Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka ("Baka")
The MXY7 Ohka was not so much an airplane as it was flying bomb powered by a rocket or jet engine. The project was begun in the summer of 1944. The aircraft was originally intended for coastal defense, but it was later decided to transform it into an offensive weapon guided by a suicide pilot. The MXY7 was launched from a larger aircraft, usually a Mitsubishi G4M2e "Betty", near the target. It would then fire its rocket engines during its high speed low angle dive towards its target (typically Allied ships). Because of its high speed it was a tough target to shoot down, but by the time the Ohkas were used during the war the Americans had achieved air superiority. This resulted in most of the Ohkas being lost as their parent bombers were intercepted by American fighters and shot down prior to the release of the Ohka. A total of 852 Ohkas were built in four versions during the last months of the war, and they were given the Allied code name of "Baka" (crazy) because of their seemingly inexplicable suicide mission.
Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka Model 11
Type: Special Attack
Service: Japanese Navy Air Force (JNAF)
Crew: Pilot
Armament: 2646 lb (1200 kg) warhead in nose
Reference: Francillon: 482, Mondey:
Specifications:
Length: 19' 10.75" (6.066 m)
Height: 3' 9.75" (1.16 m)
Wingspan: 16' 9.5" (5.12 m)
Wing area: 64.583 sq. ft (6 sq. m)
Empty Weight: 970 lbs (440 kg)
Max Weight: 4718 lbs (2140 kg)
Propulsion:
No. of Engines: 3
Powerplant: Type 4 Mark 1 Model 20 solid-propellant rocket
Horsepower: 1764 lb thrust (total)
Performance:
Range: 20 nautical miles (23 st miles)
Max Speed: 403 mph (350 kt) at 11485 ft (3500 m)
Production: approximately 852 Ohkas
Additional information on this aircraft can be found at Wikipedia HERE.
For several very nice scale color drawings of this aircraft, see here (3 versions available on left).
Additional color schemes for this aircraft can be found
here.
(go to Yokosuka page)
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