Designed by Horace Keane, the HKL-27 was a short-lived redesign of the Aeromarine Klemm AKL-26. A two place, open cockpit, low wing monoplane, the wood frame work was fabric covered.
Five were produced at $1800 around 1929.
Engine: Ford V-8, 82hp
Wing span: 36’8″
Length: 23’4″
Useful load: 650 lb
Max speed: 112 ph
Cruise: 94 mph
Stall: 47 mph
Range: 450 mi
Ceiling: 12,000′
Horace Keane was born July 29, 1885 and was raised in the town of St. Joseph, Michigan. His family was well known in theatrical circles. Horace had a genius for things mechanical, and received an engineering education at Armour Institution of Technology.
After graduation, he assisted Augustus Herring in building gliders. At the age of 17, he made his first solo in a glider from the top of a sand dune along the shore of Lake Michigan. In 1903 he toured Europe with Octave Chanute, building and flying planes of his own design. Upon his return to Amereica, he went to work for the Chicago Milwaukee Electric Railroad helping to design interurban cars.
His main interest was aviation and he was soon busy building and flying planes of his own design. Later, after World War I, he bought up a number of war surplus planes and went into barnstorming. None of his promotions proved to be financially successful.
1920: (Horace) Keane Aeroplanes, North Beach, Long Island NY.
c.1921: Acquired inventory and manufacturing rights to ACE (Aircraft Engr Co, NY). Photos of the ACE K-1 appeared in some Keane ads.
c.1925: Keane Aircraft Corp, Keyport NJ.
The Klemm design was briefly revived by Keane Aircraft Co, Keyport, in 1937.
In 1940 he organized the Zodiac Aircraft Company to produce training planes. Contracts for the planes were obtained but Keane soon found himself edged out of the picture.
After World War II, he served as a consulting engineer to a number of aircraft firms. Upon retirement, he went to live in Topanga, California. At the time of his death May 7, 1974, he was visiting his daughter in England.
The first Kawasaki Ki 96 fighter prototype flew in 1943. 3 built.
Ki-96
Engines: 2 x Mitsubishi Ha-112-II, 1125kW
Wingspan: 15.57 m / 51 ft 1 in
Length: 11.45 m / 37 ft 7 in
Height: 3.7 m / 12 ft 2 in
Wing area: 34 sq.m / 365.97 sq ft
Max take-off weight: 6000 kg / 13228 lb
Empty weight: 4550 kg / 10031 lb
Max. speed: 600 km/h / 373 mph
Ceiling: 11500 m / 37750 ft
Range: 1600 km / 994 miles
Armament: 1 x 37mm cannon, 2 x 20mm cannons
Crew: 1
Precursor of Ki 45 Japanese fighter aircraft.
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
The Ki-28 was Kawasaki’s competitor for a replacement fighter in 1935 for the Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF). Conpeting against the Mitsubishi Ki-33 and the Nakajima Ki-27, all three aircraft were low wing monoplane design and similar in performance but the Ki-27 won due to its manoeuverability. The Ki-28 was powered by an 800 hp Kawasaki Ha-9-IIa liquid cooled engine.
Ki-28
Engine 1 x Kawasaki Ha-9-IIa 800hp 12 cyl
Length 12 m.
Wingspan 7.9 m
Wing area 19 sq.m
Height 2.6 m
Empty weight 1420 kg
Max Take off Weight 1760 kg
Max Speed 485 km/hr.
Range 1000 km.
Ceiling 11000 m
Crew 1.
The single seat Ki-10 was Kawasaki’s second attempt to evolve a replacement for the Japanese army air force’s Type 92 Intercepter Fighter. The first had been the Ki 5 monoplane which proved to have a performance and manoeuvrability below that specified by the army air force.
A fighter competition was held in 1934 to evaluate new designs from Kawasaki, Mitsubishi and Nakajima, designated Ki 10, Ki-8 and Ki 11 respectively. This time the manoeuvrability of the Kawasaki design won the day, and it was ordered into production as the Army Type 95 Fighter. It proved to be the last biplane combat aircraft to serve with the army air force.
Designed by Takeo Doi (who had succeeded Richard Vogt as Kawasaki’s chief designer), the Ki 10 closely resembled the earlier Type 92 in appearance, but powered by an 850 hp Kawasaki Ha 9 11a 12 cylinder V type engine. The first of four prototypes was flown in the spring of 1935, and production aircraft were based on the third prototype which had a three blade metal propeller, and a flush riveted light alloy skin over the forward fuselage. The Ki-10 was selected in competition with Nakajima’s Ki-11 low-wing monoplane, the Japanese Army preferring the Ki-10 biplane’s manoeuvrability to its opponent’s slightly superior speed.
Production Ki-10-1 aircraft were powered by the 633kW Kawasaki Ha-9-IIa liquid-cooled engines, and 300 built between December 1935 and October 1937 went into service as the Army Type 95 Fighter. The biplane wings of unequal span were braced by N-struts and with ailerons on the upper wing only. The divided undercarriage had wheel spats. The all-metal structure was alloy sheet and fabric-covered. Armament was two synchronised 7.7mm Type 89 machine-guns.
The improved Type 95 Model 2, flown in prototype form in May 1936, differed primarily in having slightly larger wings of 10.02 m (32 ft 10 in) span, a fuselage lengthened to 7.55 m (24 ft 9 in), and a gross weight increased to 1740 kg (3836 lb), and vertical tail surfaces of greater area. The powerplant and performance remained es¬sentially unchanged, but stability was greatly improved and the service ceiling was increased from 10 000 m (32,810 ft) to 11500 m (37,730 ft). This version was built between June 1937 and December 1938, 280 completed.
Standard armament of both models was a pair of 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 89 machine guns mounted in the upper engine decking.
Over the period in which they were in service Ki 10s equipped seven, different Rentais (wings) and six other Sentais (corps) of the army air force. They operated in China, Formosa, Korea, and Manchuria, as well as at home bases, before and during the Second World War. By the time that conflict began, however, most Ki 10s (codenamed Perry by the Allies) had been reallocated to training or other second line duties.
One Ki-¬10 1 Kai and two Ki 10 11 Kai prototypes appeared in 1936 and 1937 respectively, embodying aerodynamic, structural and powerplant improvements, but neither of these models entered production.
Ki¬-10 Prototype
Engine: 850 hp Kawasaki Ha 9 11a
Seats: 1
No built: 4
Ki¬-10 Type 95 Fighter 1
Engine: 633kW Kawasaki Ha-9-IIa
Span: 9.55 m (31 ft 4 in)
Length: 7.2 m (23 ft 7 in)
Gross weight: 1650 kg (3638 1b)
Maximum speed: 400 km/h (249 mph)
Service ceiling: 10 000 m (32,810 ft)
Seats: 1
Armament: 2 x 7.7mm Type 89 machine-guns
No built: 300
Ki¬-10 Type 95 Fighter 2
Engine: 633kW Kawasaki Ha-9-IIa
Wingspan: 10.02 m (32 ft 10 in)
Length: 7.55 m (24 ft 9 in),
Height: 3.0 m / 9 ft 10 in
Wing area: 23.0 sq.m / 247.57 sq ft
Empty weight: 1360 kg / 2998 lb
Max take-off weight: 1740 kg (3836 lb)
Max. speed: 400 km/h / 249 mph
Service ceiling 11500 m (37,730 ft)
Range: 1100 km / 684 miles
Seats: 1
Armament: 2 x 7.7mm Type 89 machine-guns
No built: 280
Ki-¬10 1 Kai
Seats: 1
No built: 1
Ki 10 11 Kai
Seats: 1
No built: 2
The single seat Ki-10 was Kawasaki’s second attempt to evolve a replacement for the Japanese army air force’s Type 92 Intercepter Fighter. The first had been the Ki 5 monoplane, designed in 1933 in conjunction with Dr Richard Vogt, which proved to have a performance and manoeuvrability below that specified by the army air force.
A single engined biplane light bomber, the Ki 3 was designed by Dr Richard Vogt. Developed from the experimental KDA 6 reconnaissance biplane, the Ki 3 first flew in March 1933, going into service with the Imperial Japanese Army early in 1934. These prototypes were followed by 200 series aircraft built by Kawasaki between January 1934 and March 1935, and a further 40 machines being manufactured under licence by Tachikawa.
The first prototype had a BMW VI in line engine with nose radiator and annular cowling, while series machines had more conventional chin radiators for their 800 hp Ha 2 engines (BMW IXs built under licence by Mitsubishi and Kawasaki). The Ki 3 carried up to 500 kg (1100 lb) of bombs on ten underwing racks. Defensive armament comprised one fixed forward firing synchronized 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine gun in the cowling and another on a Scarff type mounting over the observer’s cockpit.
The metal structured, fabric covered Ki 3 had a pointed spinner for its two bladed propeller, con¬toured single I type wing struts, and spatted main undercarriage wheels. It was also fitted with a tail wheel while most contemporaries had a tail skid.
Ki 3s served with the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th Army Hiko Daitai (air battalions) when hostilities between Japan and China were renewed in summer 1937. Heavily engaged in bombing attacks and troop support until replaced by monoplanes in 1939, they were subsequently widely employed for dropping supplies to isolated troop positions. A number were still in service at the time of the heavy air fighting between the Soviet Union and Japan at Nomonhan in summer 1939 but were used only in supporting roles.
Span: 13 m (42 ft 8 in)
Length: 10 m (32 ft 10 in)
Gross weight, 3100 kg (6830 lb)
Maximum speed: 260 km/h (162 mph)
A designer of Kawasaki landplanes was German Dr. Richard Vogt, with the company 1923-1933. Vogt designed the Type 92 single-seat biplane fighter.
The first prototype flew in 1932. 380 built.
Type 92
Engine: 1 x BMW VI, 440kW
Max take-off weight: 1700 kg / 3748 lb
Empty weight: 1280 kg / 2822 lb
Wingspan: 9.6 m / 31 ft 6 in
Length: 7.2 m / 23 ft 7 in
Height: 3.1 m / 10 ft 2 in
Wing area: 24.0 sq.m / 258.33 sq ft
Max. Speed: 330 km/h / 205 mph
Cruise speed: 280 km/h / 174 mph
Ceiling: 9500 m / 31150 ft
Range w/max.fuel: 850 km / 528 miles
Range w/max.payload: 600 km / 373 miles
Crew: 1
Armament: 2 x 7.7mm machine-guns
All Aero 