Kawasaki proposed a 708kW / 950 hp Ha 9 IIb water-cooled engine of its own design in 1936 for the new Ki 32 light bomber, a mid wing all metal cantilever monoplane. A wooden mock up was constructed in the summer of 1936, followed by eight prototypes, the first of which flew in March 1937. There were problems with the engine, and development was protracted, but the Kawasaki design team of Imashi and Ota was rewarded in July 1938 with a production contract.
Its wide-track fixed cantilever undercarriage featured open-sided wheel fairings. Wing and tail surfaces were finely tapered. The two-man crew were accommodated beneath a long raised canopy. Armament comprised one fixed cowling 7.7mm Type 89 machine-gun and another of the same type on a flexible mounting operated by the observer. An internal bomb bay accommodated a 300kg offensive load, supplemented by 150kg of bombs on external racks.
Designated Army Type 98 Light Bomber, the Ki 32 entered service late in 1938 to supplement the Mitsubishi Ki 30.
Apart from prototypes, Kawasaki delivered 846 Ki 32s up to May 1940. They flew with considerable success with seven operational Sentais (groups) in China, where they made many low level sorties, particularly in the campaigns to capture the cities of Hangchow and Wuchang during 1938 39. They equipped two operational Sentais during the fierce fighting over the Khalkin Gol and Nomonhan on the border of Manchuria and Outer Mongolia against Soviet ground and air units in 1939.
Ki 32s were still in the army’s first line inventory when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, and were prominent in the heavy attacks on Hong Kong which preceded the British surrender of Hong Kong in December 1941, but during 1942 they were nearly all relegated to training duties. The type received the Allied codename Mary. Armament and bombload were identical with that of Ki 30. Like its Mitsubishi contemporary the Ki 32 carried its normal bombload internally in a fuselage bomb bay.
Ki-32
Engine: 1 x Kawasaki Ha-9-IIb, 640kW
Span: 15m (49 ft3 in)
Length: 11.64m (38ft2 in)
Height: 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 34.0 sq.m (365.97 sq ft)
Max take-off weight: 3539-3762 kg (7802-8294 lb)
Empty weight: 2349 kg (5179 lb)
Maximum speed: 423 km/h (263 mph)
Cruise speed: 300 km/h (186 mph)
Ceiling: 8920 m (29250 ft)
Range w/max.fuel: 1960 km (1218 miles)
Range w/max.payload: 1300 km (808 miles)
Armament: 2 x 7.7mm machine-guns, 300-350kg of bombs
Crew: 2
All Aero 