Nakajima Ki-43-II wreck
Captured Ki-43-II Oscar
Captured Hayabusa of 84th Airdrome Squadron Hollandia 1944
Ki-43 Hayabusa “Oscar” warming up its engine
Nakajima Ki-43-II Otsu code XJ005 Hollandia 1944
Nakajima Ki-43-III 1945
Captured Ki-43 Hayabusa at Eagle Farm, Australia 1944 5
Ki-43-III Ko
Captured Ki-43 Hayabusa Restoration at Eagle Farm 2
Captured Ki-43 Hayabusa Restoration at Eagle Farm 1
Abandoned Nakajima Ki-43-I Lae 1943
Ki-43-I P-5017 of Chinese Nationalist Air Force
Captured Ki-43 Hayabusa Cockpit 1944 4
Captured Ki-43 Hayabusa at Eagle Farm 1944 4
Ki-43-I of Chinese Nationalist Air Force 2
Ki-43-II
Ki-43 pilot Satoru Anabuki
Thai Air Force Ki-43-II Otsu
Captured Ki-43-I of the 11 Sentai at Lae, New Guinea 15 September 1943
Ki-43-II Ko of Akeno Flying School
Ki-43-II Ko “71” of the 2 Chutai, 25 Sentai Nankin 1943. Pilot Cpt Nakakazu Ozaki.
Captured Ki-43 Hayabusa at Eagle Farm, March 1944 6
Captured Ki-43-II Otsu Clark Field 1945
Captured Ki-43 Hayabusa on Munda Field 14 June 1944
Captured Nakajima Ki-43-IIb “Otsu” in flight
Captured Ki-43-I at Lae, New Guinea 15 September 1943
Ki-43-III Ko “35” of the 1 Chutai, 48 Sentai, Kiangwan, China September 1945
Ki-43-I warming up its engine
Ki-43-III Ko “21” of the 48 Sentai seen after the war at Shanghai September 1945
Captured Ki-43-I at Lae, New Guinea
Captured Ki-43 Hayabusa at Eagle Farm 1944 3
Ki-43-II Otsu Hayabusa code XJ005 Hollandia 1944
Captured Ki-43 I at Lae New Guinea 15 September 1943 3
Captured Ki-43 Hayabusa restoration at Eagle Farm 3
Ki-43-II Ko Hayabusa “Oscar” of the 59 Sentai Hollandia 1944
Ki-43-II Ko “15” of the 2 Chutai, 25 Sentai China 1943. Pilot: Sgt Kyushiro Otake.
Captured Ki-43 Hayabusa cockpit 1944 1
Ki-43 of the 64th Sentai wreck in China, tail markings 1942
Ki-43 Hayabusa “Oscar” assembly line
Ki-43-II Ko Hayabusa “Oscar” of the 25 Sentai China 1943
Ki-43 Oscar on Okinawa April 1945
Captured Ki-43-II ex-59 Sentai, code XJ004 Hollandia 1944
Captured Ki-43 Hayabusa cockpit 1944 5
Crashed Ki-43 4332 Biak
Ki-43-II Otsu Hayabusa “Oscar” fighters from 3.Chutai, 64. Sentai Burma 1944
Captured Ki-43-I XJ002 Hayabusa at Eagle Farm, Australia 1944 2
Japanese plane graveyard Ki-43 and Betty wreckage
Captured Ki-43 Hayabusa cockpit 1944 3
Captured Ki-43 Hayabusa cockpit 1944 2
Captured Ki-43-I Hayabusa at Eagle Farm 1944 1
Ki-43-II Otsu with drop tanks
Hayabusa (隼, “Peregrine Falcon”) was a single-engined land-based fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in World War II. The army designation was “Type 1 Fighter” (一式戦闘機); the Allied codename was Oscar.
The Oscar was designed to be like the Mitsubishi Zero, but it was more lightweight and was even less rugged than its Navy counterpart. It was known for its nimble handling and legendary for its performance in East Asia in the early years of the war. It was designed by Hideo Itokawa, who would later become famous as a pioneer of Japanese rocketry. The Ki-43 was the most widely-used Army fighter, and equipped 30 sentai (groups) and 12 chutais (squadrons). The first version, Mark I, entered service in 1941, the Mark II in December 1942, the II-Kai in June 1943, and the Mark IIIa in the summer of 1944.
Like the Zero, the Ki-43 initially enjoyed air superiority in the skies of Malaya, Netherlands East Indies, Burma and New Guinea. This was partly to do with the better performance of the Japanese fighters and the small numbers of Allied fighters in Asia and the Pacfiic when war began.
The Ki-43 also served in an air defense role over Formosa, Okinawa and the Japanese home islands. Some examples were supplied to the pro-Japanese countries of Thailand, Manchukuo and Wang Jingwei Government as well. The Thai units sometimes fought against the USAAF in southern China.
After the war some examples served in limited numbers in the French Air Force in Indochina against communist rebels.