Warplanes of Japan: Kawanishi H8K

Kawanishi H8K

(USN Photo)

The Kawanishi H8K is a flying boat used bythe Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during the Second World War for maritime patrolduties. The Allied reporting name for the type was "Emily". The Kawanishi H8K was a large, four-engine aircraft designed for long range andextended endurance on patrols or bombing missions typically flown alone overthe ocean. The prototype first flew in January 1941, and H8K1s made their firstcombat sortie in March 1942. The robust H8K2 "Emily" flying boat wasalso fitted with powerful defensive armament, for which Allied pilots hadsubstantial respect wherever this aircraft was encountered in the Pacifictheater. Aircraft historian René Francillon called the H8K "the mostoutstanding water-based combat aircraft of the Second World War."

At the same time the type's predecessor, the Kawanishi H6K, was enteringservice in 1938 the Navy ordered the development of a larger, longer-rangedpatrol aircraft under the designation Navy Experimental 13-Shi Large-sizeFlying Boat. The result was a large, shoulder-winged design that is widely regarded as the best flying boat of the war. Despite this, initial development was troublesome, with the prototype displaying terrible handling on the water. Deepening of the hull, redesigning of the planing bottom and the addition of spray strips under the nose rectified the water handling problems. Two further prototypes - actually pre-production aircraft - joined the development program in December 1941.

The IJNAS accepted the first production version as the H8K1, Navy Type 2 FlyingBoat, Model 11, of which 14 would be built.

The improved H8K2 variant soon appeared, and its extremely heavy defensivearmament earned it deep respect among Allied aircrews. The H8K2 was an upgradeover the H8K1 with more powerful engines, slightly revised armament, and anincrease in fuel capacity. This was to be the definitive variant, with 112produced.

36 examples of a dedicated transport version, the H8K2-L, were also built,capable of carrying 62 troops. This aircraft was also known as Seikū (晴空, "Clear Sky"). The side defensive blisters, ventraldefensive hatch, and dorsal turret were discarded. To increase the availablespace within the aircraft its hull tanks were removed, thus reducing its range.

The H8K entered production in 1941 and first saw operational use on the nightof 4 March 1942 in a second raid on Pearl Harbor. Since the target lay out ofrange for the flying boats, this audacious plan involved a refuelling bysubmarine at French Frigate Shoals, some 900 km (560 mi) north-west of Hawaii,en route. Two planes from the Yokohama Kōkūtai (Naval Air Corps)[8] attemptedto bomb Pearl Harbor but, due to poor visibility, did not accomplish anysignificant damage.[9] Six days after the second Pearl Harbor raid, one of the Emilys was sent on a daylight photo-reconnaissance mission of Midway Atoll. It was intercepted by radar-directed Brewster F2A Buffalo fighters of Marine Fighting Squadron 221 (VMF-221) and shot down. All aboard were killed, including Lt. Hashizume Hisao, the lead pilot of the second Pearl Harbor raid.

H8K2s were used on a wide range of patrol, reconnaissance, bombing, andtransport missions throughout the Pacific War. The H8K2 was given the Allied code name "Emily".

Variants

H8K1 Experimental Type 13 Large-sized Flying boat (13試大型飛行艇 13-Shi Ōgata Hikōtei)
One prototype and four supplementary prototypes. Prototype was mountedMitsubishi Mk4A Kasei 11 engines, supplementary prototype was mountedMitsubishi MK4B Kasei 12 engines. Supplementary prototypes were renamed Type 2Flying Boat Model 11 on 5 February 1942. Prototype was rebuilt to H8K1-L inNovember 1943.
H8K1 Type 2 Flying boat, Model 11 (二式飛行艇11型 Nishiki Hikōtei 11-gata)
Developed on 5 February 1942. First operative model of series, 12 produced.Mounted Mitsubishi MK4B Kasei 12 engines.
H8K1-L Type 2 Transport Flying Boat (二式輸送艇 NishikiYusōtei)
Rebuilt from H8K1 prototype. Fitted augment exhausts. Up to 41 passengers.
H8K2 Type 2 Flying boat, Model 12 (二式飛行艇12型 Nishiki Hikōtei 12-gata)
Developed on 26 June 1943. Mounted Mitsubishi MK4Q Kasei 22 engines andimproved tail gun turret. Latter batch was equipped with Air-Surface Vessel(ASV) search radar, and removed side gun blisters. 112 produced.
H8K2-L Seikū ("Clear Sky"), Model 32 (晴空32型 Seikū 32-gata)
Transport version of H8K2. Initial named Type 2 Transport Flying Boat, Model32. Armaments were 1 × forward-firing 20 mm cannon and 1 × rearward-firing 13mm machine gun. Up to 64 passengers.
H8K3 Provisional name Type 2 Flying Boat, Model 22 (仮称二式飛行艇22型 Kashō Nishiki Hikōtei 22-gata)
Experimental version, H8K2 modified. Equipped with retractable floats inwingtips, Fowler flaps, sliding hatch side gun locations in place of theblisters and a retractable dorsal turret, all in an effort to increase speed;two prototypes only (work number 596 and 597).
H8K4 Provisional name Type 2 Flying Boat, Model 23 (仮称二式飛行艇23型 Kashō Nishiki Hikōtei 23-gata)
H8K3 re-engined with 1,825 hp MK4T Mitsubishi Kasei 25b engines, two convertedfrom H8K3.
H8K4-L Provisional name Seikū, Model 33 (仮称晴空33型 Kashō Seikū 33-gata)
Transport version of H8K4. Only a project, because all H8K4s were lost in March1945.
G9K
Proposed land-based attack bomber variant, only a project. (Wikipedia)

(SDASM Archives Photo)

Kawanishi H8K2 Type 2 flying boat.

(IJNAF Photos)

Kawanishi H8K2 Type 2 flying boat.

(IJNAF Photo)

Kawanishi H8K2 Type 2 flying boat (Allied code name "Emily") in flight in July 1944. Seconds later it was shot down by a U.S. Navy Consolidated PB4Y-1 Liberator of Bombing Squadron 115 (VB-115) from which the photo was taken.

(USAAF Photo)

A Kawanishi H8K under attack in the Central Pacific, 2 July 1944. The "Emily" was shot down in this incident, 2 July 1944.

(IJNAF Photo)

Kawanishi H8K.

(SDASM Archives Photo)

Kawanishi H8K2 Type 2 flying boat.

(USN Photos)

Kawanishi H8K2 Type 2 flying boat (Serial No. 426) in Washington State post war.  Four H8K2 aircraft survived until the end of the war.  One of these, an H8K2 (Serial No. 426), was captured by U.S. forces at the end of the war and was evaluated before being eventually returned to Japan in 1979.  It was on display at Tokyo's Museum of Maritime Science until 2004, when it was moved to Kanoya Air Base in Kagoshima.

(川西航空機 二式飛行艇 （鹿屋航空基地）Photo)

(Max Smith Photo)

(Miya.m Photos)

Kawanishi H8K2 Type 2 flying boat (Serial No. 426) on display at Kanoya Air Base in Kagoshima.

The submerged remains of an H8K can be found off the west coast of Saipan, where it is a popular scuba diving attraction.  Another wrecked H8K lies in Chuuk Lagoon, Chuuk, in Micronesia.  This aircraft is located off the south-western end of Dublon Island.

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