Japanese Suicide "Baka" Plane Fuel Container

[Ryukyutunnelrat]

Hello,
I was going thru some of pictures from my previous trip back to Okinawa and forgot I had taken this photo. My Okinawan friend owns a museum and showed me this container that he says it was used to hold fuel for the Japanese Suicide Plane aka Baka Bomb. Has anyone seen this before? he knows his stuff and is pretty confident what it was used for. David.

[Banzi64]

I have never heard of that plane is it similar to the ohka = cherry blossom I'm not sure of the spelling. You know if that's what it is there's not going to be many of those floating around.

[MikeB]

Japanese Suicide Baka...

The plane is the one and the same. The Americans called the suicide plane by the name "baka" because (if I remember correctly,) the word translates loosely as "crazy" or something very close to that. They were implying that the pilots were nuts for flying them and killing themselves. MikeB

[Nick Komiya]

The signage put up on the ceramic container describes it as a Navy mine made of ceramic to conserve steel; nothing about Ohka fuel storage.

[Edokko]

The sign on the bottle is actually incorrect and it is not a late war mine, but a bottle used by the IJN to store hydrogen peroxide for it's rocket engines. The rocket propelled aircraft that the Japnese military had was the Shusui (秋水) and the Ohka （桜花）, former being a copy of the Me-163 and the latter being the famous manned rocket bomb (aptly named Baka, or stupid, by the Allies). There is indeed a very good possibility that the bottle was indeed used to fill up the gas tank of an Ohka, if not a Shusui.

[Edokko]

Of course it could also be a Super Sized bottle of sake catered to 'ole Isoroku and other IJN heavy weight brass.

[Jim B.]

I think most of the Ohka manufactured were the Model 11, which was driven by a solid propellant rocket (not liquid). There were two other models but they were very few in number and I think were never deployed to Okinawa. I recall that the Ohkas earmarked for the Philippines, Formosa and Okinawa were sunk by subs during transport (including a group being carried on Shinano when she was sunk). The Japanese worked on numerous different rocket designs, so it might be difficult to pin this item specifically to one model of engine, much less the specific craft the engine was used on. I'll see if I can find out the fuel they used on their trubojets.

Jim

[Ryukyutunnelrat]

The signage put up on the ceramic container describes it as a Navy mine made of ceramic to conserve steel; nothing about Ohka fuel storage.

Hi Nick, this photo was taken prior to him taking off that sign after he found out what it really was used for. mahalo.

[Striking 9th]

The Ohka, this one was captured on Okinawa.

[Striking 9th]

close up

[Edokko]

I think most of the Ohka manufactured were the Model 11, which was driven by a solid propellant rocket (not liquid). There were two other models but they were very few in number and I think were never deployed to Okinawa. I recall that the Ohkas earmarked for the Philippines, Formosa and Okinawa were sunk by subs during transport (including a group being carried on Shinano when she was sunk). The Japanese worked on numerous different rocket designs, so it might be difficult to pin this item specifically to one model of engine, much less the specific craft the engine was used on. I'll see if I can find out the fuel they used on their trubojets.

Jim

You are absolutely correct, my bad, the Ohka used solid propellant (double base powder ?) and could not have had any use with the ceramic jar.
The Shusui however was a copy of the Me 163 and defnitely used liquid propellant (mostly hydrogen peroxide) and required non-steel containers. Whether that particular jar was truly used for the Shusui could never be known, but I think there is a good possibility that it did contain liquid rocket propellant.

[Dan T.]

The 1/6th scale version.

[Nick Komiya]

This was indeed for storage of jet fuel for the Shusui (Japanese copy of the Comet) and is on display at the museum of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
See here http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~UN3K-MN/syusui.htm

[Ryukyutunnelrat]

This was indeed for storage of jet fuel for the Shusui (Japanese copy of the Comet) and is on display at the museum of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
See here http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~UN3K-MN/syusui.htm

Wow Nick thanks for the link. Finally know for sure what this continer was used for. Strange how this container would have ended up on Okinawa since the only jet aircraft there during WWII was the Ohka? Still a rare item. Domo Arigato Ne. David.

[AK101]

Nice pic of I-18, I just picked up some original vet photos and have one of the same plane, but diff pic.