War Photography

Combat photographer Raymond Hurley of the 165th Signal Photographic Company sitting on a knocked-out Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger II tank in Osterode, Germany. He is holding a Speed Graphic in his right hand while pointing to a shell hole in the turret's side.

Signal photographic companies included technicians for the maintenance and repair of cameras.

Camera equipment laid out for inspection.

Cameras were used to photograph everything from the home front to combat. Here a cameraman takes the picture of some service troops in North Africa.

Combat camera teams of the 163rd Signal Photographic Company stand for inspection with their still and motion picture cameras set up.

Pvt. James D. Witherspoon (left) and Pvt. Sidney Blau (right) of the 163rd Signal Photographic Company prepare their photographic equipment for inspection. Witherspoon is kneeling next to his PH-104 camera equipment case. A Speed Graphic camera on a tripod is visible in the background.

The only way to see exactly what the Speed Graphic was pointed at is by looking through the back of the camera with no film in it. When the camera is loaded a metal wire frame on the top provides a basic sight for aligning the image before taking the shot.

Signal Corps photographer Sgt. George O. Miehle takes a photo of Sgt. Carl T. Delbridge of the 66th Division in his foxhole.

Second Lieutenant Walter Sidlowski kneels over the blanket-covered body of an American soldier he had just helped rescue from the surf off Omaha Beach. Exhausted, Sidlowski appears motionless. His dripping wet uniform hugged by an inflated life belt, his face tortured and staring as though he is looking at someone but can’t find the words to speak. Behind him the scene carries on, other men work to treat those that were saved while waves churn the waters of the English Channel beneath a vast invasion armada. Yet Sidlowski is still, caught in the moment by U.S. Army Signal Corps photographer Walter Rosenblum in one of the most famous images of D-Day.

Edward Steichen: Born in Luxembourg in 1879 and raised in the United States, Edward Steichen showed a strong interest in art and photography at a young age. He became one of the best-known fashion photographers, shooting for publications like Vogue and Vanity Fair, and was at the height of his career when he gave it all up to become a photojournalist. He went on to photograph World War I. When World War II started, Steichen was 62 years old, and set out to document war once again – specifically United States naval operations. Photo: Aircraft of Carrier Air Group 16 return to the USS Lexington (CV-16) during the Gilberts operation, November 1943.

Lieutenant Commander Charles Kerlee, USNR: Before turning to photography, Charles Kerlee worked in the film industry. By the time Edward Steichen recruited him to be one of the official war photographers for the United States Navy, Kerlee was one of the best-known and most successful commercial photographers in the United States. His assignment during World War II was to document the USS Yorktown and the men on board. Not only capturing moments in the air, Kerlee also photographed everyday moments, including those rare moments of downtime. Photo: Two U.S. Navy Curtiss SB2C-3 Helldiver aircraft from Bombing Squadron 11 (VB-11) bank over the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-12) before landing, following strikes on Japanese shipping in the China Sea, circa mid-January 1945.

Lt. Wayne Miller: Wayne Miller was another member of Steichen’s World War II group. He was born in Chicago and attended art school shortly after graduating from high school; however, he left because he didn’t like it and joined the Navy instead. He traveled all over the world, including France and the Philippines, capturing moments of war; indeed, he was one of the first to photograph Hiroshima after the destruction caused by the atomic bomb. During his time in the navy, he took many photographs, with one of the most famous being of an injured airman being pulled from a plane. Photo: Crewmen aboard USS Saratoga lift AOM Kenneth Bratton, USNR, out of a TBF Avenger’s rear turret after a raid on Rabaul on 5 November 1943.

Robert Capa: Born Endre Erno Friedman in Hungary in 1913, Robert Capa was a Jewish wartime photographer known for documenting several different wars, including the Spanish Civil War and World War II. During World War II, Capa captured moments all over the globe from London to Africa to Italy to the Battle of Normandy and more. Indeed, his photographs from Normandy are some of his most memorable, as he was able to capture violence with exceptional aplomb. Robert Capa died in Vietnam when he stepped on a landmine while photographing the First Indochina War. Photo: A field of the dead in Normandy.

Carl Mydans: Capturing life and death and everything that comes with war, Carl Mydans traveled all throughout Europe and Asia, along with his wife Shelley Mydans – they both worked for Life magazine. During the course of taking photos of the war, he traveled over 45,000 miles and captured many devastating moments, including the aftermath of a mass-panic during a Japanese air raid in Chongqing, China. Mydans and his wife were even captured in the Philippines by Japanese forces and were held for almost two years before being released in December 1943. This, however, did not deter Mydans, as he went on to photograph many more wartime situations. Photo: Casualties of a mass-panic during a Japanese air raid in Chongqing in 1941.

Dickey Chapelle: Born Georgette Louise Meyer in Wisconsin in 1918, Dickey Chapelle was a well-known wartime photojournalist, covering everything from World War II to the Vietnam War. During World War II, Chapelle became a war correspondent for National Geographic and was assigned to cover the Marines during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Chapelle was never one to show any fear, always doing whatever she could to document the war. Like Capa, Chapelle also died in Vietnam – a tripwire was triggered and she was fatally wounded with a piece of shrapnel. She was the first American female war photographer killed in action. Photo: Flight Nurse with wounded on Iwo Jima.

Joe Rosenthal: Even though Joe Rosenthal had a long career that spanned over a half of a century, he is best known for one incredible photo, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. Russian Jewish in heritage, Rosenthal was born in Washington D.C. in 1911 and became interested in photography when he moved to San Francisco during the Great Depression. He tried to join the U.S. Army as a military photographer, but due to his poor eyesight, he was denied; however, he got a job with the Associated Press and was assigned to cover the war in the Pacific. He captured one of the most iconic pictures of the war; indeed, it won a Pulitzer Prize in 1945 and was used to create the Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. Photo: Flag raising on Iwo Jima, 23 February 1945.

Toni Frissell: Toni Frissell, born in New York in 1907, was known for her fashion photography, portraits of celebrated people, plus her photos of World War II. Before the war, she worked for magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, creating beautiful images of women outdoors; however, once war was declared, Frissell offered her services to the American Red Cross, which they accepted. She later went to work for the Eighth Army Air Force and the Women’s Army Corps, the latter of which she was the official photographer. Her photos highlight nurses, African American fighter pilots and children, among others. Photo: Tuskegee airman Edward M. Thomas of Chicago, Illinois, Class 43-J.

George Strock: Catching the photography bug in high school where he took a photojournalism course, George Strock became a crime and sports photographer. In 1940, he began to work for Life magazine and was eventually sent to cover the war. Assigned to New Guinea, Strock put his life at risk repeatedly – he was nearly killed on two occasions – in order to capture moments that really showed the destruction and devastation of war. The first photo ever printed in an American publication of dead American soldiers was captured by Strock at Buna Beach. Photo: "Three dead Americans lie on the beach at Buna." Taken on December 31, 1942 or on January 1 or 2, 1943. This was the first photograph published in the United States that depicted American soldiers dead on the battlefield. Due to the number of dead bodies on the beach, the Allies nicknamed it "Maggot Beach".

Dmitri Baltermants: Dmitri Baltermants was a Soviet photojournalist known for his photos capturing the Battle of Stalingrad and battles of the Red Army in both Russia and Ukraine. His photos have been compared to those of Robert Capa, as they show the pain and suffering that war causes; however, in his time, his photos were censored by the government – they wanted to control what was shown. It wasn’t until the 1960s that his best work was shown, including his most famous photo titled ’Searching for the Loved Ones at Kerch’ – depicting a devastated women in complete agony while looking over frozen bodies. Photo: Searching for Loved Ones at Kerch.

Margaret Bourke-White: Another female photojournalist, Margaret Bourke-White was the first woman war photographer allowed to enter the combat zones during World War II. She was located in the Soviet Union, Moscow to be specific, when the German forces invaded – she was able to capture the fighting. She then followed the U.S. Air Force in North Africa followed by the U.S. Army in Italy and Germany. Unsurprisingly, she, like everyone else on this list, was in danger repeatedly, including being on a ship that was torpedoed and sunk. Some of her most memorable works to come out of the war were those of the inmates at concentration camps and bodies in gas chambers. Photo: The Living Dead at Buchenwald, 1945.

Evacuated troops on a destroyer about to berth at Dover, 31 May 1940. [Imperial War Museum H1637]

Two experienced pressmen, Lieutenant Ted Malindine and Lieutenant Len Puttnam, were among the civilian photographers called up to record the experiences of the British Expeditionary Force in 1939 and 1940. Both recorded the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk. Their dedication was such that they themselves were evacuated not once but twice from France.

When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, just one British Army photographer, Geoffrey Keating, and one cameraman, Harry Rignold, accompanied the British Expeditionary Force to France.

On 24 October 1941, the Army agreed to form a corps of trained photographers and cameramen. The unit was called the Army Film and Photographic Unit (AFPU).

AFPU photographers and cameramen were recruited from the ranks of the Army. Many had been press photographers or cameramen in peacetime. All recruits had to undergo compulsory training in battle photography at Pinewood Film Studios. Badges and permits were issued after attempts to confiscate film by overzealous British soldiers.

The first AFPU section deployed to North Africa. More men were recruited and deployed to Syria, Palestine, Cyprus and Iraq. Desert Victory (1943), a film formed almost entirely from AFPU footage, won an Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1943.

No. 2 Section covered the campaigns in Tunisia, Sicily and Italy, producing a number of successful films, including Tunisian Victory (1944).

On D-Day, 6 June 1944, ten AFPU men from newly formed No. 5 section accompanied the first wave of troops ashore, while others landed with airborne troops by parachute or glider. In the following months, the AFPU accompanied the British Army as it fought its way across Europe.

 

Troops of 3rd Infantry Division on Queen Red beach, Sword area, circa 0845 hrs, 6 June 1944. In the foreground are sappers of 84 Field Company Royal Engineers, part of No.5 Beach Group, identified by the white bands around their helmets. Behind them, medical orderlies of 8 Field Ambulance, RAMC, can be seen assisting wounded men. In the background commandos of 1st Special Service Brigade can be seen disembarking from their LCI(S) landing craft. [Imperial War Museum B5114]

This image of troops of the 3rd British Infantry Division was taken at 8.30am on D-Day and is one a series of acclaimed photographs by Sergeant Jimmy Mapham, who spent most of the day under constant fire.

Despite the tough battles they had experienced, nothing prepared the AFPU for the scenes that they encountered at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp when they entered the camp on 15 April 1945.

In vivid contrast, the AFPU covered the surrender of the German forces in Europe. Many then joined No. 9 Section to cover the ongoing war in the Far East. The AFPU disbanded in 1946.

Since the invention of photography in the early 19th century, war photographers have risked their lives venturing into war zones, in an attempt to document the reality of war with a camera.

Throughout history, particularly during the Second World War, many images were heavily censored and the use of cameras were banned in certain circumstances. Strict rules posed challenges for both the censors and photographers.

Men of the Army Film and Photographic Unit training at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, June 1943. Two AFPU sergeants give an introductory lecture to trainee cameramen. [Imperial War Museum H30987]

 During the Second World War Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire was requisitioned for use as headquarters for the Crown Film Unit, the Army Film and Photographic Unit and the RAF Film Production Unit.

The AFPU set up a training school for its cameramen there.

A photographer and cameraman of the Army Film and Photographic Unit, Sergeant W A Greenhalgh, uses a daylight changing bag to load his camera during Exercise FABIUS, a training exercise for the D Day landings in Hampshire, England. The photograph clearly shows how the AFPU were equipped for the landings. With only a few minutes’ worth of film to use before they had to re-load, cameramen had to learn to be careful about what they chose to film. [Imperial War Museum H38275]

Sergeant W A Greenhalgh, Army Film and Photographic Unit, with his jeep during Exercise 'Fabius', 6 May 1944. [Imperial War Museum H38276]

The official film and photographic record of the D-Day landings was taken by No. 5 AFPU (Army Film and Photographic Unit) under the command of Major Hugh Stewart. Members of the unit were ‘embedded’ with formations preparing for the invasion. Ten of them went in with the assault troops.

Cameraman Sgt George Laws, accompanying No. 4 Commando, was the first AFPU man ashore, landing on Sword Beach at 07.45am. He was followed shortly after by photographer Sgt Jimmy Mapham with the 13th/18th Royal Hussars, Sgt Desmond O’Neill with the 2nd East Yorkshire Regiment and Sgt Billy Greenhalgh with the 1st South Lancashire Regiment.

Other photographers and cameramen landed on Juno and Gold beaches. Sergeant Jim Christie was the only member of the AFPU to go in with 6th Airborne Division, and although parachute trained, he landed by glider.

The men of the AFPU were exposed to the same risks as the fighting troops. Sgt Greenhalgh was wounded by a mortar explosion. Sgt O’Neill was wounded by machine gun fire. In the days and weeks that followed, No. 5 AFPU suffered further casualties, with some killed, including Sgt Norman Clague.

The grave of Sgt Norman Clague, a cameraman serving with No 5 Army Film and Photographic Unit who was killed in action at Amfreville on 12 June 1944. Sgt Clague had covered the D Day landings on 6 June 1944 and was the first AFPU official photographer to be killed in North West Europe. [Imperial War Museum B7298]

Army Film and Photographic Unit photographer Sgt Norman Midgley in his jeep, his official issue Super Ikonta camera at the ready during the assault on Caen, France, 24 July 1944. Sgt Midgley was a staff photographer with the Daily Express newspaper in Manchester before joining the Army Film and Photographic Unit. He served with 5 Section AFPU from 1944 until the end of the war. His assignments included the D Day landings. [Imperial War Museum B7947]

AFPU cameraman Sergeant J H Goddard uses a turret-lensed Eyemo camera to film a German military direction sign attached to the only part of the Hotel Moderne left standing amidst the ruins of Caen, 10 July 1944. [Imperial War Museum B6804]

A rare photograph of Captain Edward G Malindine and his younger brother, L/Sgt William T Malindine (both serving with No 5 Section, Army Film and Photographic Unit) together at Aunay sur Odon shortly after the Normandy landings, France, July 1944. The Malindines are the only brothers known to have served together in the Army Film and Photographic Unit during the Second World War. Both brothers were professional press photographers by training. However, while serving with the AFPU, they carried out very different roles. At this time, Captain Malindine was Officer Commanding, Stills, while L/Sgt Malindine (who had earlier served as a darkroom developer and processor with No 1 AFPU in North Africa), was one of the senior NCOs running the Section's mobile darkrooms. Sgt Malindine took relatively few photographs during the war. However the brothers were often confused with each other. [Imperial War Museum H102750]

AFPU film cameraman and photographer, Sergeant Richard Leatherbarrow relaxes with three former women camp inmates at Belsen. Sgt Leatherbarrow served with No 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit and worked primarily as a film cameraman. On D Day, he accompanied and filmed the Canadian forces who landed on Juno Beach. [Imperial War Museum HU48482]

Sgt George Laws, cine cameraman and photographer with No 5 Army Film and Photographic Unit, poses with his cine camera for a final picture before leaving the North West European theatre in June 1945. George Laws served with the Royal Corps of Signals from 1939 until transferring to the AFPU in 1942. Equally at home using a cine or still photography camera, he was posted to No 5 Section during the preparations for the Normandy landings. On D Day, he landed at 07.45am at Sword Beach with No 4 Commando Unit. His cine camera failed early on in the landings, so he concentrated on still photography for the rest of the day. He continued to cover the Allied advance across Europe to Berlin until 2 June 1945. His assignments during this time included the liberation of Belsen. After the war, George Laws worked for the Daily Mirror newspaper. [Imperial War Museum BU8353]

Coast Guard cinematographer Charles W. Bossert shows off the damage to his Bell & Howell Eyemo 35mm movie camera caused by shrapnel from a Japanese mortar on Iwo Jima. Many combat photographers were killed or wounded while trying to get “the shot” and visually document the war.

Navy photographer William Barr snapped this dramatic moment as a kamikaze exploded on the flight deck of the USS Enterprise, May 14, 1945.

Barr also took this shot after a TBM Avenger missed the arresting wire during landing and crashed into parked planes onboard the Enterprise, April 11, 1945.

Corporal Hugh McHugh, shown with his 4×5 Speed Graphic PH-104, was killed by a sniper January 15, 1945 in Belgium.

A German newsreel cameraman focuses on an armored column moving into the Soviet Union. Like their American and British counterparts, German cameramen superbly documented the war.

Emil Edgren shot this image of an American GI with a Browning Automatic Rifle looking at a B-17 that crash-landed in a Belgian field.

A helmetless American paratrooper from the 82nd Airborne Division carrying a tommygun in full gallop across a Belgian field was captured by the lens of Emil Edgren.

A dead German soldier photographed by Emil Edgren.

This photo of General Douglas MacArthur at the microphone was taken by Charles Restifo during the Japanese surrender ceremony aboard the USS Missouri.

Charles Restifo behind his 4×5 PH-104 camera. Although big and bulky, the PH-104 used large-format sheet film that resulted in crisp, detailed photos.

Charles Restifo’s photograph of the desolation at Hiroshima. He was one of the first photographers allowed into the destroyed, radioactive city.

William Wilson’s color photograph of a temporary U.S. war cemetery on the northern coast of Sicily, 1944.

Probably A. G. Yeremenko, Company political officer of the 220th Rifle Regiment, 4th Rifle Division, killed in action in 1942, Voroshilovgrad region, Ukraine, USSR. Photographed by Max Alpert who, during World War II, took a number of iconic photographs at the Soviet frontlines and also documented military events in Prague and Berlin. For his work during the war, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star (1943), the Order of the Patriotic War (1945) and the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka ("Baka" Bomb)

The Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka (櫻花, Ōka, "cherry blossom"; 桜花 in modern orthography) is a purpose-built, rocket-powered human-guided kamikaze attack-aircraft deployed by Japan against Allied ships in the Pacific Ocean theater towards the end of World War II. Although extremely fast, the Ohka had a very short range, so it had to be carried into action as a parasite aircraft by a much larger bomber, which was itself vulnerable to carrier-borne fighters. In action during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, Ohkas succeeded in sinking or damaging some escort-vessels and transport ships, but never sank any major warships. The Japanese developed improved versions in an attempt to overcome the aircraft's shortcomings, but they came too late for deployment.

Allied personnel referred to the aircraft as "Baka Bombs" (baka being a Japanese pejorative term meaning "fool" or "idiot").

Design and Development

The MXY-7 Navy Suicide Attacker Ohka was a manned flying bomb that was usually carried underneath a Mitsubishi G4M2e Model 24J "Betty" bomber to within range of its target. On release, the pilot would first glide towards the target and when close enough he would fire the Ohka's three solid-fuel rockets, one at a time or in unison, and fly the missile towards the ship that he intended to destroy.

The design was conceived by Ensign Mitsuo Ohta of the 405th Kōkūtai, aided by students of the Aeronautical Research Institute at the University of Tokyo. Ohta submitted his plans to the Yokosuka research facility. While Ohta had started work on the design in 1943 the authorities would not take an interest until the following year. The Imperial Japanese Navy decided the idea had merit and Yokosuka engineers of the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal (Dai-Ichi Kaigun Koku Gijitsusho, or in short Kugisho) created formal blueprints for what was to be the MXY-7. The only variant which saw service was the Model 11, and it was powered by three Type 4 Mark 1 Model 20 rockets. 155 Ohka Model 11s were built at Yokosuka, and another 600 were built at the Kasumigaura Naval Air Arsenal.

The final approach was difficult for a defender to stop because the aircraft gained high speed (650 km/h (400 mph) in level flight and 930 km/h (580 mph) or even 1,000 km/h (620 mph) in a dive. Later versions were designed to be launched from coastal air bases and caves, and even from submarines equipped with aircraft catapults, although none were actually used in this way. The Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer USS Mannert L. Abele was the first Allied ship to be sunk by Ohka aircraft, near Okinawa on 12 April 1945. Over the course of the war, Ohkas sank or damaged beyond repair three ships and significantly damaged three more ships, with a total of seven U.S. ships damaged or sunk by Ohkas.

The Ohka pilots, members of the Jinrai Butai (Thunder Gods Corps), are honored in Japan at Ohka Park in Kashima City, the Ohka Monument in Kanoya City, the Kamakura Ohka Monument at Kenchō-ji Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa, and the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

The only operational Ohka was the Model 11. Essentially a 1,200-kilogram (2,600 lb) bomb with wooden wings, powered by three Type 4 Model 1 Mark 20 solid-fuel rocket motors, the Model 11 achieved great speed, but with limited range. This was problematic, as it required the slow, heavily laden mother aircraft to approach within 37 km (20 nmi; 23 mi) of the target, making it very vulnerable to defending fighters. There was one experimental variant of the Model 11, the Model 21, which had thin steel wings manufactured by Nakajima. It had the engine of the Model 11 and the airframe of the Model 22.

The Ohka K-1 was an unpowered trainer version with water ballast instead of warhead and engines, that was used to provide pilots with handling experience. Unlike the combat aircraft, it was also fitted with flaps and a landing skid. The water ballast was dumped before landing but it remained a challenging aircraft to fly, with a landing speed of 130 mph (210 km/h). Forty-five were built by Dai-Ichi Kaigun Koku Gijitsusho.

The Model 22 was designed to overcome the short standoff distance problem by using a Campini-type motorjet engine, the Ishikawajima Tsu-11, giving a level speed of only 276 mph at 13,125 feet but extending the range to 81 miles. This engine was successfully tested, and 50 Model 22 Ohkas were built at Yokosuka to accept this engine. The Model 22 was to be launched by the more agile Yokosuka P1Y3 Ginga "Frances" bomber, necessitating a shorter wing span and much smaller 600-kilogram (1,300 lb) warhead. The first flight of a Model 22 Ohka took place in June 1945; none appear to have been used operationally, and only approximately 20 of the experimental Tsu-11 engines are known to have been produced.

The Model 33 was a larger version of the Model 22 powered by an Ishikawajima Ne-20 turbojet with an 800-kilogram (1,800 lb) warhead. The mothership was to be the Nakajima G8N Renzan. The Model 33 was cancelled due to the likelihood that the Renzan would not be available.

Other unbuilt planned variants were the Model 43A with folding wings, to be launched from submarines, and the Model 43B, a catapult/rocket-assisted version, also with folding wings so that it could be hidden in caves. A trainer version was also under development for this version, the two-seat Model 43 K-1 Kai Wakazakura (Young Cherry), fitted with a single rocket motor. In place of the warhead, a second seat was installed for the student pilot. Two of this version were built. Finally, the Model 53 would also use the Ne-20 turbojet, but was to be towed like a glider and released near its target.

Operational History

The Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka was used mostly against U.S. ships invading Okinawa, and if launched from its mothership, could be effective because of its high speed in the dive. In the first two attempts to transport the Ohkas to Leyte Gulf using aircraft carriers, the carriers Shinano and Unryu were sunk by the U.S. submarines Archerfish and Redfish.

Attacks intensified in April 1945. On 1 April 1945 six G4Ms attacked the U.S. fleet off Okinawa. At least one made a successful attack; its Ohka was thought to have hit one of the 406 mm (16 in) turrets on the battleship West Virginia, causing moderate damage. Postwar analysis indicated that no hits were recorded and that a near-miss took place. The transports Alpine, Achernar, and Tyrrell were also hit by kamikaze aircraft, but it is unclear whether any of these were Ohkas from the other G4Ms. None of the G4Ms returned.

The U.S. military quickly realized the danger and concentrated on extending their "defensive rings" outward to intercept the G4M/Ohka combination aircraft before the suicide mission could be launched. On 12 April 1945 nine G4Ms attacked the U.S. fleet off Okinawa. The destroyer Mannert L. Abele was hit, broke in two, and sank. Jeffers destroyed an Ohka with AA fire 45 m (50 yd) from the ship, but the resulting explosion was still powerful enough to cause extensive damage, forcing Jeffers to withdraw. The destroyer Stanly was attacked by two Ohkas. One struck above the waterline just behind the ship's bow, its charge passing completely through the hull and splashing into the sea, where it detonated underwater, causing little damage to the ship. The other Ohka narrowly missed (its pilot probably killed by anti-aircraft fire) and crashed into the sea, knocking off the Stanly's ensign in the process. One Betty returned. On 14 April 1945 seven G4Ms attacked the U.S. fleet off Okinawa. None returned. None of the Ohkas appeared to have been launched. Two days later, six G4Ms attacked the U.S. fleet off Okinawa. Two returned, but no Ohkas had hit their targets. Later, on 28 April 1945, four G4Ms attacked the U.S. fleet off Okinawa at night. One returned. No hits were recorded.

May 1945 saw another series of attacks. On 4 May 1945 seven G4Ms attacked the U.S. fleet off Okinawa. One Ohka hit the bridge of a destroyer, Shea, causing extensive damage and casualties. Gayety was also damaged by an Ohka's near miss. One G4M returned. On 11 May 1945 four G4Ms attacked the U.S. fleet off Okinawa. The destroyer Hugh W. Hadley was hit and suffered extensive damage and flooding. The vessel was judged beyond repair. On 25 May 1945 11 G4Ms attacked the fleet off Okinawa. Bad weather forced most of the aircraft to turn back, and none of the others hit targets.

On 22 June 1945 six G4Ms attacked the fleet. Two returned, but no hits were recorded. Postwar analysis concluded that the Ohka's impact was negligible, since no U.S. Navy capital ships had been hit during the attacks because of the effective defensive tactics that were employed. In total, of the 300 Ohka available for the Okinawa campaign, 74 actually undertook operations, of which 56 were either destroyed with their parent aircraft or in making attacks. The Allied nickname for the aircraft was "Baka", a Japanese word meaning "foolish" or "idiotic".

Variants

MXY-7: Rocket powered suicide attacker, unpowered glider prototypes; ten built

Navy Suicide Attacker Ohka Model 11: Long designation of the operational attacker

Ohka Model 11: Suicide attacker powered by 3 × 2.616 kN (588 lbf) Navy Type 4 Mark 1 Model 20 solid-fueled rocket motors, firing for 8–10 seconds; 755 built

Ohka Model 21: Suicide attacker, fitted with steel-built wings built by Nakajima; one built

Ohka Model 22: Suicide attacker, powered by an Ishikawajima Tsu-11 thermo-jet engine with reduced span wings and 600 kg (1,300 lb) warhead, to be carried by Yokosuka P1Y1 Ginga bombers. 50 built by the First Naval Air Technical Arsenal (第一海軍航空技術廠, Dai-Ichi Kaigun Koku Gijitsusho)

Ohka Model 33: Suicide attacker, powered by an Ishikawajima Ne-20 turbojet engine, with an 800 kg (1,800 lb) warhead, to be carried by the Nakajima G8N1 Renzan bomber

Ohka Model 43A Ko: Suicide attacker, powered by a Ne-20 turbojet engine, with folding wings, to be catapult launched from submarines

Ohka Model 43B Otsu: Suicide attacker similar to the Model 43A for catapult launching from caves

Ohka Model 53: Suicide attacker for aerotow launch, powered by a Ne-20 turbojet engine

Ohka K-1: Suicide attack training glider

Ohka Model 43 K-1 Kai Wakazakura (若桜, "Young Cherry"): Two-seat suicide attack glider trainer with flaps and retractable skid undercarriage, fitted with a single Type 4 Mark 1 Model 20 rocket motor, for limited powered flight

"Suzuka-24" (Japanese designation unknown): Alleged interceptor version with warhead replaced by a fuel tank for a Ne-20 jet engine and two 20 mm autocannon (Unknown Ho-5 or Type 99 with 60 / 150 rounds per gun) mounted on top. Supposedly employed at least twice against B-29 formations in April 1945

Bibliography

Aeronautical Staff of Aero Publishers in cooperation with Edward T Maloney (1966). Kamikaze. Fallbrook, California, USA: Aero Publishers.

Ellis, Ken. Wreck & Relics, 23rd Edition Manchester: Crecy Publishing Ltd, 2012.

Francillon, René J. (1979). Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War (2nd ed.). London: Putnam & Company.

Francillon, René J. (1971). Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" and Ohka Bomb. Aircraft in Profile, Vol. 9. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications Ltd.

Maloney, Edward T. and the Aeronautical Staff of Aero Publishers, Inc. Kamikaze (Aero Series 7). Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, Inc., 1966.

Mikesh, Robert C.; Abe, Shorzoe (1990). Japanese Aircraft, 1910–1941. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books.

O'Neill, Richard (2001). Suicide Squads: The Men and Machines of World War II Special Operations. Washington DC: The Lyons Press.

Sheftall, M.G. Blossoms in the Wind: Human Legacies of the Kamikaze. New York: New American Library, 2005.

Stafford, Edward P. Little Ship, Big War: The Saga of DE343. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2000.

Zaloga, Steven J. (2011). Kamikaze: Japanese Special Attack Weapons 1944–45. New Vanguard #180. Botley, Oxfordshire: Osprey Publishing.

An Ohka Model 11 being disarmed. Possibly the I-13 captured April 1, 1945 at Yontan airfield.

 

Notice intake ducts for the jet Engine on the side just forward of the tail section. This is an experimental Model 22 which never went into production. From the background hangers, this appears to be taken at Yokosuka Naval base where all model 22's were built. It is unlikely the Model 22 could have been anywhere else since testing of the integration of troublesome Tsu-11 jet engine occured here. Unlike the Alameda example now in the NASM, this unit has intact ducts and appears from the exhaust tube to have one of the 3 TSU-11 hybrid Jet engines known to have been produced.

MXY7 K-1 Kai Two-seat trainer powered by a single Type 4 Mk I Model 20 rocket motor and fitted with flaps and landing skis; 2 built at Yokosuka. These are the two being inspected by Navy personnel.

 

Yokosuka Ohka Model 22.

Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka ("Baka" bomb) being towed behind a truck after its capture, 20 April 1945. Note insignia and coding, I-13.

Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka ("Baka") piloted flying bomb which had been captured on Okinawa. Photographed 26 June 1945, while under study by experts at N.A.M. (Navy Air Material) Unit.

Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka piloted flying bomb which had been captured intact by Marines on Okinawa, while under study by experts at N.A.M. Unit. 26 June 1945.

Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka which had been captured intact by Marines on Okinawa. Photographed while under study by experts at N.A.M. Unit. 26 June 1945.

Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka piloted flying bomb which had been captured intact by Marines on Okinawa, while under study by experts at N.A.M. Unit. 26 June 1945.

A Japanese MXY-7 Model 11 Okha suicide plane captured on 1 April 1945 at Yontan airfield, Okinawa.

MXY7 Model 11 Manufacture Number 1049 Number I-18 captured April 1, 1945 at Yontan airfield, Okinawa.

Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka, Okinawa, 1 April 1945.

Japanese Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka "Baka" flying bomb on the deck of USS Core (CVE-13) as part of a shipment of Japanese warplanes being loaded in Japan, 21 November 1945. Note that this is a two seat training glider version of the "Baka". Plane in background is a Mitsubishi Ki-67 "Peggy" bomber.

Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka "Baka" flying bomb on the deck of USS Core (CVE-13) as part of a shipment of Japanese warplanes being loaded in Japan, 21 November 1945.

Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka rocket motor.

 Stills from gun camera footage of an attack on an Imperial Japanese Navy Mitsubishi G4M2e Model 24 Tei ("Betty") bomber carrying a Kugisho/Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka ("Baka") Model 11 manned rocket-propelled suicide plane.

 Mitsubishi G4M2E Model 24 Tei bomber from Kokutai 721 carrying an Ohka.

 Imperial Japanese Navy Stand-by aircrews relax in front of a Mitsubishi G4M2e Model 24 Tei ("Betty") bomber carrying a Kugisho/Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka ("Baka") Model 11 manned rocket-propelled suicide plane.

 Mitsubishi G4M2E Model 24 Tei bomber just released MXY7 Ohka.

Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka ("Baka" bomb) control panel, April 20, 1945. [National Archives 80-G-192464]

 A MXY-7 Ohka Model 22 at Yokosuka minus its wings. Note the air intakes indicating jet, not rocket power, 1945.

Cockpit of a captured model 11, from the angle of the wings. (Model 22 were swept back more).

 A Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka at the Yokosuka naval district, in September 1945.

 Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka human-guided anti-shipping kamikaze attack planes at Kōnoike Airfield, Kashima, Ibaraki, Japan, August 1945.