki-26 Ki-29 Ki-36 Ki-54 Ki-55 Ki-70 Ki-71 Ki-72 Ki-74 Ki-77 Ki-92 Ki-94 Ki-104 Ki-106 Ki-110 Ki-111 Ki-114 SS-1 T.S. 1 R-38
World War II Allied reporting names	Cedar Clara Hickory Ida (Ki-36) Ida (Ki-55) Pat Patsy Sonia Spruce

v t e Imperial Japanese Army Air Service aircraft designations
1-50	Ki-1 Ki-2 Ki-3 Ki-4 Ki-5 Ki-6 Ki-7 Ki-8 Ki-9 Ki-10 Ki-11 Ki-12 Ki-13 Ki-14 Ki-15 Ki-16 Ki-17 Ki-18 Ki-19 Ki-20 Ki-21 Ki-22 Ki-23 Ki-24 Ki-25 Ki-26 Ki-27 Ki-28 Ki-29 Ki-30 Ki-31 Ki-32 Ki-33 Ki-34 Ki-35 Ki-36 Ki-37 Ki-38 Ki-39 Ki-40 Ki-41 Ki-42 Ki-43 Ki-44 Ki-45 Ki-46 Ki-47 Ki-48 Ki-49 Ki-50
51-100	Ki-51 Ki-52 Ki-53 Ki-54 Ki-55 Ki-56 Ki-57 Ki-58 Ki-59 Ki-60 Ki-61 Ki-62 Ki-63 Ki-64 Ki-66 Ki-67 Ki-68 Ki-69 Ki-70 Ki-71 Ki-72 Ki-73 Ki-74 Ki-75 Ki-76 Ki-77 Ki-78 Ki-79 Ki-80 Ki-81 Ki-82 Ki-83 Ki-84 Ki-85 Ki-86 Ki-87 Ki-88 Ki-89 Ki-90 Ki-91 Ki-92 Ki-93 Ki-94 Ki-95 Ki-96 Ki-97 Ki-98 Ki-99 Ki-100
100-	Ki-101 Ki-102 Ki-103 Ki-105 Ki-106 Ki-107 Ki-108 Ki-109 Ki-110 Ki-111 Ki-112 Ki-113 Ki-114 Ki-115 Ki-116 Ki-117 Ki-118 Ki-119 Ki-128 Ki-147 Ki-148 Ki-167 Ki-174 Ki-200 Ki-201 Ki-202 Ki-230 Ki-337

v t e Royal Thai Armed Forces trainer aircraft designations
B.F (Trainer)	B.F.1 B.F.2 B.F.3 B.F.4 B.F.5 B.F.6 B.F.7 B.F.8 B.F.9 B.F.10 B.F.11 B.F.12 B.F.13 B.F.14 B.F.15 B.F.16 B.F.17 B.F.18 B.F.19 B.F.20 B.F.21 B.F.22
B.KhF (Fighter-trainer)	B.KhF.1 B.KhF.2