What is it Jan 2021

[lastvautour]

Here is an aircraft I had never seen before.

Lou

[Boomerang]

MMmmmm! Good one Lou.

Mid to late 1930's. Monoplane , retractable undercarriage . Radial ?

Gordon

[lastvautour]

Hmmm, definitely piston engine. I^st half of the 20^th century. Next picture clue tomorrow.

Lou

[lastvautour]

8 meter wing span.

Lou

[Dave T]

An air racer?

[lastvautour]

Designed to break absolute world speed record.

Lou

[Boomerang]

A very neat design.

Gordon

[lastvautour]

Very sleek. I never heard of it until I stumbled on it in an old magazine.


Lou

[Dave T]

It appears to have a tail wheel. Is it prop driven?

[K_mars]

The following three aircraft are estimated from the airplane in the first half of the 20th century, the shape of the main landing gear cover, and the wingspan of 8m.
Ki-78 has not set a record.

   
• Heinkel He 100 V8
• Messerschmitt Me 209 V1
• Kawasaki Ki-78

Kenji

[lastvautour]

Congratulations Kenji. This was the first time I ever saw a  Kawasaki Ki-78 Ken III or (Kensan III - Research III). Sadly, the sole example that survived was crushed by and  American tank in 1945. I would have been nice to see its development to the fullest. The Ken appears to be natural metal in one photo and perhaps painted in another. Hard to tell with WWII photos.

Lou

https://oldmachinepress.com/2012/11/03/kawasaki-ki-78-ken-iii/

[K_mars]

Lou, I'm glad.

It is recorded that the aircraft color of "Ken ?" was gray at the time of the test flight.
The video is a test flight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpil4KIfA3M

The photo is a replica of "Gifu-Kakamigahara Air and Space Museum".

[lastvautour]

Thank you Kenji for the photo and video.

Lou