Manufacturer: Kawasaki

Model: unknown

Name: "Sotchokuna" (not official)

Type: Fighter

Date:

Status: Operational

Country: Japan

Service: Imperial Japanese Army

Designation: Ki-161

The Kawasaki Ki-161 « Sotchokuna » ("frank", not an official name) was a 1945 development of the Ki-61 Hien (see picture below right) in which the engine and propeller were replaced by those from the Messerschmitt Me 109F "Frank" while the tail was redesigned with the Curtiss P-40 in mind. The landing gear was fashioned after that of the Hawker Hurricane.

The large ventral radiator of the Hien being removed, the new aircraft displayed much more pleasant lines, and could arguably be considered as the most elegant of all World War II Japanese fighter designs. If the war had continued and the Sotchokuna had had time to prove itself in combat, no doubt it would have been a formidable adversary.

The aircraft depicted is one of 25 that were built. It sports the slogan « Ikutsu ka no itsu ! » which translates as « One from several », an ironical evocation of America's latin motto « E pluribus unum » and also a hint at the fact that the Ki-161 was one coherent aircraft design made up of elements from various origins.

• This if it was real would be my second or third favorite Japanese fighter competing with the Zero and Shinden (ONI-Defense)

I wholeheartedly agree with you on this!!!