Design and Development
The Ki-10 was designed by Japanese aeronautical engineer Takeo Doi, who had succeeded Richard Vogt as chief designer for Kawasaki. The design was in response to a requirement issued by the Imperial Japanese Army for a new fighter, and was the winner of a competition against Nakajima's Ki-11. Although the low-wing monoplane offered by Nakajima was more advanced, the Army preferred the more maneuverable biplane offered by Kawasaki. In order to overcome the speed disadvantage the Kawasaki team used a metal three-blade propeller in the third prototype, while flush-head rivets were used in an attempt to reduce drag.
The Kawasaki design had sesquiplane (unequal-span) wings, braced by struts, and with upper-wing ailerons. The structure was of all-metal construction, which was then fabric-covered. Armament consisted of two 7.7 mm (.303 in) Type 89 machine guns, synchronized to fire through the propeller. The initial production version was powered by a liquid-cooled 633 kW (850 hp) Kawasaki Ha-9-IIa V engine.
Read more about this topic: Kawasaki Ki-10
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