Twin-Boom Superplanes... With A Twist!: Mansyu Ki-98 & Mitsubishi J4M

In this video, we talk about two twin-boom pusher-prop plane designs from late World War 2 Imperial Japan, in the Mansyu Ki-98 and Mitsubishi J4M. We first start by talking about radial engines, how they typically work, and what their advantages and disadvantages are. Then we go into the war situation of Japan from mid-WW2 onward, with mainland Japan increasingly coming under bomber attack. We then look at the Ki-98, its early beginning as a ground attacker, and how the war situation led to it changing to a high altitude fighter and interceptor.

We also look at a similar, almost carbon-copy in the J4M that was intended to fill the same purpose. We talk about their projected incredibly high top speeds and how they had an odd design choice in using an air-cooled radial engine buried behind the cockpit in the body. We talk about why this was an odd choice and how they went about accounting for it. We end by talking about how even if these planes made it to combat, they wouldn't have changed anything about the war.