What colour was the interior? I have a resin 1/32 model I want to b uild but none of my references address the Baka
I had understood that they were the ‘standard’ IJN interior green color. Tamiya makes paint specficially of that color.
Yhat’s what I would have guessed. Thank you so very much!!!
I’d be surprised if the interior was painted at all…I’d go with natural metal and wood…
I tend to agree with manny, why waste paint on something disposable?
I remember reading somewhere that they went outta there way to clean and paint their kamakazi aircraft…think it was out of respect for the pilot that was about to meet his demise. I`m sure that stopped near the end of the war. You guys are probably right about the Ohka interior…maybe some were painted too.
I think there are a few surviving Ohka`s…maybe you could google up some info…
Robert Mikesh stated in his book Japanese Aircraft Interiors 1940-1945:
"Of the three Ohka 11 (cockpit interiors) examined in the UK, all were basically the same in paint detailing. Each had a thin final coating of green/yellow, most likely aotake because of it’s transparent quality that did not mask hand-painted numbers or the four-letter sheet metal indentifiers. The thin coating varied in thickness throughout the interior. Cockpit fittings were different colors depending on suppliers. The seats were black, as were the steel fittings such as the seat mount, canopy latch fittings, brace handholds, and parts of the trimming mechanism on the port side of the cockpit. Original, unmodified instrument panels were not located, yet from black and white photography, they appear to have a thin coat of aotake with white lettering."
The latter Okha 22 appears to have been slightly different, based on examination of the National Air & Space Museums example:
“The original cockpit color was found on the floor after removing the seat-mounting brackets, a departure from evidence that Okha 11’s had unpainted interiors (note that aotake isn’t paint, but rather a protective coating- coogrfan). The color is mid-point between N1 and N2 (looking at the photos it appears to be a dark blueish green-coogrfan). The instrument panel is flat black.”
U had set on painting my cockpit based on the fact they went through the trouble of painting and marking the exterior, even though I know that almost all planes Kamakazi or not looked in pretty bad shape, but the Baka pilots were the cream of the crop.
Can you cite references? What do you mean?
By the time Japan used them, there was not much of a “crop” left.
There was a ‘Military Channel’ show on the Baka, Former pilots who did not go because of the destruction of the modified Betty Bombers, talked about it.
Oh, so their 60 year old recollections about themselves being the “cream of the crop” is the reference…
Why not? I have 40 year old memories of Viet Nam kept alive by my nightmares that make it seem as though it was yesterday. Only those who have ever been in combat would understand this.
Hi Mikey!
Im not trying to be a smart a$$ but, in the grand scheme of things, why do anything the Japanese did? When you think about it, all the men and equipment that the Japanese threw away AFTER realizing they couldnt win the war, a little cockpit paint in an Ohka seems perfectly practicle…lol. I work for a major phone company where we take good customer service and common sense, flip it 180* and thats what we run with! Its all quite self-destructive and very,very wasteful…(especially if my job goes the way of the Kamikaze!)
I remember reading somewhere ( I read alot about the PTO) that the Japanese used their best pilots (of their remaining stock) to man the Ohka program. Maybe they were calling these rookie pilots their"cream of the crop" because they were the best trained of all their remaining, under-trained pilots, Im not sure. I will look for the book where I believe I read this and will post it. Naturally, the true "cream" had been used up by the time the Ohka was operational. Well, thats my [2cnts], for what it`s worth…lol.
Take care guys!
Len
As a military historian and scholar I have noted and written about over the years that as vets get older they are more likely to want to speak about their war experiences and also more likely to remember them in a more glamorous and sentimental light…this isn’t much different than how most of us remmber things from the past, war or not…just the way it is…
You wouldn’t go by Harrison at times, would you?
hahahahahahaha!!! cherry blossum
i shot on down on playstation (heroes of the pacific)
I would not place too much stock on any shows on the Military Channel produce on their own for solid reference material. Their shows have tended to be longer on “flash” and less on good solid fact.
From all I have read about the Kamikazes, the best surviving combat veteran pilots flew escort to Kamikaze atacks or were assigned to the few elite Home Defense units. The ones selected for Okha may have been tops among Kamikaze recruit pilots but would not be pilots of the caliber of say Genda’s 343rd Air Group.
Brings to mind the line from “The Right Stuff”
Who’s the best pilot you’ve ever seen?
You’re looking at him!
Ken
I find nothing glamorous about the experience. I am carrying too many wounds. Someone who has not been in battle and lost all their friends in that battle could never understand. Can you document your opinion? The VA has documented mine. I am through with this conversation. I got my answer about the Baka and that’s all I wanted. It is too painful to go on with my glamorous experience. Sp5 Miles, 1st Special Forces Group, Viet Nam 1968.