Kawasaki Ki-100 1b

The Kawasaki Ki-100 1b was one of the finest Japanese fighters of the Second World War, but was not introduced until 1945.

The aircraft was born out of a frantic design process that tried to marry existing airframes with new engines to deliver better performance against high-altitude US bombers. Manoeuvrable, rugged, well armed and reliable, Allied pilots found the Ki-100 a formidable opponent. This is the only one to survive anywhere in the world, and was built at Kawasaki’s’ Kagamigahara factory in the last week of June 1945. It was captured by Allied forces in Saigon at Tan Son Nhut airbase in August 1945.