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The Yokosuka MXY-7 is a purpose-built, rocket-powered human-guided kamikaze attack aircraft that was produced by the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal and deployed by Japan toward the end of World War II. Allied personnel commonly referred to the aircraft as "Baka Bombs" (baka being a Japanese pejorative term meaning "fool" or "idiot").

The Ohka was conceived during 1943 by Ensign Mitsuo Ohta and, following design assistance from the Aeronautical Research Institute of the University of Tokyo, received formal approval to proceed from the Imperial Japanese Navy on 16 August 1944. Development was carried out in secret, partially to not impact the Japanese public's perception of the conflict. Effectively a flying bomb, the Ohka was intentionally designed to be as cheap as possible to construct, typically featuring plywood wings and an aluminium fuselage while only being furnished with rudimentary cockpit instrumentation. While initially planned to be produced entirely in-house by the military, the high rate of production desired by military planners eventually necessitated the production of the wings and tail units to be subcontracted out to private firms, such as the Nippon Aircraft Company. The Navy ordered full-rate production to proceed ahead of powered flights being performed in November 1944.

The principal variant, and the only one to see combat, was the Model 11; it was armed with a warhead and was powered by three Type 4 Model 1 Mark 20 solid-fuel rocket motors. Starting on 21 March 1945, the Ohka flew combat missions against Allied ships in the Pacific Ocean theater. Although extremely fast, the Ohka had a very short range of , thus it had to be carried into action as a parasite aircraft by a much larger bomber that frequently proved to be vulnerable to carrier-borne fighters. The Ohka participated in the Battle of Okinawa of 1945, during which it succeeded in sinking or damaging several escort vessels and transport ships, although it was never attributed as having heavily damaged any capital ships. The Japanese developed several versions of the Ohka, including the K-1 unpowered trainer aircraft and the turbojet-powered Model 22. While efforts were made to overcome the aircraft's shortcomings, particularly its short range, the Surrender of Japan came before any of the improved combat models saw deployment.

Design and development

Background

thumb|Labelled diagram of a Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka

The MXY-7 Navy Suicide Attacker Ohka was a manned flying bomb that was conceived by Ensign Mitsuo Ohta of the 405th Kōkūtai, who had witnessed the multiple air attacks by the Allies and observed that the defensive efforts of the Imperial Japanese Navy had been decreasing in effectiveness, thus resolving to design an expendable kamikaze aircraft purpose-built for suicide attacks upon enemy warships. Ohta obtained design assistance from several figures at the Aeronautical Research Institute at the University of Tokyo, which included the construction of a scale model and wind tunnel tests. This involvement of civilian engineers by Ohta ahead of approaching his superiors was likely a violation of protocol, but this infraction was seemingly overlooked.

Having integrating the data from the university's research, on 5 August 1944, Ohta submitted his proposal at the First Navy Aeronautical Technology Arsenal. Part of the reason for such secrecy was to avoid the spreading of awareness at Japan's military circumstances to be developing such an aircraft. This desire led to the early dismissal of interest in the subcontracting of production work to the private sector; instead, production was initially exclusively confined to military facilities. The navy designation Marudai was assigned to the project, which was partially based on the first ideograph in Ohta's name. It took less than one month to produce the first prototype, as well as ten production-standard aircraft by the end of September 1944, which were referred to as the Yokosuka MXY-7 Model 11.

Both due to the single-use nature of the aircraft, and the resource shortages present across Japan's wider economy towards the end of the conflict, there was considerable pressure to design the Ohka to be as affordable as possible.

In October 1944, glide testing started at Sagami Bay, just south of Tokyo; powered trials commenced one month later.

Operationally, the Ohka was usually carried underneath a Mitsubishi G4M2e Model 24J "Betty" bomber to within range of its target. On release, the pilot would first glide towards the target and when close enough he would fire the Ohkas three Type 4 Model 1 Mark 20 solid-fuel rocket motors, one at a time or in unison, and fly the missile towards the ship that he intended to destroy. The final approach was difficult for a defender to stop because the aircraft gained high speed ( in level flight and or even in a dive. Later versions were designed to be launched from coastal air bases and caves, and even from submarines equipped with aircraft catapults, although none were actually used in this way. The was the first Allied ship to be sunk by Ohka aircraft, near Okinawa, on 12 April 1945. Over the course of the conflict, Ohkas sank or damaged beyond repair three ships and significantly damaged three more ships, with a total of seven U.S. ships damaged or sunk by Ohkas.

The Ohka pilots, members of the Jinrai Butai (Thunder Gods Corps), are honored in Japan at Ohka Park in Kashima City, the Ohka Monument in Kanoya City, the Kamakura Ohka Monument at Kenchō-ji Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa, and the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

thumb|US personnel disarming the warhead of an Ohka, [[Yontan Airfield, Okinawa, April 1945]]

thumb|Thermojet powered Model 22; note the jet intake on the side just forward of the tail.

The Ohka K-1 was an unpowered trainer version with water ballast in place of a warhead and engines, that was used to provide pilots with handling experience. Unlike the combat aircraft, it was furnished with flaps and a landing skid. The water ballast would be dumped proir to landing. The K-1 remained a challenging aircraft to fly, possessing a relatively high landing speed of . 45 K-1s were produced by Dai-Ichi Kaigun Koku Gijitsusho.

The Model 22 was designed to overcome the short standoff distance problem by using a Campini-type motorjet engine, the Ishikawajima Tsu-11, giving a level speed of only at but extending the range to . This engine was successfully tested, and 50 Model 22 Ohkas were built at Yokosuka to accept this engine.

The Model 33 was a larger version of the Model 22 powered by an Ishikawajima Ne-20 turbojet with an warhead. The launch aircraft was to be the Nakajima G8N Renzan, but the Model 33 was cancelled due to the likelihood that the Renzan would not be available.

Other unbuilt planned variants were the Model 43A with folding wings, to be launched from submarines, and the Model 43B, a catapult/rocket-assisted version, also with folding wings so that it could be hidden in caves. Finally, the Model 53 would also use the Ne-20 turbojet, but was to be towed like a glider and released near its target. It was used mostly against U.S. ships invading Okinawa, and if launched from its mothership, could be effective because of its high speed in the dive. In the first two attempts to transport the Ohkas to Leyte Gulf using aircraft carriers, the carriers and were sunk by the U.S. submarines and .

Attacks intensified during April 1945. On 1 April 1945, six G4Ms attacked the U.S. fleet off Okinawa. At least one aircraft made a successful attack; its Ohka was thought to have hit one of the 406&nbsp;mm (16&nbsp;in) turrets on the battleship , causing moderate to extensive damage. In total, of the 300 Ohka available for the Okinawa campaign, 74 actually undertook operations, of which 56 were either destroyed with their parent aircraft or in making attacks. The Allied nickname for the aircraft was "Baka", a Japanese word meaning "foolish" or "idiotic".

Variants

thumb|Model 43 K-1 Kai rocket assist trainers; note the landing skid.

;MXY-7: Rocket powered suicide attacker, unpowered glider prototypes; ten built

;Navy Suicide Attacker Ohka Model 11: Long designation of the operational attacker

;Ohka Model 11: Suicide attacker powered by 3 × Navy Type 4 Mark 1 Model 20 solid-fueled rocket motors, firing for 8–10 seconds; 755 built

;Ohka Model 21: Suicide attacker, fitted with steel-built wings built by Nakajima; one built

;Ohka Model 22: Suicide attacker, powered by an Ishikawajima Tsu-11 thermo-jet engine with reduced span wings and warhead, to be carried by Yokosuka P1Y1 Ginga bombers. 50 built by the

thumb|Kugisho MXY7 Ohka Model 22

;Ohka Model 33: Suicide attacker, powered by an Ishikawajima Ne-20 turbojet engine, with an warhead, to be carried by the Nakajima G8N1 Renzan bomber

;Ohka Model 43A Ko: Suicide attacker, powered by a Ne-20 turbojet engine, with folding wings, to be catapult launched from submarines - unbuilt

;Ohka Model 43B Otsu: Suicide attacker similar to the Model 43A for catapult launching from caves - unbuilt

;Ohka Model 53: Suicide attacker for aerotow launch, powered by a Ne-20 turbojet engine

;Ohka K-1: Suicide attack training glider

;Ohka Model 43 K-1 : Two-seat suicide attack glider trainer with flaps and retractable skid undercarriage, fitted with a single Type 4 Mark 1 Model 20 rocket motor, for limited powered flight

;"Suzuka-24" (Japanese designation unknown): Alleged interceptor version with warhead replaced by a fuel tank for a Ne-20 jet engine and two 20&nbsp;mm autocannon (Unknown Ho-5 or Type 99 with 60 / 150 rounds per gun) mounted on top. Supposedly employed at least twice against B-29 formations in April 1945

Surviving aircraft

thumb|Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka Model 11, on display at [[Indian Air Force Museum, Palam, New Delhi, India]]

thumb|K-1 Ohka Trainer, [[National Museum of the U.S. Air Force]]

thumb|[[Motorjet|Thermojet powered, Model 22 Ohka. National Air and Space Museum]]

thumb|The rear of Ohka, [[Royal Air Force Museum Cosford]]

thumb|Yokosuka Ohka Model 22

India

;On display

  • Model 11 on static display at the Indian Air Force Museum in Palam, New Delhi.

Japan

;On display

  • Model 11 on static display at Iruma Air Force Base in Iruma, Saitama.
  • On static display at the Kawaguchiko Motor Museum in Narusawa, Yamanashi.

United Kingdom

;On display

  • Model 11 on static display at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton, Somerset.<!-- British Aircraft Preservation Council BAPC.58 -->
  • Model 11 on static display at the Imperial War Museum in London.<!-- British Aircraft Preservation Council BAPC.159 -->
  • Model 11 on static display at the Royal Air Force Museum London in London.<!-- British Aircraft Preservation Council BAPC.99 -->
  • Model 11 on static display at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester.<!-- British Aircraft Preservation Council BAPC.98 -->

United States

;On display

  • Model 11 on static display at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia.
  • Model 11 on static display at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California.
  • Model 11 on static display at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.
  • Model 22 in storage at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia, the only surviving Model 22.
  • Model 43B K-1 Kai Wakazakura on static display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. It is on loan from the National Air and Space Museum.
  • K-1 on static display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
  • K-1 on static display at the National Museum of the U.S. Navy in Washington, D.C.

Replicas on display

Japan

  • Model 11 on static display at the Yūshūkan of the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.
  • Model 11 on static display at Usashi Heiwa Museum in Usa, Oita.
  • On static display in Ōka Park in Kashima, Ibaraki.
  • Movie prop on static display in Kamisu Central Park in Kamisu, Ibaraki.

United States

  • Model 11 on static display at the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, New York.

Canada

  • Model 11 on static display at the Jet Aircraft Museum in London, Ontario.

Specifications (Ohka 11)

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography

  • .
  • "Baka... Flying Warhead", C.I.C. (Combat Information Center), U.S. Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, June 1945.
  • USS LSM(R)-193
  • Popular Science, August 1945, Japanese Gamble On Human Bombs
  • The History of Kamikaze Ohka 桜花