Kawasaki Ki-32


The Kawasaki Ki-32 was a Japanese light bomber aircraft of World War II. It was a single-engine, two-seat, mid-wing, cantilever monoplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage. An internal bomb bay accommodated a offensive load, supplemented by of bombs on external racks. During the war, it was known by the Allies by the name Mary.

Design and development

The Ki-32 was developed in response to a May 1936 Imperial Japanese Army specification to replace the Kawasaki Ki-3 light bomber with a completely indigenously designed and built aircraft. Mitsubishi and Kawasaki were requested to build two prototypes each by December 1936. The specification called for a top speed of at ; normal operating altitude from, the ability to climb to within 8 minutes and an engine to be selected from the Mitsubishi Ha-6 radial, Nakajima Ha-5 radial, or Kawasaki Ha-9-IIb liquid-cooled inline engines, a normal bomb load of and a maximum of, one forward-firing machine gun and one flexible rearward-firing machine gun, the ability to perform 60-degree dives for dive bombing, and a loaded weight less than.
The first Kawasaki prototype flew in March 1937; seven more prototypes were produced. Being very similar in layout and performance, the main difference between the Kawasaki Ki-32 and its Mitsubishi Ki-30 rival was in the choice of an engine. The Mitsubishi design used the Nakajima Ha-5 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, whereas Kawasaki opted for their own Kawasaki Ha-9-II inline V12 engine.
Problems were encountered with the Kawasaki design, particularly with engine cooling, and the Mitsubishi Ki-30 received the production order. In spite of this, the pressing need for more aircraft in the Second Sino-Japanese War, which had started at full scale in July 1937, resulted in the Ki-32's entry into production as well, 12 months behind its rival. Ironically, the number of Ki-32s built was much higher than that of the successful Ki-30.
The Ki-32 entered production in 1938, designated as the Army Type 98 Single-engine Light Bomber. Kawasaki manufactured 854 Ki-32s before production ceased in May 1940.

Operational history

The Ki-32 saw extensive war service in the Second Sino-Japanese War, equipping the 3rd, 6th, 10th, 35th, 45th, 65th and 75th Sentai. It also saw combat during the Battle of Nomonhan against the Soviet Union in 1938-1939. Its last combat action was bombing Commonwealth forces during the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong in December 1941. After their withdrawal from front-line service in 1942, the Ki-32s were used in a training role.
During World War II, the Japanese also supplied Ki-32s to the Manchukuo Air Force to replace Manchukuo′s obsolescent Kawasaki Type 88/KDA-2 light bombers. Ki-32s were the main bomber of the Manchukuo Air Force throughout World War II.

Operators