In the last months of WW2 their was an urgent need to intercept the fast and high flying American B-29 Flying Fortress bombers over Japan, lead to the instillation in the Ki-46-III Dinah of twin 20 mm nose mounted cannon and a single upward firing 37 mm cannon installed in the fuselage to convert the aircraft into a high altitude interceptor. The need to keep the aircraft's weight low to retain performance allowed no increase of it's defensive capability, it was therefore far more susceptible to incoming fire power than the American bombers it was now required to hunt, rather than evade, with a predictable outcome. A total of 1,742 Mitsubishi Ki-46 Dinah' s were produced, 613 of these were the faster Ki-46-III which was fitted with the more powerful fuel-injected Mitsubishi Ha-112 engines. It is of note that some captured Ki-46 aircraft were operated post WW2 by the French Armée de l'Air and the Chinese Communist Air Force for a short time. Mitsubishi Ki-46-II Dinah Specifications: Crew: Pilot and observer Length: 11.00 m (36 ft 1 in) Wingspan: 14.70 m (48 ft 2¾ in) Height: 3.88 m (12 ft 8¾ in) Empty weight: 3,263 kg (7,194 lb) Loaded weight: 5,050 kg (11,133 lb) Maximum takeoff weight: 5,800 kg (12,787 lb) Engines: Twin 807 kW (1,080 hp) Mitsubishi Ha-102 Army Type 1 14-cylinder radial engines Maximum speed: 375 mph (326 knots, 604 km/h) at 5,800 m (19,000 ft) - 391 mph for the Ki-46-III Cruise speed: 400 km/h (217 knots, 249 mph) Range: 2,474 km (1,337 nmi, 1,537 mi) Service ceiling: 10,720 m (35,200 ft)
Mitsubishi Ki-46-II Dinah Armament: Single rearward-firing 7.7 mm (.303 in) Type 89 machine gun
Mitsubishi Ki-46-III Dinah interceptor conversion Armament: Twin nose mounted 20 mm cannon Single upward firing 37 mm cannon
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