Main Menu

Japan's Mitsubishi Ki-46 reconnaissance^1,2
Army Type 100
Allied Name: "Dinah"^1,2

Mitsubishi Ki-46, "Dinah" reconnaissance:

Mitsubishi Ki-46, "Dinah" reconnaissance:

Mitsubishi Ki-46-II, "Dinah" reconnaissance:

Mitsubishi Ki-46-III, "Dinah" reconnaissance, cockpit:

Design

The Mitsubishi Ki-46 was designed by Tomio Kubo in 1938.¹

Prototype

The Ki-46 prototype first flew in November 1939.^1,2

Production

Production ended in 1945.²

• Ki-46-I: 34²
• Ki-46-II: 1,093^1,2
  • Models first came off production line in March 1941¹
• Ki-46-III: 609¹, 611²
  • First flew in December 1942.²
  • Ki-46-III KAI first flew in October 1944.²
• KI-46-IV: 4²
• Total: 1,742²

Variants

• Ki-46-I: Prototype.¹ Production.²
• Ki-46-II: Production.¹ Had two stage supercharged engines.^1,2 The superchargers enhanced performance at altitude.²
• Ki-46-II KAI: Radio navigation trainer.²
• Ki-46-III: New exhaust system to improve thrust.¹ Direct fuel injection.^1,2 Increased fuel.² Forward fuselage was redesigned.² Cockpit was elongated that eliminated the step in the nose.^1,2
• Ki-46-III KAI: Interceptor.² Cannon in nose.²
• Ki-46-IIIb: Ground attack.²
• Ki-46-IV: Had turbo charged Mitsubishi Ha-112 engines.²

Usage

The Ki-46 was the most important reconnaissance aircraft of the Japanese.² It was so highly regarded that the Germans attempted to get a manufacturing licence.²

Before the War

In the months leading up to World War II, Ki-46s were used to overfly Malaya to reconnoiter the invasion areas.^1,2

	Mitsubishi Ki-46-I Prototype1	Mitsubishi Ki-46-I2	Mitsubishi Ki-46-II1,2	Mitsubishi Ki-46-III1,2	Mitsubishi Ki-46-III KAI2
Type		Reconnaissance2	Reconnaissance2	Reconnaissance1,2	High altitude interceptor2
Crew		22	22	21,2	22
Engine (Type)	2: Mitsubishi Ha-26-I1	2: Mitsubishi Ha-26-I2	2: Mitsubishi Ha-1021,2	2: Mitsubishi Ha-112-II1,2
Cylinders			Radial1, Radial 142	Radial1, Radial 142
Cooling
Net HP	900 each1	900 each2	1,080 each1,2	1,500 each1,2
Propeller blades			3 each2	3 each1
Dimensions
Span		48' 2.75"2 14.7 m2	48' 2.75"2 14.7 m2	48' 2.25"1 14.7 m1	48' 2.25"2 14.7 m2
Length		36' 1"2 11 m2	36' 1"2 11 m2	36' 1"1 11 m1	37' 8.25"2 11.49 m2
Height		12' 8.75"2 3.88 m2	12' 8.75"2 3.88 m2	12' 8.75"1 3.88 m1	12' 8.75"2 3.88 m2
Wing area				344.44 ft2 1 32 m2 1
Weight
Empty			7,194 lb2 3,263 kg2	8,446 lb1,2 3,831 kg1,2
Loaded			12,787 lb2 5,800 kg2	14,330 lb1,2 6,500 kg1,2
Performance
Speed	335 mph1 529 kph1		375 mph1 604 kph1
Speed @ 19,030' / 5,800 m			375 mph2 603 kph2
Speed @ 19,685' / 6,000 m				391 mph1,2 629 kph2, 630 kph1
Climb to 26,250' / 8,000 m			18 minutes2	20.25 minutes1, 20.3 minutes2
Service ceiling			35,170'2 10,720 m2	34,450'1,2 10,500 m1,2
Range			1,537 miles2 2,473 km2	2,485 miles1,2 4,000 km1,2
Armament
Nose				2: 20 mm Ho-51	1: 37 mm2 2: 20 mm2
Rear cockpit		1: 7.7 mm MG2	1: 7.7 mm MG2

Sources:

1. Fighting Aircraft of World War II, Editor: Karen Leverington, 1995
2. Aircraft of WWII, Stewart Wilson, 1998

---