Nakajima Kikka
Description
Role	Attack aircraft
Crew	one, pilot
Dimensions
Length	8.13m	26' 8"
Wingspan	10.00m	32' 10"
Height	2.95m	9' 9"
Wing area	13.2m²	142ft²
Weights
Empty	2,300kg	5,071 lb
Loaded	3,507kg	7,716 lb
Maximum take-off	4,088 kg	8,995 lb
Powerplant
Engines	2x Ne-20 turbojets
Total power	9.4 kN	2,094 lb
Performance (estimated)
Maximum speed	695km/h	433 mph
Range	937km	586 miles
Service ceiling	12,303m	39,370ft
Rate of Climb	387m/min	1,237ft/min
Armament
Bombs	none production version was to carry 1x 250kg, 500kg, or 1,000kg

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.

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 originally intended to use the Tsu-11, a very crude jet engine that was little more than a ducted fan with an afterburner. 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 turbojet for the Kikka, despite the fact that Japanese engineers at the time had no prior experience with this type of engine. Development was troublesome and it was only with access to photographs and a cut-away drawing of the German BMW 003 that 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.

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 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 30mm cannon. These were expected to be powered by more advanced developments of the Ne-20, designated Ne-130 and Ne-330.

After the war, a Kikka was taken to the United States, where 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.

Related Content

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

See also

Nakajima Ki-201, List of World War II jet aircraft