Kawasaki Ki 45-Kai, 4268
History
The Ki-45 was developed by Kawasaki in the late 1930s, with the first flight occurring in 1939. It was designed as a long-range escort fighter but found greater success in ground-attack and night-fighting roles. The KAIc variant, which includes serial number 4268, was equipped with obliquely mounted 20mm Ho-5 cannons and served primarily as a night fighter.Approximately 477 units of this variant were produced.
Serial number 4268 was captured at Fujigaya Airfield in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, in 1945. It was one of about 145 Japanese aircraft brought to the United States aboard the USS Barnes for evaluation after the end of the war. The aircraft underwent overhaul at Middletown Air Depot, Pennsylvania, and was test-flown at Wright Field, Ohio, and Naval Air Station Anacostia in Washington, D.C. In June 1946, the U.S. Army Air Forces delivered the aircraft to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air Museum (the precursor to the National Air and Space Museum).
Today, the fuselage of Ki-45 KAIc serial number 4268 is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, part of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. It is the only surviving example of this variant, making it a rare and valuable piece of aviation history.