Operational Service
The first major operational involvement was in the battle of Leyte at the end of 1944, and from that moment until the end of the Pacific war the Ki-84 was met wherever the action was intense. The 22nd Sentai re-equipped with production Hayates. Though it lacked sufficient high-altitude performance, it performed well at medium and low levels. Seeing action against the USAAF 14th Air Force, it quickly gained a reputation as a fighter to be reckoned with. Fighter-bomber models also entered service. On April 15, 1945, 11 Hayates attacked US airfields on Okinawa, destroying many aircraft on the ground.
The Ki-84, Ki-100, and N1K2-J were the three Japanese fighters best suited to combat the newer Allied fighters.
Read more about this topic: Nakajima Ki-84
Famous quotes containing the word service:
“The ability to think straight, some knowledge of the past, some vision of the future, some skill to do useful service, some urge to fit that service into the well-being of the community,—these are the most vital things education must try to produce.”
—Virginia Crocheron Gildersleeve (1877–1965)