NARRATIVE 

The Ki-43 Hayabusa, a light, fast and maneuverable fighter that excelled in dogfighting and known to the Allies as Oscar, was the most important fighter of the Japanese Army Air Force. Often being mistaken for the Zero, it saw service on every front the Japanese fought in and production continued until the surrender of Japan in August 1945. Late in the war, however, the Oscar began to show its age and was outclassed by many Allied aircraft. Towards the end it was used heavily in Kamikaze suicide attacks. A total of 5,919 were produced, of which very few remain today. 

SPECIFIC HISTORY 

The museum's Oscar is powered by a 1,200 hp Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp 14-cylinder radial engine, which is fitting since the Japanese were also under license to build Pratt & Whitney R-1830 powered Douglas DC-3 aircraft in the 1930s. This engine is only 4 inches larger in radius than the original Nakajima powerplant and fits snugly into the nacelle. The propeller is a Hamilton Standard DC-3 hub with re-profiled Lockheed Lodestar blades.