Kawanishi H6K

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

H6K
Type	Patrol flying boat
Manufacturer	Kawanishi
Maiden flight	14 July 1936
Primary user	Imperial Japanese Navy
Number built	215

The Kawanishi H6K was an Imperial Japanese Navy flying boat used during World War II for maritime patrol duties. The Allied reporting name for the type was "Mavis"; the Navy designation was "Type 97 Large Flying Boat" (九七式大型飛行艇).

The aircraft was designed in response to a Navy requirement of 1933 and incorporated knowledge gleaned by a Kawanishi team that had visited the Short Brothers factory in the UK, at that time one of the world's leading producers of flying boats. The Type S, as Kawanishi called it, was a large, four-engined monoplane with twin tails, and a hull suspended beneath the parasol wing by a network of struts. Three prototypes were constructed, each one making gradual refinements to the machine's handling both in the water and in the air, and finally fitting more powerful engines. The first of these flew on 14 July 1936 and was originally designated Navy Type 97 Flying Boat, later H6K. Eventually, 217 would be built.

H6Ks were deployed from 1938 onwards, first seeing service in the Sino-Japanese War and in widespread use by the time full-scale war erupted in the Pacific. It had excellent endurance, able to undertake 24-hour patrols, and was even used for long-range raids on Rabaul and the Dutch East Indies.

The aircraft became quickly vulnerable to the new generation of fighters then appearing, but continued in service throughout the war in areas where the risk of interception was low. In front-line service, it was replaced by the Kawanishi H8K.

Some may have continued to fly in Indonesia in post-war years, but none are extant today.

[edit] Variants

• H6K1: Evaluation prototypes with four Hikari 2 engines (4 built)
• H6K1 Navy Flying Boat Type 97 Model 1 : prototypes with 1000 hp Mitsubishi Kinsei 43 Engines (3 built)
• H6K2 Model 11 : first production model. Includes two H6K2-L officer transport modification (10 built)
• H6K2-L Navy Transport Flying Boat Type 97 : Unarmed transport version of H6K2, with Mitsubishi Kinsei 43 engines (16 built)
• H6K3 Model 21 : modified transport version of H6K2 for VIPs and high ranking officers (2 built)
• H6K4 Model 22 : modified H6K2 with revised weapons, some with 930 hp Mitsubishi Kinsei 46 engines. Includes two H6K4-L transport versions (10 built)
• H6K4-L : Transport version of H6K4, similar to H6K2-L, but with Mitsubishi Kinsei 46 engines, including two modifications of the H6K4 (20 built)
• H6K5 Model 23 : Fitted with 1300 hp Mitsubishi Kinsei 51 or 53 engines and new upper turret replacing the open position (20 built)
• Total Production (all versions): 215

[edit] Specifications (H6K4)

General characteristics

• Crew: nine
• Length: 25.63 m (84 ft 3 in)
• Wingspan: 40.00 m (131 ft 2 in)
• Height: 6.27 m (20 ft 6 in)
• Wing area: 170 m² (1,830 ft²)
• Empty weight: 11,707 kg (25,755 lb)
• Loaded weight: 17,000 kg (37,400 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 21,500 kg (47,300 lb)
• Powerplant: 4× Mitsubishi Kinsei 43 or 46 14-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engines, 746 kW (1,000 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 331 km/h (207 mph)
• Range: 6,580 km (4,112 miles)
• Service ceiling: 9,610 m (31,520 ft)
• Rate of climb: 370 m/min (1,213 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 100 kg/m² (20 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 0.17 kW/kg (0.11 hp/lb)

Armament

• 1 × 7.7 mm Type 97 machine gun in nose
• 1 × Type 97 machine gun in spine
• 2 × Type 97 machine guns in waist blisters
• 1 × 20 mm Type 99 cannon in tail turret
• 2 × 800 kg (1,760 lb) torpedoes or 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) of bombs

[edit] Related content

Comparable aircraft

• Dornier Do 24
• PBY Catalina

Designation sequence

H3K - H4H - H5Y - H6K - H7Y - H8K - H9A

Related lists

List of military aircraft of Japan - List of flying boats