Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka: Japan’s Piloted Rocket Weapon

The Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka was a specialized Japanese attack weapon whose intended flight ended in a collision with an enemy ship. The combat-used Model 11 combined a large explosive charge with a pilot-guided approach, using a carrier bomber to bring it close enough to launch. Its rocket-powered final attack offered speed at the cost of very limited range. This video concentrates on the design’s practical limitations. Before the small weapon could attack, its slow and conspicuous carrier aircraft had to survive the approach. American defensive fighters and antiaircraft fire therefore threatened the system well before the final dive. Ohka was used during the closing Pacific campaigns, including the fighting around Okinawa. Museum aircraft and naval records help distinguish operational versions from trainers and projected variants. The history is more informative when it asks what the system could do, what it could not do and what its use demanded of its pilots. Sources and further reading: Yokosuka MXY7-K1 Ohka https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196246/yokosuka-mxy7-k1-ohka/ Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/collections/yokosuka-mxy7-ohka/ Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka (Baka Bombs) https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/wwii/wwii-pacific/okinawa/yokosuka-mxy-7-ohka.html Kugisho MXY7 Ohka (Cherry Blossom) 22 https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/kugisho-mxy7-ohka-cherry-blossom-22/nasm_A19480180000