Kawasaki Army Type 88 Reconnaissance Aircraft

The Kawasaki Army Type 88 Reconnaissance Aircraft was a single-engined biplane that the German engineer Richard Vogt designed for Kawasaki, first as the KDA-2 company design. Three prototypes were built in 1927, and the army accepted it in 1928, the year 2588 in the Japanese imperial calendar, which gave the Type 88 its number. It was an all-metal aircraft powered by a BMW VI engine of about 600 horsepower, and the improved Type 88-II added a better cowling and tail. About 710 reconnaissance machines were built by Kawasaki and Tachikawa, and a bomber version with 407 built saw action in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The type was phased out of front-line service in 1938 and stayed in service until 1940.