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The Aichi E16A Zuiun (allied reporting name "Paul") was a two-seat reconnaissance seaplane operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
The Aichi E16A originated from a 1939 specification for an replacement for the Aichi E13A, which at that time had yet to be accepted by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS).[2] Disagreements about the requirements in the 14-Shi specification prevented most manufacturers from submitting designs, but in 1941 a new 16-Shi specification was drafted by the IJNAS around the Aichi AM-22 design which had already been made by Aichi engineers Kishiro Matsuo and Yasuhiro Ozawa.
The first AM-22, which first got the experimental designation Navy Experimental 16-Shi Reconnaissance Seaplane and later the short designation E16A1, was completed by May 1942 and was a conventional, low-wing monoplane equipped with two floats and had the unusual (for a seaplane) feature of being equipped with dive brakes, located in the front legs of the float struts, to allow it to operate in a secondary role as a dive bomber.
Specifications (E16A1)
Crew: 2 (pilot and observer)
Length: 10.83 m (35 ft 6 in)
Wingspan: 12.81 m (42 ft)
Height: 4.79 m (15 ft 9 in)
Powerplant: 1 x Mitsubishi Kinsei 54 14-cylinder, air-cooled, twin-row radial engine, 970 kw (1,300 hp)
Maximum speed: 439 km/h (237 kn, 274 mph)
Range: 2,420 km (1,307 nmi, 1,510 mi)
Armament
2 x fixed, forward-firing 20 mm Type 99 cannons in wings
1 x flexible, rearward-firing 13 mm (.51 in) Type 2 machine gun for observer
250 kg (550 lb) of bombs
The Aichi E16A originated from a 1939 specification for an replacement for the Aichi E13A, which at that time had yet to be accepted by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS).[2] Disagreements about the requirements in the 14-Shi specification prevented most manufacturers from submitting designs, but in 1941 a new 16-Shi specification was drafted by the IJNAS around the Aichi AM-22 design which had already been made by Aichi engineers Kishiro Matsuo and Yasuhiro Ozawa.
The first AM-22, which first got the experimental designation Navy Experimental 16-Shi Reconnaissance Seaplane and later the short designation E16A1, was completed by May 1942 and was a conventional, low-wing monoplane equipped with two floats and had the unusual (for a seaplane) feature of being equipped with dive brakes, located in the front legs of the float struts, to allow it to operate in a secondary role as a dive bomber.
Specifications (E16A1)
Crew: 2 (pilot and observer)
Length: 10.83 m (35 ft 6 in)
Wingspan: 12.81 m (42 ft)
Height: 4.79 m (15 ft 9 in)
Powerplant: 1 x Mitsubishi Kinsei 54 14-cylinder, air-cooled, twin-row radial engine, 970 kw (1,300 hp)
Maximum speed: 439 km/h (237 kn, 274 mph)
Range: 2,420 km (1,307 nmi, 1,510 mi)
Armament
2 x fixed, forward-firing 20 mm Type 99 cannons in wings
1 x flexible, rearward-firing 13 mm (.51 in) Type 2 machine gun for observer
250 kg (550 lb) of bombs
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