Japan's first turbojet fighter. The prototype flew for the first time just a few days prior to the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Japan's Navy initiated some very advanced projects in its aviation industry in the last year of the war; most modern of all, initiated Sep 44, (although it only reached prototype stage) was this jet combat aircraft developed from German technology. While Mitsubishi J8M Shusui, an interceptor, was no more than copy of Messerschmitt Me 163B, Kikka originated as entirely Japanese design, even though its external resemblance to the Me.262A was indisputable.