In October 1940, the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) rejected the Toryu’s predecessor, the original prototype Ki45, but followed the rejection with orders for performance improvements on the design. The Kawasaki company, at one point ready to give up any hope…
Revolutionary in its design, the I-16 was the world’s first low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to attain operational status and as such “introduced a new vogue in fighter design. Developed in the N.N. Polikarpov Design Bureau, the I-16 took…
The Mitsubishi A7M1 Reppū (烈風, “Strong Gale” – Allied code named “Sam”) was the intended replacement for the famous Zero. Design work began in 1942 for a new fighter powered by a 2,200 hp engine. Strangely, the Navy decided…