 
NAKAJIMA J8N1 KIKKA

* Late in the war, the Japanese were shipped a complete Me-262 by submarine. They began work on a 
copy of the fighter, designated the "Ki-201 Karyu (Fire Dragon)", but it was never completed. 

They did build and fly a smaller derivative, the "Nakajima J8N1 Kikka (Orange Blossom)", as an 
attack aircraft for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The Kikka looked enough like an Me-262 to be 
mistaken for it, though its rear fuselage was distinctively different, not tapering towards the 
tail, and its empty weight was about half that of the Me-262. 

The Kikka had folding wings, apparently to permit concealment in caves and the like, as whatever 
carriers the IJN had were quickly finding their way to the bottom of the Pacific. It was not fitted 
with guns, armament consisting of a single 500 kilogram (1,100 pound) or 800 kilogram (1,760 pound) 
bomb. 

The Kikka was powered by a pair of "Ne-20" turbojets with 475 kilograms (1,050 pounds) thrust each. 
The Ne-20 was a scaled-down derivative of the BMW-003, designed from photographs provided by the 
Germans. The Kikka used a pair of solid-fuel "rocket-assisted take off (RATO)" boosters to help get 
it off the runway.

Two prototypes of the Kikka were built. The first was rolled out on 25 June 1945, and made its first 
flight on 7 August 1945, the day before the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. This aircraft 
flew for a second time on 11 August 1945, but was lost in a flight accident. The second prototype was 
completed but never flown, and taken to the US by the Americans after the war. 

Plans had been made to put the Kikka into production, but the manufacturing plants were destroyed by 
USAAF bomb raids. Other variants of the Kikka were planned, including a two-seat trainer, an unarmed 
reconnaissance aircraft, and an interceptor with twin 30 millimeter cannon. Improved "Ne-130" and 
"Ne-330" powerplants, with about 900 kilograms (1,985 pounds) thrust, were also in development for 
the advanced variants. 

Under the circumstances, all the developments of the Kikka were little more than fantasies. The fact 
that the Japanese actually built two prototypes was remarkable in itself, given the state of Japanese
industry at the time.

 
JAPANESE NAVAL PROPOSED VERSIONS:

Nakajima "Kikka" Jet (Regular Intercepter Type)

(equivalent to Me 262 A-1a interceptor)

Length : 11.50m 
Wing Span: 13.70m 
Hight : 4.05m 
Wing Area : 25.0 Square Meter 
All-Up Weight : 7,000Kg 
Empty Weight : 4,500Kg 
Engine : Ishikawajima Ne-130 Turbojet (908Kg) X 2 or Nakajima Ne-230 *Turbojet (885Kg) X 2 
Max Speed : 852Km/h (Ne-130) , 812Km/h (Ne-230) 
Range : 980Km 
Service Ceiling : 12,000m+ 
Crew : 1 
Armament :(only interceptor variant) 
30mm Ho155-II Machine Gun X 2 or 20mm Ho5 Machine Gun X 2 (For Navy) 

Nakajima "Kikka" Jet (Figther/Bomber type)

(equivalent to Me 262 A-2a figther/bomber)

Length : 11.50m 
Wing Span: 13.70m 
Hight : 4.05m 
Wing Area : 25.0 Square Meter 
All-Up Weight : 7,000Kg 
Empty Weight : 4,500Kg 
Engine : Ishikawajima Ne-130 Turbojet (908Kg) X 2 or Nakajima Ne-230 *Turbojet (885Kg) X 2 
Max Speed : 852Km/h (Ne-130) , 812Km/h (Ne-230) 
Range : 980Km 
Service Ceiling : 12,000m+ 
Crew : 1 
Armament :(only figther bomber variant) 
30mm Ho155-II Machine Gun X 2 or 20mm Ho5 Machine Gun X 2 (For Navy) 
800Kg or 500Kg Bomb X 1 

Nakajima "Kikka" Jet (Trainer Tandem type)

(equivalent to Me 262 B-1a trainer)

Length : 9.25m 
Wing Span: 10.00m 
Hight : 3.05m 
Wing Area : 13.21 Square Meter 
All-Up Weight : 4,009Kg 
Engine : Ishikawajima Ne20-kai Turbojet (618Kg) X 2 
Max Speed : 722Km/h (Altitude : 6,000m) 
Max Range : 667Km (Altitude : 6,000m) 
Crew : 2 
RATO : Type4 1-Go Model20 Rocket (800Kg) X 2 
