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The Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka "cherry blossom" was a last-ditch rocket-powered kamikaze plane deployed by Japan near the end of World War II. Carried into battle underneath a Mitsubishi G4M2e Model 24J bomber, the one-man piloted flying bomb would fire three powerful engines and plow into US naval ships, prompting a more lethal detonating than the traditional Kamikaze suicide attacks of Japanese pilots…
As the war in the Pacific slowly turned the tide for the American Army and Marines, the Japanese resorted to extreme measures to inflict maximum damage on any troops advancing towards the last islands protecting the Sea of Japan.
Thus, the Kamikaze suicide pilots became a source of national pride and of utmost importance to the Japanese military.
It is said that when the Mongols attempted to invade Japan in the late-13th century, the kami or Japanese gods intervened by sending two powerful typhoons that destroyed the Mongol Navy. Consequently, the word Kamikaze was adopted by Japanese pilots who would strike their vehicles into American warships as a last act of faith.
Initially, the attacks were successful and significantly diminished American morale. Still, as World War II was coming to an end, the surprise factor had disappeared, and Kamikaze attacks no longer had the same effect.
The Japanese then developed the MXY7 Ohka, a one-man piloted flying bomb carried into battle underneath a Mitsubishi G4M2e Model 24J bomber.
After being dropped, Ohka pilots would glide their aircraft towards US naval ships and fire three solid-fuel rocket engines reaching speeds up to 620 miles per hour before plowing into their target and detonating a 2,646-pound warhead.
Only seven American ships were hit by the Ohka, and most of these attacks happened during the Battle of Okinawa in April of 1945.
Of the more than 300 Ohka built, only 74 took to the skies, and 56 were destroyed before reaching their intended targets. Submarine and cave-launched versions of the Ohka were planned but never completed before the end of the war.
American sailors referred to this lethal explosive aircraft with the Japanese word Baka, which means foolish or idiotic...
As the war in the Pacific slowly turned the tide for the American Army and Marines, the Japanese resorted to extreme measures to inflict maximum damage on any troops advancing towards the last islands protecting the Sea of Japan.
Thus, the Kamikaze suicide pilots became a source of national pride and of utmost importance to the Japanese military.
It is said that when the Mongols attempted to invade Japan in the late-13th century, the kami or Japanese gods intervened by sending two powerful typhoons that destroyed the Mongol Navy. Consequently, the word Kamikaze was adopted by Japanese pilots who would strike their vehicles into American warships as a last act of faith.
Initially, the attacks were successful and significantly diminished American morale. Still, as World War II was coming to an end, the surprise factor had disappeared, and Kamikaze attacks no longer had the same effect.
The Japanese then developed the MXY7 Ohka, a one-man piloted flying bomb carried into battle underneath a Mitsubishi G4M2e Model 24J bomber.
After being dropped, Ohka pilots would glide their aircraft towards US naval ships and fire three solid-fuel rocket engines reaching speeds up to 620 miles per hour before plowing into their target and detonating a 2,646-pound warhead.
Only seven American ships were hit by the Ohka, and most of these attacks happened during the Battle of Okinawa in April of 1945.
Of the more than 300 Ohka built, only 74 took to the skies, and 56 were destroyed before reaching their intended targets. Submarine and cave-launched versions of the Ohka were planned but never completed before the end of the war.
American sailors referred to this lethal explosive aircraft with the Japanese word Baka, which means foolish or idiotic...
Weapons
WWII World War Two
Germany
Japan
YouTube
Posted >1 y ago
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