The first B-29 Super fortress, ironically named ‘Tokyo Rose’, flew over Tokyo on 1 November 1944 and was on a photographic reconnaissance mission. Nakajima Ki-44 fighters of the 47th Sentai took-off to intercept, but the B-29s flew at such a high altitude and speed that they failed to engage. The Ki-44-II Otsu had been specifically designed for this type of interception and could reach the astonishing rate of climb of 5,000 metres in four minutes; however, it was not good enough. During the following ten months, a devastating bombing campaign by B-29s decimated sixty-seven Japanese cities and half of Tokyo. The cultural shock and political consequences were huge when it was realised that the heat and stress-metallic alloys for the turbo superchargers could not be manufactured in high numbers. Japan lacked the essential chromium and molybdenum metals to harden the steel, which thwarted the design of numerous advanced projects such as turbojet and rocket engine technology from Nazi Germany.

Fonthill Media presents a previously unpublished compilation of forty-two advanced fighters developed in Japan during the Second World War. Inside you will find: 

• A historical framework including performance details for each project for the bitter defence of Tokyo

• Profusely illustrated with technical drawings and providing exhaustive coverage on different models and variants

• Written by the best-selling author of The Ultimate Piston Fighters of the Luftwaffe, The Ultimate Flying Wings of the Luftwaffe and Axis Suicide Squads: German and Japanese Secret Projects of the Second World War

• Of interest to aviation and military historians, modellers,gamers and flight simulator enthusiasts

Bibliographic Information

Publication: 8 July 2021

Price: £30.00/$45.00

ISBN: 978-1-78155-811-9

Size: 248 x 172 mm

Binding: Hardback

Extent: 256 pages

Illustrations: 158 mono

Rights: World, all languages

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