The Japanese Yokosuka MXY7 Model 11 (Ohka or ‘Cherry Blossom’), codenamed ‘Baka’ by Allied troops, was a suicide attack aircraft used against Allied warships. Tested in October 1944, this rocket-powered gilder packed with 3000 pounds of explosives is designed to be carried and launched from a ‘mother’ aircraft such as the modified Mitsubishi G4M2e ‘Betty’ bomber once it reaches its target within twenty miles.
When the Ohka is released, the pilot controlling it with a joystick will guide the bomb towards the target, increasing its speed to 600 miles per hour thanks to three rocket propulsions in the tail of the glider. Since this was intended to be a one-way suicide mission, the pilot is expected to stay in the Ohka until it penetrates the allied warship, detonating and causing the ship to sink in true Kamikaze fashion.
Below is a pamphlet showing how the Ohka works:
Despite being produced late into the war, the Japanese Ohka plane saw action in 1945 during the battle of Okinawa, mostly operating as part of Japanese Kamikaze aerial suicide units designed to cause maximum damage on Allied warships. The first mission involving the suicide weapon was in March 1945, when 16 Betty bombers carrying the Ohkas were shot down by Allied aircraft, with some released short of their targets.
However, later successes occurred in April 1945 when the American destroyer USS Mannert L. Abele was sunk by a Japanese Ohka, resulting in 84 lives being lost.
By the end of the war, over 800 Ohka planes were produced in Japan, built largely of wood and readily available metallic alloys, making it a cost-effective and unique terror weapon for Allied sailors.
https://planesoffame.org/aircraft/plane-MXY-7
http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/models/aircraft/Yokosuka-Ohka.html
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