009 7/ 2016 KUGISHO MXY7-K2

The Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka was a Japanese WWII suicide missile plane. The propulsion was provided by three rocket engines Type 4-1 model 20 The flight of the prototype took place at the end of 1944, and serial production continued in the years 1944-1945, ending with the production of about 850 machines of this type. Ohka did not have any defensive weapons. However, it carried a warhead weighing up to 1,200 kilograms. The Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka was created as part of a plan developed in mid-1944 to contain American progress in the Pacific using suicide weapons. This plan was born in the command of the Japanese Navy. It was assumed that for suicide attacks, both specially rebuilt existing aircraft and completely new designs, including the MXY7, would be used. When designing this very unusual weapon, the focus was on the lowest possible production costs and the highest possible pace. This resulted in the use of many wooden elements in the structure of the wings or the limitation of on-board instruments to the absolute minimum. Mitsubishi G4M2e bombers were designated for the role of aircraft that were to deliver the MXY7 Ohka to the target. Machines of this type were used on a large scale during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, especially in April and May of that year.