Mitsubishi Kinsei

The Mitsubishi Kinsei (金星) was a 14-cylinder, air-cooled, twin-row radial aircraft engine developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan in 1934 for the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Mitsubishi model designation for this engine was A8 while it was an experimental project; in service, it was known as the MK8 "Kinsei" by the Navy. In 1941 the engine was adopted by Army, receiving designation Ha-112 (later Ha-112-I, 1,300hp Army Type 1). In May 1943 it received Ha-33 unified designation code.

Design and development
Early Kinsei models (1 and 2) had A4 internal designation and their cylinder and detail design was based on the single-row, 9-cylinder air-cooled Pratt and Whitney R-1690 Hornet.

In 1933 engine underwent a major redesign and redesignated A8. Head layout was reversed to allow exhaust exit to the rear, reducing back-pressure and allowing for a cleaner installation. Compression ratio increased from 5.3:1 to 6.0:1. These changes resulted in a significant performance uplift, compared to previous variants.

Kinsei 41 saw ever further increase in compression ratio from 6.0:1 to 6.6:1, and a larger supercharger. It's also the first variant to receive a two-digit model numbers. 40 series remained in production from 1936 till the end of the war.

Kinsei 50 series saw the final compression ratio increase to 7.0:1. Indirect fuel injection was fitted as well as a larger two-speed supercharger.

Kinsei 60 series was introduction of direct injection and later, a turbo-supercharger. Its development was run parallel to 50 series. Production started in 1940 and lasted till the end of the war.

Early (A4) variants
Data from Goodwin
 * Kinsei 1
 * 820 hp at 2300 rpm at takeoff
 * 650 hp at 2100 rpm at sea level


 * Kinsei 2
 * 830 hp at 2350 rpm at takeoff
 * 630 hp at 2100 rpm at 1000 m

Late (A8) variants
Data from Goodwin
 * Kinsei 3
 * 790 hp at 2150 rpm at 2000 m


 * Kinsei 41
 * 1075 hp at 2500 rpm at 2000 m
 * 990 hp at 2500 rpm at 2800 m
 * Higher compression ratio, supercharger


 * Kinsei 42
 * 1075 hp at 2500 rpm at 2000 m
 * 990 hp at 2500 rpm at 2800 m
 * Air pump


 * Kinsei 43
 * 1000 hp at 2400 rpm at sea level
 * 990 hp at 2400 rpm at 2800 m
 * De-rated for economy


 * Model 44
 * 1070 hp at sea level
 * 1080 hp at 2000 m
 * Machine gun synchroniser


 * Kinsei 45
 * 1075 hp at sea level
 * 1000 hp at 4180 m


 * Kinsei 46
 * 930 hp at sea level
 * 1070 hp at 4200 m
 * De-rated for extreme economy


 * Kinsei 51 (MK8A)
 * 1200 hp at 2500 rpm at 3000 m
 * 1100 hp at 2500 rpm at 6200 m
 * Redesigned cylinder head, added indirect fuel injection, larger two-speed supercharger


 * Kinsei 52 (MK8B) (Ha-112-I)
 * 1200 hp at 2500 rpm at 3000 m
 * 1100 hp at 2500 rpm at 6200 m
 * Added water injection


 * Kinsei 53 (MK8C)
 * 1200 hp at 2500 rpm at 3000 m
 * 1100 hp at 2500 rpm at 6200 m
 * Higher pressure oil pump


 * Kinsei 54 (MK8D)
 * 1200 hp at 2500 rpm at 3000 m
 * 1100 hp at 2500 rpm at 6200 m
 * Added machine gun synchroniser


 * Model 61 (Ha-112-II)
 * 1350 hp at 2000 m
 * 1250 hp at 5800 m
 * Added direct fuel injection


 * Kinsei 62 (MK8P)
 * 1350 hp at 2600 rpm at 2000 m
 * 1250 hp at 2600 rpm at 5800 m


 * Kinsei 62 Ru (Ha-112-II Ru)
 * 1350 hp at 2600 rpm at 2000 m
 * 1370 hp at 2600 rpm at 7700 m
 * 1240 hp at 2600 rpm at 11000 m
 * Ru-102 turbo-supercharger

Applications

 * Aichi D3A
 * Aichi E13A
 * Aichi E16A
 * Aichi M6A2
 * Kawanishi H6K
 * Kawanishi N1K5-J
 * Kawasaki Ki-96
 * Kawasaki Ki-100
 * Kawasaki Ki-102
 * Mitsubishi A6M8
 * Mitsubishi B5M
 * Mitsubishi G3M
 * Mitsubishi Ki-46-III
 * Nakajima/Mahshu Ki-116
 * Showa/Nakajima L2D2-L2D5
 * Yokosuka D4Y3-D4Y4