Japanese transport planes

Japanese transport planes

Kawasaki Ki-300

'''The Kawasaki Ki-300 was the result of a 1944 Japanese requirement for a large transport plane which could transport passengers and equipment across China. Having witnessed the German four-engine Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant ("Giant") military transport aircraft in action the Japanese Government negotiated with their German counterparts for the right to produce their own version of the Me 323 Gigant in Japan.'''

'''The prototype first flew in1947 and, on completing trials, entered production in 1948 as the Kawasaki Ki-300. More than 93 Kawasaki Ki-300s where build between the period of 1948 to 1952 and the plane remained in service into the early 1970s when it began to be phased out in favor of the Kawasaki Ki-301 twin-engine short-range military transport.'''

NAMC Ki-111 transport aircraft

'''In the mid-to-late 1950s, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry identified a requirement for a short-haul airliner to replace the Nakajima Ki-34 and the Nakajima L2D light transport aircraft flying on Japan's domestic routes, and encouraged companies in Japan's aircraft industry to collaborate to develop and produce the new airliner. A joint venture between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Fuji Heavy Industries, Shin Meiwa, Showa Aircraft Industry Company and Japan Aircraft Industry Company was set up in 1957, being formalized as the Nihon Aeroplane Manufacturing Company (NAMC) in 1959.'''

'''NAMC designed a low-winged twin-turboprop monoplane seating 60 passengers. The first prototype made its maiden flight from Nagoya Airport in August 1962, with the second prototype flying on December 1962. The first production Ki-111 flew on October 1964 and more than 282 where built for civilian use where it is designated as the NAMC YS-11, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service and the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service are also large operators of the military version together with smaller user like the Pakistan Air Force (16), Imperial Vietnamese Air Force (12), Royal Lao Air Force (6), Royal Cambodian Air Force (2) and the Manchukuo Imperial Air Force (12).'''

A Chinese-Nanking licensed version of the Ki-111 called the Xian Y-1 is being produce by the Xi’an Aircraft Factory in the Republic of China-Nanking as of 1982.

Kawasaki Ki-301

'''The Kawasaki Ki-301 (OTL Kawasaki C-1) is a twin-engine short-range military transport in use with the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service and the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. In 1966, the transport capacity in use with the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service and the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service was composed primarily of the 1940s introduced Nakajima Ki-34 and Nakajima L2D light transport aircrafts, the modern NAMC Ki-111 transport aircraft and the larger Kawasaki Ki-300 large transport aircraft.'''

'''By 1965 both the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service and the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service began searching for a new modern transport aircraft which could replace the Ki-34, Nakajima L2D and the Ki-300 in service with the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service and the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service and in the same year the Imperial Japanese Army Air Arsenal and the Imperial Japanese Navy Aviation Bureau began a joint development which resulted that they turned to the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation, a consortium of several major corporations, which had successfully produce the NAMC Ki-111 transport aircraft for both military and commercially use four years earlier. NAMC decided that Kawasaki Heavy Industries was to be the prime contractor, and the airplane thus bears that company's name.'''

Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation began its design in 1966 and, even before approval of the full-size mock-up, the company was contracted to build two Ki-301 flying prototypes plus a static test airframe.

'''The first of the prototypes, assembled by Kawasaki, made its maiden flight in 1970, and the flight test program of both prototypes was completed by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service and the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in 1973. Following construction of two pre-production aircraft, a first contract was placed for 40 production Kawasaki Ki-301 transports.'''

A collaborative project, the Ki-301 is built by Nakajima (outer wings), Mitsubishi (center/aft fuselage and tail surfaces) and Nihon (control surfaces/engine pods), with Kawasaki responsible for forward fuselage, center-wing section, final assembly and testing.

'''The first production Ki-301 flew in December 1974. By 1982, a total of 31 Ki-301s had been delivered for use as a military transport for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (20) and the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (11) with production still under way as of 1982.'''