Japan's Attempt To Copy A Legendary Fighter: Nakajima Kikka

Video Description

In this video, we take a look at the Nakajima Kikka, a Japanese fighter aircraft from World War II that was their attempt to re-create the German Messerschmitt Me 262, the first operational jet-fighter in the world. We first talk about the Me 262 and Germany's push to create jet-powered aircraft and jet fighters. We talk about the slow progress of the Me 262 project, and how their ally Imperial Japan became aware of the design. We talk about their strong interest in it, and how that interest initially amounted to very little. We then talk about how Japan and Germany attempted to exchange a great deal of info on German tech; jet aircraft like the Me 262, and rocket aircraft like the Me 163. We look at the movie-esque tale of Submarine I-29, and how info on German jets made it back to Japan. We then talk about the Kikka project, how it attempted to emulate the Me 262, and why it was lesser than the Me 262. We talk about the surprising amount of success in the project (success is relative), and why the project ended up being a waste of time regardless.