Fools Rush In

Jyo reported to his superiors: “No longer can we hope to sink the numerically superior enemy carriers through ordinary attack methods. I urge the use of special units to crash dive their aircraft and I request to be placed in command of them. ”

Although, to begin with, official reaction was to reject the suggestion, many Japanese airmen warmed to this idea; it appealed to their Samurai warrior code. If they were going to commit almost certain suicide anyway, it would be far better to do so in a way which would most hurt the enemy. This was a last chance – something which could save their homeland in its darkest hour . . . Suicide attacks would be the method of the Kamikaze.

This idea had its origins deep rooted in Japanese legend. In 1570 a Mongol emperor of China dispatched an invasion fleet to conquer Japan, which was virtually undefended. At the blackest moment a typhoon suddenly sprang up and either sank or dispersed the enemy ships. Believing that this miraculous storm had been sent by the gods the Japanese named it ‘Kamikaze’ (Divine Wind). In 1944-5 the new ‘Divine Wind’ they prayed for seemed to spring from the spontaneous actions of several groups of JNAF and JAAF pilots who began making suicide attacks against American shipping. The idea spread until finally military leaders were convinced of the potential of this form of attack.

With official acceptance of the principle of suicide as a weapon, the introduction of a specially designed aircraft for the purpose was a logical progression. This turned out to be a small, rocket powered flying bomb, the Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka (Cherry Blossom) which became the only specially designed suicide aircraft to reach operational status. It was a small mid wing monoplane, with a duralumin fuselage and wooden wings and stabilisers, powered by three Type 4 Mk 1 Model 20 solid propellant rockets which gave a total thrust of 1,7641bs (800kg). These were mounted in the fuselage behind the cockpit.

Credit for the origin of the design is attributed to Ensign Mitsuo Ohta, a transport pilot of the 405th Kokutai, JNAF. Plans were drawn up by Ohta with the help of the Aeronautical Research Institute, University of Tokyo.

Intense work on the project was begun as soon as possible by a team headed by Lt Commander Tadanao Miki. By the end of September 1944, ten operational Ohka Model 11’s were ready, together with a number of unpowered models for flight trials which commenced in October. A Mitsubishi G4M Type 2 bomber, dubbed ‘Betty’ by the Allies, was specially adapted to be the mother plane. For this it had its bomb bay doors removed so that the Kamikaze plane would be carried in a semi-recessed position under the belly. It was shackled to the Betty by its suspension lug.

The first powered flight was made at Kashima, near Sasebo, by Lt Kazutoshi Nagano who praised the handling characteristics of the machine. Other test pilots were more critical, but that did not matter because the decision for mass production had already been made. The project, therefore, was not affected by two fatal accidents in November. In all, 755 Ohka Model 11’s were produced, 155 at Yokosuka by the Dailchi Kaigun Koku Gyitsusho (First Naval Air Technical Arsenal) and 600 by the Dai-Ichi Kaigum Kokusho (First Naval Air Arsenal) at Kasumigaura.

Distribution of the Ohkas and modified Bettys began as soon as possible, immediately the Kamikaze units were set up and ready.

The Mitsubishi G4M2 bomber proved to be an unfortunate choice of mother plane. While carrying its 4,7181b (2,140kg) Ohka, it was limited to a maximum cruising speed of just over 130mph (240km/hr)- in other words little faster than a World War One scout plane! Among Allied fighter pilots it already carried the nickname of ‘Flying Lighter’ because of its tendency to burst into flames almost as soon as it was hit by cannon or machine gun fire. The designers had sacrificed safety for greater range and as a weight saving measure the fuel tanks had not been armoured. With an Ohka on board, the increased weight and poorer handling characteristics made the Betty even more vulnerable to attack.

In theory, on a combat mission the Ohka pilot remained in the parent bomber until about 50 miles (80km) from the target. After a formal farewell, he crawled down through the bomb bay into the cockpit of his plane. The canopy was secured from the outside by a member of the bomber’s crew, communication being maintained between pilots by means of a telephone link or speaking tube until the moment of launching. When this came, 23 miles (37km) from the target at an altitude between 20,000 and 27,000 feet (6,100-8,230m), the Kamikaze pilot pulled his release lever, which parted the shackle from the suspension lug so that his machine fell away.

There could be no turning back. The pilot began a shallow unpowered glide until he was about a minute away from his target when he triggered off the ignition of the rocket motors; their blast of 8-10 seconds’ duration gave the Ohka a maximum speed of 403mph (649km/hr) at 11,500 feet (3,505m). Next, he pushed his flying coffin into a 50° dive in which a final maximum speed of approximately 580mph (933km/hr) would be reached, making it almost impossible to intercept. Finally, if possible, he levelled out in the last few seconds and attempted to strike his target just at the water line.

On November 28, 1944, the newly commissioned aircraft carrier Shinano sailed out of Tokyo Bay carrying, among other vitally needed supplies, 50 Ohkas. Her destination was the Philippines but she never made it. At 03. 10 hours the next morning she was hit by four torpedoes from the famous American Submarine USS Archerfish and sunk. Other Ohka eventually reached bases at Okinawa and Singapore but they never flew combat missions. The majority of them fell into Allied hands. There were no missions recorded by rocket powered suicide aircraft based outside the Japanese home islands.

The first operational use of these flying bombs occurred on March 21, 1945. The attack was directed against the US Task Force 58, which had just previously launched a series of heavy strikes against airfields in Kyushu and on the remnants of Japan’s Combined Fleet of the Inland Sea as a lead up to the invasion of Okinawa. Leader for the mission was Lt Commander Goro Nonaka. Eighteen Bettys were prepared for takeoff, 16 of which carried Kamikaze rocket planes while the remaining two, one of them Nonaka’s, were to fly without. The Ohka pilot appointed to spearhead the suicide assault was Lt Kentaro Mihashi.

They took off at 11. 30hours and headed out over the Philippine Sea. Of 55 Zero fighters detailed to act as escorts, 8 failed to leave the ground and 17 others aborted because of engine trouble; there remained only 30 to protect the lumbering bombers. When this force was some 30 miles north west of the US Task Force it was picked up on radar and 150 Hellcats and Corsairs were launched to cut it off. The American fighters intercepted and, for the loss of one Hellcat, cut the Japanese raiders to pieces, shooting down all of the bombers and 15-20 of the escorts. The Ohka pilots had no chance to even enter their planes.

The second Ohka mission took place on April 1, 1945, on the same day that the Americans invaded Okinawa. It was more successful. Three Ohka carrying Bettys and three Kamikaze Zeros took off from Kanoya in the late afternoon hoping to surprise the invasion fleet just after dusk, thereby minimising the chance of being intercepted. In this they achieved success. One Ohka struck the battleship USS West Virginia causing heavy damage and a number of casualties. The other Kamikazes managed to damage one transport vessel and two cargo ships.

This attack clearly demonstrated the fact that once the rocket plane dived and reached its final speed, it was much too fast to be intercepted by conventional fighters and was an almost impossible-to-hit moving target for anti-aircraft gunners. The best chances for the American defences rested in early radar detection of the heavily laden Bettys before they were close enough to launch their suicide planes.

The first ship known for certain to have been sunk by one of these suicide rocket bombs was the US destroyer Mannert L Abele on April 12 off Okinawa. At approximately 14. 40 hours that afternoon three Kamikaze Zeros made determined attacks on the ship, coming in from different angles. One broke through the defences, smashing through the starboard side and causing extensive damage. The big destroyer was motionless in the water when another diving Ohka selected her as a target. She was again struck on the starboard side and the resulting explosion broke the ship in half. What remained of her sank within three minutes with 79 dead. In the same action the destroyer/ minesweeper USS Jeffers and the destroyer USS Stanley sustained damage from rocket bomb attacks. A total of eight Ohka carrying Bettys had taken off from the base at Kanoya.

According to Japanese records, between March 2f and June 22, the days of the first and last Ohka missions, 7 4 Ohkas took off on sorties and of these 56either succeeded in making attacks or were shot down before launching from their parent aircraft. Losses directly attributed to rocket bomb operations include one destroyer sunk and another so badly damaged that it was scrapped. A destroyer minelayer was rendered inoperable for the remainder of the war and varying degrees of damage were sustained by a battleship, a destroyer, a destroyer minelayer, 2 minesweepers, an attack transport and a cargo ship. This resulted in 400 American casualties, including 150 dead, at a cost of 56 Ohka pilots and 229 other airmen(the crew members of the mother aircraft).

The Americans soon found their own name for the rocket propelled suicide planes. They named it ‘Baka’, the Japanese word for ‘fool’ or ‘idiot’. Two possible reasons for this have been suggested. The first implied that it was linked with the saying: ” . . . fools rush in where angels fear to tread”(Alexander Pope).

The second suggested, somewhat disrespectfully, that it was not just a coincidence that the Japanese word happened to sound like a certain English swear word.

The last successful Ohka mission took place on May 11, 1945. Four Ohka carrying Bettys took off with several other Kamikaze planes for an attack on US radar picket ships. The targets they found were the destroyers USS Evans and USS Hugh W Hadley. Hadley, following a bomb hit and a Kamikaze crash on the stern, was then attacked by a low flying Betty which released an Ohka at close range. The destroyer was severely hit. With his ship flooding and fires threatening the magazines, the captain grudgingly gave the order to abandon ship, but a skeleton crew remained on board and after a courageous struggle managed to save the vessel by bringing the fires under control. Casualties included 28 dead and 67wounded. Meanwhile, Evans had taken four Kamikaze hits. Both ships had to be towed for repair to Kerama Retto where Hadley was later scrapped.

With the threat of imminent invasion of the Japanese home islands the remaining Ohka units were redeployed. It was planned to establish a series of small bases along the coastline from which Ohkas could be launched from catapults(rather like German V1 flying bombs) against Allied shipping Meanwhile, modifications to the bomber/rocket plane combination were still in progress. Because the Betty had proved to be so vulnerable to attack as a mother plane, the new Ohka 22 was designed to be carried by the much faster and more manoeuvrable Yokosuka PW Model 33 ‘Frances’. The Ohka 22 was longer and lighter than the Model 11 and, instead of being powered by rockets, power was supplied by one Tsu-11jet engine which developed a total thrust of 441Ib (200kg). This engine was used in an effort to improve range so that launching could take place further from the target.

Short range had proved to be one of the Ohka 11 ‘s major draw­ _backs. On one occasion, six Ohka carrying Bettys had attacked the British Task Force 57, but they released their charges too early and the Kamikazerocket planes fellinto the sea short of the target. Tests showed that the Ohka’s range had been increased by almost four times, but thejet engine apparently gave the Ohka 22 a maximum speed of only 276mph (444km/hr) which would have made it an easy target for interceptors and anti-aircraft gunners. Also serious was the fact that the reduced wing area of the new design made its handling characteristics far worse than those of the Model 11which, according to many, was not an easy machine to fly. Fifty were built but they were never used in action.

Further developments of the Ohka included the Model 21 combining the rocket motor of the Model 11 with an airframe of the Model 22(a prototype of which was never built), the Model 33 designed to be launched from a four engined bomber, the Model 43A which had folding wings and was intended to be catapult launched from a large submarine, the Model 438 intended to be catapult launched from shore installations and the Model 53 project which was to betowed aloft and released like a glider.

The Ohka was not the only jet powered Kamikaze plane being developed by the Japanese. In late 1944an example of the Argus As 10 9-041pulse jet as used in the Reichenberg 1V, a piloted version of the V1 Flying Bomb, was brought by submarine from Germany to Japan. It was examined at the Aeronautical Institute, Tokyo Imperial University. There, ProfessorsTaichiro Ogawa and lchiro Tani, working with the Kawanishi Company, produced a design for a piloted flying bomb they named ‘Baika’ (Plum Blossom). Power from the Maru Ka-10 pulse jet (based on the German model) gave a maximum thrust of 7 94Ibs (360kg) and would allow it to takeoff under its own power through the use of a wheeled dolly which was to be jettisoned afterwards. Maximum estimated speed was 460mph (740km/hr) with a 551Ib (250kg) warhead in the nose.

Fortunately for the Allies none of these later designs reached production. The dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki – which brought about Japan’s surrender – finished their development prematurely.