Widely used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, the Kawasaki Ki-61 entered combat for the first time in the spring of 1943, during the New Guinea campaign. With the exception of some minor design problems, the aircraft was mostly trouble-free in service. Because of its unusual exterior, allied forces initially believed this aircraft to be of German or Italian origin. The Allied code name "Tony" was probably a result of the airplanes Italian appearance.

Despite high aircraft losses by the Japanese fighters during the New Guinea campaign of World War II, the Tony brought fear among allied pilots who saw their aircraft outclassed in many ways. The Ki-61 was more than a match for the American P-40 in speed, in fact, the P-38 Lightning was the only measurably superior aircraft of the time. The Ki-61 was utilized in the South and Southwest Pacific, the Philippines, Southeast Asia, Okinawa, China, Manchuria, and in the Japanese metropolitan defense against American B-29 Super Fortresses. Many Ki-61s were also used in Tokkotai (kamikaze) missions launched toward the end of WWII.

I used Hasegawa's well detailed Ki-61-I Hien Tony plastic model airplane for this project. The entire model was giving an overall Natural Metal finish with Green mottling on the upper surface of the wings. The cockpit and wheel well interior was airbrushed Khaki Yellow while Red Brown was used for the propeller and spinner. These colors were typical for Japanese aircraft.

Seiichi Suzuki's operational career is not well known. He was a member of the 3rd Chutai (squadron) in the 244th Sentai (group). It is believed that he achieved some victories in unknown circumstances during the Home Defense. Documents credit him with 2.67 B-29s destroyed and 1.5 B-29s damaged. A rough translation of Watanabe’s JAAF Home Defense indicates he rammed a B-29 and subsequently crash landed in an unpopulated area. He was KIA in 1945 by F6F Hellcats. This is a great representation of one of Suzuki's Tony. Enjoy the photos.