Japanese Cherry Blossoms- the "Okha"- continued...

By 

Scott Schwartz

The reader should keep in mind that Miki was not naive about the purposes for which even conventional aircraft were being used at this point in the war.  However, he rationalized that his job was to design and produce aircraft, with the decisions about their final use being decided by those in combat zones.  But to design an aircraft specifically for suicide missions was too much for him.  That is, until Ota explained that he would fly one of the missions.  Miki was taken aback by Ota’s dedication. 

And so work was begun on what became known as the Ohka (“Cherry Blossom”).  The aircraft was supposed to be powered by the same chemical rocket engines that powered the German Me-163 Komet.  This fuel used in these engines proved to be too unstable, so a jet engine was considered.  However, development of this engine was progressing too slowly, so Miki and his design team settled for solid-propellant  “gunpowder” rocket engines.

What eventually emerged from the laboratory was basically a large (2446 lbs.) flying bomb that was equipped with a small, rudimentary cockpit.  The only operational variant, the Model 11, had a range of about 23 statute miles, which meant that its lumbering mother airplane had to spend more time being exposed to enemy fighters.  Not surprisingly, many Ohkas and their carrier aircraft were shot down before they could launch their attacks. 

Still, with its extremely high diving speed (over 500 mph), the Ohka was almost impossible to intercept, once it was launched.  Seven American ships were sunk or damaged by Ohka’s.  In one case, an American destroyer was attacked by two Ohka’s.  One missed the ship completely.  The other one passed completely through the ship, with very little resulting damage.

To be continued.