Ki-67
| World War II aircraft | |
| Ki-67 | |
| |
| Nicknames | Hiryū, Peggy |
|---|---|
| Type | Medium Bomber |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Manufacturer | Mitsubishi |
| Crew | 6 to 8 crew |
| how to edit | |
Contents
The Ki-67 in World War II[edit]
Development[edit]
Unit Deployment[edit]
External Links[edit]
| Aces High II aircraft | |
| Ki-67 Hiryu "Peggy" | |
| |
| Type | Bomber/Attacker |
|---|---|
| Crew | Eight |
| Aces High II loadout options | |
| Package 1 | 5x 12.7mm MG, 400 rounds/gun 1x 20mm cannon. 300 rounds |
| Options | 1x 500kg bomb, or |
| 3x 250kg bombs, or | |
| 8x 100kg bombs, or | |
| 15x 50kg bombs, or | |
| 1x 800kg torpedo | |
| Aces High II Main Arenas | |
| Earliest MA | Mid War |
| Typical perk cost | 0 (Late War) |
| ENY value | 30 (Late War) |
| Available on carrier | no |
| how to edit | |
The Ki-67 in Aces High II[edit]
Often overlooked, and fairly uncommonly seen, the Ki67 is one of the most underappreciated bombers in the game. While most people select their bomber based on total bombload, where the Ki67 offers a relatively weak option, if you looked at the other major components: climbrate, speed and defensive fire, the Ki67 would rate very highly. The Ki67 can typically get to to the target very quickly, inflict a reasonable amount of damage to anything lighter than a hanger, and put up one hell of a fight on the way in and way out.
Engine Power[edit]
Surprisingly quick, the Ki67 is no slouch in speed or climb rate. Sea-level speed is 286mph with or without bombload (all internal), increasing to a maximum of 332mph at around 20K. If you aren't intent on a suicide attack then a quick climb to about 10K is the right thing to do, the Ki67 can cruise at ~310mph at that altitude. That speed makes it more difficult to intercept you and also tends to hold most attacking fighters to the rear areas, giving them less opportunity to set up attacks from the front. Climb rate is really good, 1,400ft/min all the way up to 20K so you don't need to invest the massive amounts of time to get to a reasonable altitude like you would in an overweight B17 or Lancaster (which tend to underperform in climb at high internal loads). Fuel duration is 114 minutes on full internal, making that unnecessary and generally 25-50% should be enough for most flights.
Aces High II Performance Charts[edit]
Firepower[edit]
This is where the Ki67 gets mixed reviews although it depends on how you look at it I guess. The bombload of the Ki67 is pretty weak at only 800kg's total where many attack fighters can pack that much. You actually want to take the 8 * 100kg loadout and not the 3 * 250kg package if you want to maximize hitting power. That may not sound like much but 800kgs = ~1760lb's so it's not quite as bad as it sounds. On top of that, a 100kg (~230lbs) bomb is a nice size for hitting small structures where anything over a 250lb bomb would be wasted. Dropping a fairly tight string of 100kg's bombs tends to produce nice effects with the little bit of explosion overlap ensuring anything smaller than a hanger is destroyed. Used in formation, this tends to produce good carpet damage for the width of your formation. The Ki67 can also pack a single torpedo for anti-ship work though it can be difficult to use properly (aiming is a big issue). On the defensive side, the Ki67 is exceptionally dangerous, maybe better defended than all but the B17. Five 12.7mm guns are scattered around the aircraft, one forward, one to each side (waist positioned) and a twin tail turret. The arcs covered from each position are quite good although the belly position is under-defended forcing you roll slightly to use one of the waist guns in defense. The centerpiece of the guns though is a single 20mm cannon mounted dorsally to the rear covering the upper-rear areas of the aircraft in combination with the twin 12.7mm tail turret. While a little light on ammunition, the 20mm has devestating effects against aircraft that could normally absorb a few 12.7mm hits with little problem. Anyone flying into the 20mm tends to experience a lot of pilot, or engine, kills. Attacking in to the Ki67's rear is like accepting a Head-On from a late model 109, discouraging a lot of people from trying or dispatching the ones who forget about your firepower.
Maneuverability[edit]
Fighting in the Ki-67[edit]
A great hit-and-run type bomber, don't go after the really heavy targets in it as you simply don't have the total ordinance required to knock out hangers. Hit grouped targets, either strat items or even towns. You can generally start your attack from a secondary field behind the main front and not worry about long climb-out times before you get to altitiude. A couple of minutes of climb in a Ki67 can get you to 10K pretty easily and then your speed will allow you to cover ground to your target in short order. Formations of Ki67's are good to triple up on your ordinance load and can also make defense even more frightening to attackers. Attack quickly in one pass, unloading all your ordinance, and then turn for home, holding enemy defenders to the rear aspects of your aircraft.
Defensively, use your speed and rear firepower to your advantage. High level speed tends to decrease potential closure rates for enemies who come from behind and will also make them more likely to fall into rear areas after an attack from the side. The Ki67 can dive very well so a shallow dive can push your speed up to 400mph with little trouble, making anything but a tail attack almost impossible for an enemy. Be ready to switch between your 20mm and tail turrets, those are your bread and butter because they offer the most firepower. Use short bursts and sometimes try and dupe the enemy into getting a bit closer before opening fire. You can put so much damage into a target that stumbles in, for even a short time, to the 20mm. Simply put, 1-2 20mm hits may be enough to knock the enemy down or force him to break off. Even at long ranges, D1.0 or more, a 20mm hit packs almost the same amount of damage (most of the damage is not kinetic, it's chemical from the explosion of the shell) that if you have a feel for the 20mm cannon you can tend to snipe people to pieces. I don't get the impression from my time in a Ki67 that it's quite as "tough" as the B26 or B17 but it also doesn't generally feel paper thin to taking a ping or two.
A final note when flying the Ki67, most people don't know how to deal with them well as it is not very common to see one. They either rush their attack (not realizing the danger of a rear approach as compared to even a B17) or then have troubles finding positioning to come from better angles so lose patience and attack from wherever. If you can, especially post bomb drop, present the tail of the aircraft to them whenever possible, even turning away from them if they are trying to get position. Some will try to belly attack you so watch for that and hope they miss, only to zoom upwards into your 20mm top cannon where they'll pay the price.
Fighting against the Ki-67[edit]
I never like seeing Ki67's coming in because I know they will be hard to intercept if I'm not already at altitude above them and that you don't/can't attack them from the rear. Frontal attacks are good as the aircraft is lightly defended, and side attacks can be good as long as you stay ahead of the waist gun positions. Belly attacks can work also but you need to duck under the tail turret and then not over-zoom when coming up from below so as not to pop out to the rear areas (especially slightly high). Never, ever, attack from the high rear, even at high closure rates as you are likely to be running smack into a hail of 20mm shells. In that situation, if the first one doesn't get you the second or third ones probably will, regardless of what you are flying. Ki67 speed is also usually a problem, if you miss on your first attack then it can be difficult to get into postion for a second pass, thus formations tend to be a situation where you can get 1 or maybe 2 passes before having to get out of guns range and establish a new attack position. If you can get a couple of solid passes in though the Ki67 doesn't seem quite as damage tolerant as a B17 so there is hope of knocking one out in a single pass if you can get a good situation to inflict solid damage.
