Chikai Type 34 fighter
| Type 34 fighter | |
|---|---|
| File:Chikai Type 33 Fighter colors.png | |
| Three camouflage arrangements used on early Type 34 fighters in different theaters of service | |
| Role | Biplane fighter |
| National origin | Greater Menghean Empire |
| Designer | Chikai Aviation Company |
| First flight | October 1934 |
| Introduction | 1935 |
| Status | withdrawn from service |
| Primary user | Imperial Menghean Army Air Corps |
| Produced | 1934-1940 |
| Number built | 2,362 |
The Chikai Type 34 Fighter (Menghean: 치카이 34식 전투기 / 치카이三四式戰鬪機, Chikai samsal-sik jŏntugi) is a Biplane fighter which served with the Imperial Menghean Army Air Corps from 1935 to 1941, with surviving aircraft used as suicide planes until the end of the Pan-Septentrion War. Designed with the support of Ostlandian engineers, it was on par with most of its foreign contemporaries, though it quickly became obsolete with the appearance of all-metal monoplanes.
Development
Work on the Chikai Type 34 began in 1933, in response to combat experience with the Chikai Type 27 fighter in Dzhungestan. Though it still outclassed the WSS-surplus biplanes operated by Themiclesia, the Type 27 was inferior to fighters then entering service with other Casaterran countries, including Sylva, which still occupied a colonial enclave in Altagracia. It also suffered reliability problems in the dusty climate of central Hemithea, reducing the number of planes that could be airborne at any given time - an unacceptable constraint for the Imperial Menghean Army.
The Chikai Aircraft Design Center in Jinjŏng began by consulting with foreign design firms to obtain an adequately powerful engine for the new fighter. Still concerned over Kwon Chong-hoon's aggressively anti-imperialist rhetoric, New Tyran and the Organized States refused to sell aircraft engines, but Krossa Motor Works, which had already provided the KMW IV for the Type 27, agreed to grant Menghe a production license for its successor, the KMW VI. The Menghean-made engines were designated Gi-5, but they were largely identical to the KMW VI with regard to the basic powerplant and its performance capabilities.
The first prototype made its maiden flight on October 10th, 1934, and it impressed Army procurement staff with its speed and maneuverability. Under urgent pressure to find a replacement for the Type 27, the Army promptly ordered the type into mass production under the service designation of Chikai Type 34 fighter.
Design
Technically speaking, the Chikai Type 34 is not a true biplane, but a sesquiplane, as the lower wings were smaller in span and chord than the upper ones. The wings were braced together by wires and struts, with the lower wing attached to the fuselage by a cantilever joint while the upper wing followed a parasol layout. This arrangement was intended to reduce interference drag between the two wings while retaining the increased maneuverability of a biplane fighter. The structure consisted of an all-metal frame, an improvement over the wood-and-metal makeup of the Type 27, and the cover was primarily fabric with aluminum panels on the forward half of the fuselage.
The license-produced KMW VI engine gave the aircraft fairly impressive agility, which was aided by the sesquiplane configuration. With 550 horsepower in sustained flight and 750 horsepower at 1-minute maximum throttle, the KMW VI had 2-3 times the output of the KMW IV on the Type 27, and gave the Type 34 a favorable power-to-weight ratio. This engine was liquid-cooled, with a radiator mounted underneath the fuselage. As part of the Army's design requirement, the radiator and engine air intakes were fitted with filters to keep out dust and sand, and the design in general was configured for easy maintenance. Among both pilots and ground crews, the Type 34 earned a reputation for reliability, an important quality in the Central Hemithean Steppe and Inner Maverica.
The main armament consisted of two 7.5mm machine-guns, which were synchronized to fire through the propeller blades. The Type 34-III, a 33-II fitted with hardpoints, could be loaded with three 25-kilogram bombs or a single 100-kilogram bomb. Plans to add launch rails for air-to-ground rockets were considered in 1940, but were never carried out, as the type was already being withdrawn from service.
Operational service
The first operational deliveries of the Type 34 were made in early 1935, just in time for Menghe's declaration of war on Sylva. Type 34s were present at the fall of Altagracia, where they made an impressive debut, and throughout 1935 new deliveries prioritized the Innominadan theatre. After P1 Hawk fighters began appearing in Themiclesia, Menghe responded by deploying Type 34s to the north, where they replaced the Type 27 in front-line squadrons. By the time Menghe invaded Maverica in 1937, the Type 34 already made up the backbone of the Imperial Menghean Army Air Force, with over 2,000 produced.
During its early years, the Type 34 earned a reputation as a formidable aircraft, in part because it mainly encountered older aircraft in the skies over Maverica and Themiclesia. Pilots considered it a marked improvement over the Type 27 in all areas. It was roughly on par with contemporary Casaterran aircraft designs, such as the Heinkel HE 51, Hawker Fury, and Fiat CR.32, and represented a major achievement for Menghe's military aircraft industry.
One early challenge for Type 34s in Innominada was the hot, humid climate, something designers had not fully anticipated in their focus on Dzhungestani weather conditions. Pilots complained that the engine was prone to overheating under even minimally strenuous operations, hindering their ability to outrun older biplanes and pursue bombers. The Chikai Aircraft Design Center responded with the Type 34-II, introduced in 1936. This featured a larger radiator and a modified engine for more efficient cooling and better handling of humidity.
By the time of Menghe's invasion of Portcullia and Khalistan in late 1938, however, the Type 34's age was beginning to show. New Tyran's main fighter aircraft in this period, the Gloster Gladiator, outperformed it in speed, agility, and armament, though not severely. The Gladiator also had an enclosed cockpit and a holographic reflector gunsight, compared to the minimal windshield and telescopic gunsight of the Type 34. Hurricanes and Spitfires, though rare in this theatre, possessed an even more decisive advantage, and could make short work of the Menghean biplane unless drawn into a low-speed turn fight. Dissatisfaction with the Type 34 led the Army to demand a modern monoplane, and for several years they resorted to purchasing Dayashinese Nakajima Ki-27 fighters to fill the gap. Only in early 1940 would the Type 39 fighter make its combat debut as Menghe's first successful monoplane design.
Variants
- Chikai WH-10
- Original prototype tested in October 1934. 3 built.
- Type 34-I (gap)
- Initial production model with small radiator and KMW VI engine. 452 built.
- Type 34-II (ŭl)
- Tropical variant with enlarged radiator and modified engine components, introduced in 1936. 1,245 built.
- Type 34-III (byŏng)
- Mid-1938 variant with improvements to the engine, increasing maximum output to 610 kW (818 hp) with a longer safe duration. 660 built.
- Type 34-IV (jŏng)
- Type 34-III fitted with two hardpoints for 50kg or 100kg bombs. Some converted in the field, others built to IV standard. Included in Type 34-III production figures above.
- Type 34-V (mu)
- Experimental 1939 prototype with an enclosed cockpit and a holographic reflector gunsight. 2 built.
Specifications (Type 34-II)
General Characteristics
- Crew: 1 (pilot)
- Length: 7.54 meters
- Wingspan: 9.95 meters
- Height: 3.50 meters (landing gear to propeller tip)
- Wing Area: 20.78 square meters
- Empty Weight: 1,450 kilograms
- Loaded Weight: 1,820 kilograms
- Powerplant: 1x KMW VI V-12 engine, 560 kW (750 hp) at maximum output
Performance
- Maximum Speed: 360 km/h
- Range: 850 kilometers
- Service Ceiling: 9,800 meters
- Rate of Climb: 11.2 meters per second
- Wing Loading: 87.58 kg/m2 (17.6 lb/ft2)
- Power-to-Mass ratio: .307 kW/kg (0.187 hp/lb)
Armament
- Guns: 2x fixed, forward-firing 7.5mm machine-gun in nose
- Bombs: 1x 100kg or 3x 25kg (Type 34-III)