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Kawasaki
Ki-56 "Thalia"
| Crew | 4 |
| Dimensions | 65'6" by 48'11" by 11'10" 19.8m by 14.9m by 3.6m |
| Wing area | 551 square feet 51.2 square meters |
| Weight | 10,791-17,692 lbs 4895-8025 kg |
| Maximum speed | 250 mph at 11,500 feet 400 km/h at 3500 meters |
| Climb rate | 13 feet per second 4 meters per second |
| Service ceiling | 26,000 feet 8000 meters |
| Power plant | 2 Type 99 (Nakajima
Ha-25)
14-cylinder air-cooled radial engines, rated at 990 hp for takeoff and
970 hp at 11,200 feet (970 meters) driving three-bladed propellers |
| Cargo | 5300 lb 2400 kg |
| Production | A total of 121 airframes: 2 prototypes (November 1940) 119 production aircraft (August 1941 - September 1943) |
Thalia was a Japanese
derivative of the Lockheed
Model 14-WG3 transport modified to have better takeoff characteristics
and larger cabin volume. It had improved Fowler flaps and was given a
large cargo door and loading beam. This allowed the aircraft to
transport two or three aircraft engines while actually reducing the
weight by 115 lbs (52 kg). The aircraft was widely used in the Pacific
War, seeing its first action during the invasion of Sumatra.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2008, 2012 by Kent G. Budge. Index
