The Japanese Fighter That Made American Pilots Flinch During World War II

The Japanese Fighter That Made American Pilots Flinch During World War II

A New Kind of Threat in the Pacific By the late stages of World War II, Japan introduced a fighter aircraft so advanced that it alarmed the United States Army Air Forces. This was not the lightly built and vulnerable Zero that American pilots had grown used to. The Nakajima Ki-84 “Hayate” — meaning “Gale” — could climb with remarkable speed, dive with force, and deliver heavy firepower. On paper, it was one of the most capable fighters of the Pa…