Mitsubishi Kasei

The Mitsubishi Kasei (火星) was a two-row, 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and used in a variety of World War II Japanese aircraft, such as Mitsubishi J2M and Mitsubishi G4M. The Mitsubishi model designation for this engine was A10 while it was an experimental project, in service it was known as the MK4, and known as the Ha101 & Ha111 by the Army and Kasei by the Navy. According to unified designation code it was Ha-32 of the variants from 11 to 27.

Design and development
Although originally ordered by the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Kasei was based on the earlier Mitsubishi Shinten engine, itself based originally on the Mitsubishi Kinsei. Produced in a wide variety of models, the Kasei began with a rated power of 1530 HP, with a gradual evolution to 1850 HP in later wartime versions. Three variants were developed for the Japanese Navy starting in 1939. It was also later adopted by the Imperial Japanese Army as the Ha-101 engine. Unified code was Ha-32.

Physically, the engine had a rather large 1322 mm diameter compared to the 1180 mm of the Nakajima Homare engine. Its size and weight meant it was a challenging engine to use on single engine fighters.

Variants

 * MK4A [Ha-32] 11
 * 1530 HP, 2450 rpm at takeoff 1410 HP, 2350 rpm at 1000 m 1380 HP, 2350 rpm at 4000 m


 * MK4B [Ha-32] 12 - same as MK4A 11
 * MK4C [Ha-32] 13 - with extended propeller shaft
 * 1460 HP, 2450 rpm at takeoff 1420 HP, 2350 rpm at 2600 m 1300 HP, 2350 rpm at 6000 m


 * MK4D [Ha-32] 14 - with contra-rotating shafts
 * MK4E [Ha-32] 15 - with improved altitude performance
 * MK4P [Ha-32] 21
 * 1850 HP, 2600 rpm at takeoff 1680 HP, 2500 rpm at 2600 m 1540 HP, 2500 rpm at 6000 m


 * MK4Q [Ha-32] 22 - same as MK4A 21
 * MK4R [Ha-32] 23 - Water-injection
 * 1820 HP, 2600 rpm at takeoff 1600 HP, 2500 rpm at 1300 m 1520 HP, 2500 rpm at 4100 m


 * MK4R-C [Ha-32] 23c - 1820 HP - Fitted with a turbo charger that allowed an output of 1420 HP to be maintained up to 30000 ft instead of only 15750 ft
 * MK4S [Ha-32] 24 - Same power as the MK4P 21 with contra-rotating shafts
 * MK4T [Ha-32] 25 - 1825 HP,1850 HP
 * MK4R [Ha-32] 26
 * 1800 HP, 2600 rpm at takeoff 1510 HP, 2500 rpm at 2800 m 1400 HP, 2500 rpm at 7200 m


 * MK4U-4 [Ha-32] 26a - Mechanically driven 2-speed supercharger
 * 1760 HP, 2600 rpm at takeoff
 * 1590 HP, 2500 rpm rated at 2500m
 * 1400 HP, 2500 rpm rated at 6800m


 * MK4V [Ha-32] 27
 * 1795 HP

Applications

 * Kawanishi E15K
 * Kawanishi H8K
 * Kawanishi N1K
 * Mitsubishi G4M
 * Mitsubishi J2M
 * Mitsubishi Ki-21
 * Nakajima B6N
 * Nakajima G5N
 * Yokosuka P1Y