The Kawasaki Ki-64 (Allied code name: Rob) was a one-off prototype of an experimental heavy, single seat, fighter. It had two unusual design features. First; it had two Kawasaki Ha-40 engines in tandem; one in the aircraft nose, the other behind the cockpit, both being connected by a drive shaft. This combination (called the Kawasaki Ha-201) drove two, three-bladed, contra-rotating propellers.[1][2] The second feature was the use of the wing surface as a radiator for the water-cooled engines.[3] The aircraft first flew in December 1943. During the fifth flight, the rear engine caught fire; and while the aircraft made an emergency landing, it was damaged. The aircraft was subsequently abandoned in mid-1944 in favour of more promising projects. The airframe survived the war, and parts of the unique cooling system were sent to Wright Field for examination.[4]
Specifications (Ki-64)
Data fromWarplanes of the Second World War, Volume Three: Fighters;[5]WW2 Aircraft Fact Files: Japanese Army Fighters, Part 1;[4]Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War[6]
Francillon, René J. (1979). Japanese aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam. ISBN0-370-30251-6. OCLC6124909. (new edition 1987 by Putnam Aeronautical Books, ISBN0-85177-801-1.)
Green, William (1961). War Planes of the Second World War, Volume Three: Fighters. Macdonald & Co. ISBN0-356-01447-9. OCLC655407936.
Green, William; Swanborough, Gordon (1976). JWW2 Aircraft Fact Files: Japanese Army Fighters, Part 1. London: Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN0-356-08224-5. OCLC820486093.
Famous Aircraft of the World, no.76: Japanese Army Experimental Fighters. Tokyo, Japan: Bunrin-Do Co. Ltd. August 1976.
