B-29 Superfortress Vs Ki-44 Tojo: Pacific Theater 1944-45

By the time the Americans began their aerial bombardment of Japan in 1944, both the JAAF and IJNAF were spent forces. What the Japanese did have, though, was the Ki-44 `Tojo.` Armed with two 40mm cannon, it was the most heavily armed and feared single-seat fighter to see action against the new American bomber, the B-29 Superfortress. Illustrated with full-color artwork, this study examines why the Ki-44 was unable to break up bomber formations conventionally during the Pacific War, and how its ramming tactics, while terrifying, graphically revealed Japan`s inability to stop the B-29.