"Secret Japanese Aircraft of WW2" on TV last night

[Yamamoto]

Did anyone watch this show? To most of us wargames many of the aircraft were not really secret but just not well known to most people. They talked about the Kikka (the ME262-type plane) as well as many other jet androcket planes.

One of the planes they mentioned that I had neve rheard of before was an autogyro (hybrid airplane-helicopter) design that the Japanese used for ASW. They were flown off of one of the army's CVEs and carried 1 60kg depth charge. They said it was the only combat use of a helicopter (autogyro) in WW2.

I'm sure the program will be repeated so if you catch it on its worth watching.

Yamamoto

[Full Moon]

Yeah, I did. I like these kinds of stuff. I have some pictures of them.

J7W."Shinden"



J8M."Shuusui"

[mogami]

Hi, I don't know how they can be included in UV/WITP since their main function is arty spotting. The allies never assigned a code name for these aircraft (they saw service in PI in 41/42 but it appears the allies never noticed them)

The Japanese government, after acquiring and testing a Kellett KD-1A autogyro in 1939, turned the aircraft over to the Kayaba Industrial Co, (After they crashed it) which subsequently built an inline-engined version of the aircraft as the Ka.1. This was powered by a 240hp Kobe engine (larger engine then orginal)(licence version of the German Argus As.10C); the first Ka.1 was flown on 26 May 1941 and eventually some two hundred and forty aircraft of this type were built. They were employed during World War 2 by the Imperial Japanese Army for artillery observation and cooperation duties, and by the Navy for coastal or carrier-based antisubmarine patrol carrying two 60kg bombs or depth charges. One Ka.1 was modified for trials with small auxiliary rockets at the tips of the rotor blades


(Edit: What is an Auto Gyro?
An autogyro is a flying machine. It looks like a cross between an airplane and a helicopter. It has a fuselage like an airplane, and a propeller like an airplane to provide the propulsion, but its lift is provided by a rotor similar to that in a helicopter. The difference is that the rotor in an autogyro is not powered. It is made to spin by aerodynamic forces. This is known as autorotation. )

[Sam-I-am]

Yep, very informal show.

I caught another like it a while back where they had mentioned of hvy bombers that could have reached US shores.

(I cannot recall if they were one-way trips tho)

There was this plan to drop bio-weapons such as plauge on US soil.

[crsutton]

Actually, there is an unrestored survivor of the Japanes ME 262 mockup at the Paul Garber facility in Suitland Maryland. I got a photo of it if anybody wants to see it. One look at it and you can tell that the project would have gone nowhere. The Germans gave the Japanese the plans, but in no way was Japanese industry up to the task. The same applies to all of the other fantastic ideas that they had.

One only has to look at the George and Frank fighters to see this. On paper they were terrific designs. Japanese aircraft designers were actually very good. And, when they worked they were superb fighters that were a match for anything the allies had. Unfortunately for Japan, they rarely worked at all. Japanese industry was already coming apart at the seams by the time these planes went into production. Quality control was terrible and most were distroyed on the ground while out of service. You can forget about the producing any sort of jet fighter or long range bomber in any number or quality. Not possible.

[mogami]

Hi, I think both Germany and Japan had relocated factories underground where they were safe even against atomic bombs.
The History Channel program reported 12000 Japanese advanced aircraft were found in these underground plants and airfields. The Japanese aircraft captured in this manner were tested and reported to preform well on low grade fuel. They were reserved for the allied invasion. The plan was to launch massive low level, high speed attacks on the Allied transports.
Of course pilot quality would have been an issue. I'm not clear whether conventional or Kamikaze attacks were invisioned.

[Full Moon]

Nakajima Kikka was the only World War II Japanese jet aircraft capable of taking off under its own power. When Germany began test flying the superb jet-propelled, Messerschmitt Me 262 fighter, the Japanese air attaché to Germany witnessed a number of flight trials. Thanks to the attaché's enthusiastic reports, the Naval Staff directed Nakajima in September 1944 to develop a twin-jet, single-seat, attack aircraft based on the Me 262 design.
Their design roughly resembled the Me 262 but was smaller. During this phase of the design, the naval authorities had designated the aircraft Navy Special Attacker Kikka, a suicide aircraft.


MXY-7 Ohka (Cherry Blossom) specialized suicide attack jet aircraft. It was launched from a parent aircraft (usually Betty). After an initial glide, the pilot would turn on his Ohka's rocket or turbo-jet motors and fly the aircraft into its target. April 1, 1945 the US battleship West Virginia and three transport ships fell victim of Ohka and got damaged. First sinking (the destroyer USS Mannert L Abele) occurred on April 12, 1945 off Okinawa.