Mitsubishi Ki-51

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The Mitsubishi Ki-51 (Army designation "Type 99 Assault Plane"; Allied reporting name Sonia) is a light bomber/dive bomber in service with the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. It first flew in mid-1939. Initially deployed against Chinese forces, it proved to be too slow to hold up against the fighter aircraft of the other Allied powers. However, it performed a useful ground-attack role in the China-Burma-India theater, notably from airfields too rough for many other aircraft. As the war drew to a close, the Japanese began using them in kamikaze attacks. Total production was around 2,385. In 1941, Manchuria Aircraft Company produced a prototype Ki-71, which had its engine replaced with a Ha-112 and its fixed landing gear changed to retractable ones to improve performance, but it was not as great as expected, and the prototype was never put into practical use. The Ki-51 was used from the latter part of the Second Sino-Japanese War through the entire Pacific War and was active in...

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