Subdeacon Joe Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 I saw on FB a photo of the ventral gunner position and looked up information on it. Weird gun station. Ki-48 Sokei Country Japan Manufacturer Kawasaki Aircraft Company Limited Primary Role Medium Bomber Contributor: C. Peter Chen ww2dbaseKi-48 Sokei light bombers, designated by the Japanese Army as the Type 99 Twin-engined Light Bomber, were originally designed by Takeo Doi of Kawasaki Aircraft Company Limited, who began this project with the Ki-45 heavy fighter design. Meant to be used as a light bomber, they could only each carry 800 kilograms of bombs and only had three machine guns for defense. They first saw service in China starting in late 1940, where they were adequate against Chinese forces which generally lacked modern fighters and anti-aircraft weaponry. When the Pacific War started, they were deployed across all of southeast Asia. In China and Burma, they remained in active service, often used as dive bombers for ground support; in the Pacific islands, however, they were out-classed by American fighters. Near the end of the Pacific War, some Ki-48 aircraft were re-equipped as special attack weapons for suicide missions. During the design's production life, 1,997 examples were built, most of which were of the Ki-48-II variant. ww2dbaseDuring the war, both the Chinese Nationalist and Communist forces operated captured Ki-48 aircraft; some of these aircraft remained in service until the 1950s. Indonesian forces had one of them, put together from a number of captured inoperable aircraft; it was used against Dutch forces during the Indonesian National Revolution in the late 1940s. ww2dbaseThe Allies gave the Ki-48 aircraft the codename of Lily. ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia Last Major Revision: Mar 2011 SPECIFICATIONS Ki-48-II Machinery Two Nakajima Ha.115 radial engines rated at 1,130hp each Armament 3x7.7mm Type 89 machine guns, 800kg of bombs Crew 4 Span 17.45 m Length 12.75 m Height 3.80 m Wing Area 40.00 m² Weight, Empty 4,550 kg Weight, Loaded 6,500 kg Weight, Maximum 6,750 kg Speed, Maximum 505 km/h Service Ceiling 10,000 m Range, Normal 2,400 km Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 Interesting placement of the aft gunners. REQUEST FULFILLED !!!Kawasaki Ki-48 Sokei ( Lily ) JAAF Fast Light Bomber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 The gunner better hope the guy holding onto his heels does not let go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seamus McGillicuddy Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 Similar layout to the Polish PZL 23 Karas. Seamus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 "Crew 4?" Lessee.... one nose gunner, pilot, copilot? No copilot? One or two rear gunners? If one, he's gonna be mighty busy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted July 19, 2021 Author Share Posted July 19, 2021 25 minutes ago, Seamus McGillicuddy said: Similar layout to the Polish PZL 23 Karas. Seamus That seems to have an enclosed "bathtub" gunner's position rather than the sort of drop down opening unconfined station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene Slim SASS 81783 Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 26 minutes ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said: "Crew 4?" Lessee.... one nose gunner, pilot, copilot? No copilot? One or two rear gunners? If one, he's gonna be mighty busy! No copilot. Like an A-20 Havoc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 12 minutes ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said: No copilot. Like an A-20 Havoc. Well then... that pilot was a busy booger! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smuteye John SASS#24774 Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 9 minutes ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said: Well then... that pilot was a busy booger! Nose gunner's probably the bombardier, too, and the rear dorsal gunner's probably the navigator/radio operator. Belly gunner's probably does double duty as flight engineer. There weren't a lot of room for malingering on any of those light bomber crews back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 I'll bet steep climbs are exciting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 11 minutes ago, Smuteye John SASS#24774 said: Nose gunner's probably the bombardier, too, and the rear dorsal gunner's probably the navigator/radio operator. Belly gunner's probably does double duty as flight engineer. There weren't a lot of room for malingering on any of those light bomber crews back then. I had a boss once who'd been a B-47 navigator/bombardier/radar operator. Ol' Tony said that he could have never imagined being that busy - it was the busiest he'd ever been in his life, before or since. But at one point he and a few of his colleagues were pulled and re-assigned to KC-97's (and later KC-135's). He said they were insulted to the point of being incensed! Madder'n hell! But after a period of time they were offered opportunities to move back to bombers - "Uh... No thanks. We're just fine right here." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene Slim SASS 81783 Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 1 hour ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said: Well then... that pilot was a busy booger! Yup. Just like a TBF Avenger pilot and crew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 The early model B-17's had the belly gun in a "bathtub", where, I think, the gunner lay on his stomach. Those -17's also had NO tail gun. The "bathtub" was replaced by the ball turret, and a pair of M2 Brownings and a tailgunner's position added. The G-model also got the twin .50 chin turret in the nose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smuteye John SASS#24774 Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 2 hours ago, Trailrider #896 said: The early model B-17's had the belly gun in a "bathtub", where, I think, the gunner lay on his stomach. Those -17's also had NO tail gun. The "bathtub" was replaced by the ball turret, and a pair of M2 Brownings and a tailgunner's position added. The G-model also got the twin .50 chin turret in the nose. The chin guns were controlled by the co-pilot. They were added as a counter to head on attacks. I was always fascinated by the B-25G and H models that had a 75mm cannon that fired through the nose. It was set up for ship interdiction in the Pacific. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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