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Nakajima Kikka

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Nakajima Kikka
Kikka.jpg
Description
RoleAttack aircraft
Crewone, pilot
Dimensions
Length8.13 m26 ft 8 in
Wingspan10.00 m32 ft 10 in
Height2.95 m9' 9"
Wing area13.2 m²142ft²
Weights
Empty2,300 kg5,071 lb
Loaded3,507 kg7,716 lb
Maximum take-off4,088 kg8,995 lb
Powerplant
Engines2x Ne-20 turbojets
Total thrust9.4 kN2,094 lbf
Performance
(estimated)
Maximum speed695 km/h433 mph
Range937 km586 miles
Service ceiling12,303 m39,370 ft
Rate of climb387 m/min1,237 ft/min
Armament
Bombsnone
production version was to carry
1x 250 kg, 500 kg, or 1,000 kg

The Nakajima Kikka (Japanese: 中島 橘花, "Kikka" meaning "Orange Blossom") was Japan's first jet-powered aircraft. It was developed late in World War II, but the first prototype had only flown once before the end of the conflict.

Contents

Development

After the Japanese military attaché in Germany witnessed trials of the Messerschmitt Me 262 in 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy issued a request to Nakajima to develop a similar aircraft to be used as a fast attack bomber. Amongst the specifications for the design were the requirements that it should be able to be built largely by unskilled labour, and that the wings should be foldable. This latter feature was to enable the aircraft to be hidden in caves and tunnels around Japan as the Navy began to prepare for the defence of the home islands. Nakajima designers Kazuo Ohno and Kenichi Matsumura laid out an aircraft that bore a strong but superficial resemblance to the Me 262.

The Kikka was designed in preliminary form to use the Tsu-11, a very crude jet engine that was little more than a ducted fan with an afterburner. Subsequent designs were planned around the Ne-10 (TR-10) centrifugal-flow turbojet, and the Ne-12, which added a four-stage axial compressor to the front of the Ne-10. Tests of this powerplant soon revealed that it would produce nowhere near the power required to propel the aircraft, and the project was temporarily stalled. It was then decided to produce a new axial-flow turbojet based on the German BMW 003. Development was troublesome and based on little more than photographs and a cut-away drawing, but a suitable unit, the Ishikawajima Ne-20, was finally built. By Summer 1945, the Kikka project was making progress once again and at this stage, reflecting the deteriorating war situation, the Navy changed the role of the aircraft to "special attacker", the term reserved for kamikaze weapons.

Compared to the Me-262, the Kikka airframe was noticeably smaller and more conventional in design, with straight rather than swept wings and tail surfaces. The triangular cross-section characteristic of the German design was less pronounced, due to smaller fuel tanks. The main landing gear of the Kikka were taken from the Mitsubishi Zero and the nose wheel from the tail of a Yokosuka P1Y bomber.

The Nakajima Kikka, equipped with RATO rockets for lift-off.
Enlarge
The Nakajima Kikka, equipped with RATO rockets for lift-off.

The first prototype commenced ground tests at the Nakajima factory on June 30 1945. The following month it was dismantled and delivered to Kisarazu Naval Airfield where it was re-assembled and prepared for flight testing. The first flight took place on August 7 1945, with Lt Cdr Susumu Takaoka at the controls. The aircraft performed well during a 20 minute test flight, with the only concern being the length of the take-off run. For the second test-flight, four days later, RATO units were fitted to the aircraft but, because their alignment had been miscalculated, the pilot mistakenly believed that they had not fired and thus shut off the main engines to abort take-off. As a result the aircraft could not take off at all and was damaged when it ran off the end of the runway. Before it could be repaired Japan had surrendered and the war was over.

At this point the second prototype was close to completion, and between eighteen and twenty-five more airframes were under construction. One of these was a two-seat trainer. Other follow-on versions proposed had included a reconnaissance aircraft, and a fighter armed with two 30 mm cannons. These were expected to be powered by more advanced developments of the Ne-20, designated Ne-130 and Ne-330.

Postwar

A Kikka stationned at the Patuxent River Naval Air Base, Maryland, in 1946.
Enlarge
A Kikka stationned at the Patuxent River Naval Air Base, Maryland, in 1946.

After the war, a Kikka was taken to the United States, for analysis, to the Patuxent River Naval Air Base, Maryland.

It is now housed in the National Air and Space Museum. This aircraft is very incomplete and is believed to have been patched together from a variety of semi-completed airframes.

Cover page of the Chrysler Corporation 1947 report on the Japanese WWII jet engine Ne-20, titled "Japanese NE-20 turbo jet engine. Construction and performance".
Enlarge
Cover page of the Chrysler Corporation 1947 report on the Japanese WWII jet engine Ne-20, titled "Japanese NE-20 turbo jet engine. Construction and performance".

It also emerged very recently (October 2005) that two Ne-20 jet engines had been taken to the US and sent for analysis to the Chrysler Corporation in 1946. This was revealed by W.I. Chapman, who was in charge of the project at the time. A working engine was assembled with the parts of the two Ne-20s, and extensively tested for 11 hours and 46 minutes. A report was issued on April 7th, 1947, titled "Japanese NE-20 turbo jet engine. Construction and performance". The document is now on display at the Tokyo National Science Museum.

Some Versions

Nakajima Aircraft Company developed some variants of these aircraft:

Jet Interceptor model

Estimated data about this development:

Proposed developments: (equivalents to Me 262 A-1a fighter type)

Jet interceptor modifications

Only incomplete data about this development:

Jet Fighter/Bomber model

Estimated data about this development:

Proposed developments (equivalent to Me 262 A-2a fighter/bomber type)

Jet Trainer model

Estimated data about this development:

Proposed Development (equivalent to Me 262 B-1a trainer type):

Jet Special Attacker (Kamikaze) models

Estimated data about this development:

Proposed Special Attack Projects (only in plans):

High speed modify project. Launch from 200 m catapult was also planned.

Related content

Comparable Aircraft: Messerschmitt Me 262 - Heinkel He 280 - Sukhoi Su-9 - Gloster Meteor

See also

References

External links


Lists of Aircraft | Aircraft manufacturers | Aircraft engines | Aircraft engine manufacturers

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