In this video, we take a look at the Kawasaki Ki96, a Japanese singleseat heavy fighter/interceptor/ground attacker from World War II that was intended to serve as a replacement for the Kawasaki Ki45 Toryu. We first talk about the short era of the heavy fighter, how the era came about and why it quickly faded after WW2. We then talk about Japan venturing into the realm with the Ki45, a pretty solid plane that served well as a bomber destroyer. We talk about the variants of the Ki45 that were to serve in various roles.

We then look at the proposed upgrade in the Ki96, that managed to be approved after the Japanese military issued a call for a singleseat heavy fighter. We talk about the conversion of the Ki45 to the Ki96, and how the improvements made on the Ki96 made it a solid aircraft, potentially good enough to be akin to Japan's very own version of the de Havilland Mosquito. We then talk about why the Japanese military rejected it, and how the project sort of continued with the Ki102 and Ki108. We end by talking about the strange reason given for the rejection and what the Ki96 could have been for the Japanese Air Force.