Brady
Posts: 10701
Joined: 10/25/2002 From: Oregon,USA Status: offline
|
Posted by Subchaser some time ago: Rikko units of ww2" by Osamu Tagaya is not the first book you should read on this subject, Tagaya did an outstanding job on covering early war period, but later war was just briefly described. For more detailed stuff look into “The Hagoromo Society of Kamikaze Divine Thunderbolt Corps Survivors: The Cherry blossom Squadrons” by Andrew Adams. Ohara publications 1975. on ohka combat effectiveness - pp 48-79. Characteristics on paper and in reality proved to be quite different, it was figured out that Okha effective range was exactly 10 times more than altitude of a drop, Maru dai (Rikko + Okha complex) maximum ceiling was 6km, thus Okha effective range was just 60 km. Operational range of G4M2e with attached Okha was 65% of Rikko’s normal (with usual loadout), so the main problem was not how to avoid US fighters during Okha's actual attack, but how to protect Rikkos that close to US fleet. However there were successes, on 12th april 45 Dohi Saburo from Kaigun Jinrai Butai, the first successful Ohka driver, hit DD-733 Mannert L. Abele (ship disintegrated) near Okinawa, out of 10 launched 3 more Jinrai pilots managed to commit 'surimisho' that day, one hit water in just 50 meters away from DMS-27 Jeffers, explosion seriously damaged the ship, 2 others attacked DD-478 Stanly, one was destroyed by flak but another one reached its target, warhead did not exploded immediately, Ohka simply went thru the ship too fast, Kamikaze left huge hole and exploded only when Okha was already deep in water. (sailors from Stanly later told that they did not see that last Okha and thought that it was torpedo launched by Japanese submarine) Later there were some more victories, but incomparably less Japanese hoped for. The main problem was not in Okha itself but in adequate escorts for Rikkos, % of hits for those Ohkas who had reached the target area was pretty high in comparison with regular kamikaze. I scanned this scheme for you, gives overall picture of Okha attack
< Message edited by Brady -- 2/23/2007 3:59:39 AM >
_____________________________
Beta Team Member for: WPO PC CF AE WiTE Obi-wan Kenobi said it best: A lot of the reality we perceive depend on our point of view
|