The Kawasaki Ki-56 (
Japanese: 一式貨物輸送機, Type 1 Freight Transport) was a Japanese two-engine light transport
aircraft used during
World War II. It was known to the
Allies by the
reporting name "Thalia". 121 were built between 1940 and 1943.
Design and development
The Kawasaki Ki-56 was derived from the
Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra aircraft that the Kawasaki Kokuki Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (The Kawasaki Aircraft Engineering Company Limited) had built under licence. In September 1939 Kawasaki was asked by the Koku Hombu to design an improved version as Ki-56.[1] A number was also built by
Tachikawa Hikoki K.K.
Operational history
The Japanese invasion of
Sumatra in the
Dutch East Indies campaign began with a
paratroop drop from Ki-56 transports on Airfield P1 and the oil refineries near
Palembang.
Royal Air ForceHawker Hurricane fighters flying from P1 to locate the Japanese invasion fleet passed the incoming Ki-56s, but thought them to be friendly
Lockheed Hudsons (also developed from the Lockheed Model 14) returning from a raid. The defending anti-aircraft gunners at P1 were equally fooled, until the parachutes began to open. Once the AA guns opened fire one transport was shot down, another force-landed, and others veered off course, but the paratroop drop was effective and the airfield and oil installations were overrun.[2][3][4]
Specifications (Ki-56)
Data fromEncyclopedia of Military Aircraft;[5]Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War[6]
General characteristics
Crew: 4 (pilot, co-pilot, navigator, & radio operator)
Routledge, N. W. (1994). History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. London: Royal Artillery Institution.
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Walker, Patrick (2013). 6th Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery : the extraordinary untold story of the unlucky regiment from the Midlands and Penn Common (2nd ed.). Gloucester: The Choir Press.
ISBN978-0-9562190-4-6.
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ISBN1-845740-60-2.