Mitsubishi Ki-33

The Mitsubishi Ki-33 was an experimental single-engine monoplane fighter designed for the Japanese Imperial Army. Mitsubishi was busy refining the Ka-14 into the A5M fighter and adapting the G3M bomber for series production, so it entered the 1935 competition to replace the Kawasaki Ki-10 biplane by submitting its earlier Ki-18 design with small changes, including an aft-sliding canopy, a raised rear fuselage decking and modified tail surfaces. Powered by a Nakajima Ha1-Ko radial engine of about 556 kilowatts, two prototypes were finished in the early summer of 1936 and flew that year. Service trials ran from November 1936 into spring 1937. The Kawasaki Ki-28 proved fastest and the Nakajima Ki-27 by far the most maneuverable, and the Army chose the Ki-27, so the Ki-33 never entered production.