[WWII] Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa "Oscar"

[Phaelen Bleux]

I almost can't believe I'm not finding this design, and it must be written up somewhere. (I even checked Brandon's toybox. :) If it was, here's my version anyways:

Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa "Oscar"
The Ki-43 Hayabusa ("peregrine falcon") was designed in 1937 and saw extensive used by the Japanese army during the early years of WWII. It was often considered the "Army Zero" to those who flew against it, as it featured the same agility and initial success as the A6M (p. W112). Like the Navy Zero, however, the "Oscar" quickly became vulnerable to Allied fighters for many of the same reasons: while fast and agile, it was light and fragile, often able to be downed with just a few hits. It was also under armed, featuring only two machine guns that were synchronized to fire through the arc of the propeller. Although the aircraft was improved with heavier guns, self-sealing fuel tanks, pilot armor, and a radio, the Ki-43 continued to lose ground over advanced in Allied fighters, and by the end of the war served heavily as a Kamikaze platform. By the end of the war, over 5,900 Oscars had been built in all versions, making it one of the most used Japanese fighters.
The Ki-43 burns 43 gallons of aviation fuel per hour at routine usage. A full load of fuel and ammo (excluding bombs) costs $45. Historical range was 1,988 miles.

Ki-43IIb
Subassemblies: Light Fighter chassis +3; Light Fighter wings with High-Agility option +2; 3 retractable wheels +0.
Powertrain: 858-kW aerial supercharged HP gasoline engine with 858-kW prop and 125-gallon self-sealing fuel tanks [Wings], 4,000-kWs battery.
Occ.: 1 CS Body
Cargo: 2 Body

Armor
All: 2/3
Pilot: 0/+30 B

Weaponry:
2x Medium Aircraft HMG/12.7mm Ho-103 [Body:F] (250 rounds each).*
2x 551-lb. Bombs [Wings:U].
*Linked.

Equipment:
Body: Autopilot, navigation instruments, medium radio transmitter and receiver (10-mile). Wings: One 551-lb. hardpoint each.

Statistics:
Size: 28'x35'x11' Payload: 0.75 tons Lwt.: 2.86 tons
Volume: 144 Maint.: 39 hours Cost: $26,854

HT: 7. HPs: 50 Body, 90 each Wing, 5 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 329 aAccel: 9 aDecel: 26 aMR: 6.5 aSR: 1
Stall Speed: 68 mph. Take-Off Run: 330 yards. Landing Run: 462 yards.
-4 mph to aSpeed per loaded hardpoint.
gSpeed: 277 gAccel: 14 gDecel: 10 gMR: 0.5 gSR: 2
Ground Pressure: Very High. 1/8 Off-Road Speed.

Design Notes:
Historical wing area was 230 sf. Design loaded weight was reduced 1% to the historical. Design payload was 2,215 lbs; the historical value has been substituted. The design purchases 600 rounds of HMG ammo and a 120-gallon fuel tank; the historical values are shown above. Design aSpeed was 327 mph. Performance calculations were based on historical values for wing area and loaded weight.

Variants:
The Ki-43Ia (1939) was the initial production version. It did not feature pilot armor, self-sealing fuel tanks, or a radio. Armament was a pair of Type 97 7.7mm MGs (Aircraft LMGs) and two 33-lb. bombs. The Ki-43Ib replaced one of the 7.7mm guns with a larger 12.7mm gun. The Ki-43Ic upgraded both MGs.
The Ki-43IIa increased the underwing payload, added the pilot armor and self-sealing tanks, but not the radio.
The Ki-43IIIa and -b added a more powerful 932-kW engine and could carry two 45-gallon drop tanks. Only 10 of the -a and 2 of the -b were produced before the war ended.