Manchuria Airplane Manufacturing Company

The Manchuria Airplane Manufacturing Company[1] (traditional:滿洲國飛行機製造株式會社; shinjitai: 満州国飛行機製造株式会社 Japanese Hepburn: Manshū Koku Hikōki Seizō Kabushiki Kaisha; Chinese pinyin: Mǎnzhōu Guó Fēixíngjī Zhìzào Zhūshì Huìshè) was an aircraft company in Manchukuo in the 1930s and 1940s, producing a variety of mostly military aircraft and aircraft components. It was named Manshū or Mansyû in short.

Emblem of Manchuria Airplane Manufacturing Company
The Ki-27 and its derivates were the most commonly produced aircraft by Manshū

History

The Manchuria Airplane Manufacturing Company was established in late 1938 under the supervision of the Japanese government[2] as a subsidiary of the Nakajima Aircraft Company of Japan. Its main plant was located in Harbin, Manchukuo.

From 1941 to 1945, Manshū produced a total of 2,196 airframes (eighth among Japanese airframe manufacturers),[3] of which 798 were combat aircraft. The company also produced 2,168 aircraft engines (sixth among Japanese aircraft engine manufacturers).[4] In addition, Manshū provided repair services for a variety of aircraft in the Manchukuo Air Force and for Imperial Japanese Army Air Force units stationed in Manchukuo.

The Red Army confiscated the company's factory and equipment in 1945 at the end of World War II, and the Soviets took much of its equipment back to the Soviet Union as war reparations. Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation, one of the major aircraft producers in the People's Republic of China, redeveloped the site.

Licensed production

Manshū produced a variety of Japanese aircraft under license production agreements:

Independent designs

Manshū also developed a number of aircraft independently:

  • Manshū Hayabusa I, II, and III airliner (30 units)
  • Manshū Ki-79 advanced trainer
  • Manshū Ki-71 dive bomber prototype (Allied reporting name "Edna")
  • Manshū Ki-98 advanced twin-boom high-altitude interceptor project

Among the Manshū independent designs, however, only the Ki-79 advanced trainer reached mass production, as the Army Type 2 Advanced Trainer.[5]

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References
Notes
  1. Togo Sheba (Hrsg.): The Manchoukou Year Book 1941. The Manchoukou Year Book Co., Hsinking 1941, S. 556
  2. Francillon, p. 22.
  3. Francillon, p. 22.
  4. Francillon, p. 22.
  5. Francillon, p. 486.
Bibliography
  • Francillon, Rene (1979). Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-313-X.
  • Gunston, Bill (1999). Illustrated Directory of Fighting Aircraft of World War II. Zenith Press. ISBN 0-7603-0722-9.
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