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The Kawanishi H6K was an Imperial Japanese Navy flying boat produced by the Kawanishi Aircraft Company and 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).

H6K
Role	Maritime patrol flying boat Type of aircraft
National origin	Japan
Manufacturer	Kawanishi
First flight	14 July 1936
Introduction	January 1938
Retired	1945
Status	Retired
Primary user	Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Number built	215[1]
Developed from	Kawanishi H3K

Design and development

The aircraft was designed in response to a Navy requirement of 1934 for a long-range flying boat and incorporated knowledge gleaned by a Kawanishi team that visited the Short Brothers factory in the UK, at that time one of the world's leading producers of flying boats, and from building the Kawanishi H3K, a license-built, enlarged version of the Short Rangoon.[2] 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 were built.[3]

Operational history

H6Ks were deployed from 1938 onwards, first seeing service in the Sino-Japanese War and were in widespread use by the time the full-scale Pacific War erupted, in December 1941. At that time of the war, four Kōkūtai (air groups) operated a total of 66 H6K4s.[4]

The type had some success over South East Asia and the South West Pacific. H6Ks had excellent endurance, being able to undertake 24-hour patrols, and were often used for long-range reconnaissance and bombing missions. From bases in the Dutch East Indies, they were able to undertake missions over a large portion of Australia.

However, the H6K became vulnerable to a newer generation of more heavily armed and faster fighters.[4] It 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.

Variants

H6K1

Evaluation prototypes with four Nakajima Hikari 2 engines, four built.

H6K1 (navy flying boat Type 97 Model 1)

Prototypes with 746 kW (1,000 hp) Mitsubishi Kinsei 43 engines, three converted from the original H6K1 prototypes

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 powered by 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

Major production version, modified H6K2 with revised weapons, some with 694 kW (930 hp) Mitsubishi Kinsei 46 engines. Fuel capacity increased from 7,764 L (1,708 Imp gal) to 13,410 L (2,950 Imp gal). Includes two H6K4-L transport versions, 100 to 127 (if other numbers are all correct) built.

H6K4-L

Transport version of H6K4, similar to H6K2-L, but with Mitsubishi Kinsei 46 engines, 20 built and another two converted from the H6K4

H6K5 Model 23

Fitted with 969 kW (1,300 hp) Mitsubishi Kinsei 51 or 53 engines and new upper turret replacing the open position, 36 built

Operators

 Indonesia

• Air Service Volunteer Corps - A single H6K5 flying boat was restored to flight by Indonesian forces during the Indonesian War of Independence.[5]

 Japan

• Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
• Imperial Japanese Airways

Used on the routes Yokohama-Saipan-Koror (Palau)-Timor, Saigon-Bangkok and Saipan-Truk-Ponape-Jaluit[6]

Specifications (H6K4 Model 22)

Data from Warplanes of the Second World War, Volume Five: Flying Boats,[3] Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War[7]

General characteristics

• Crew: 9
• Length: 25.63 m (84 ft 1 in)
• Wingspan: 40 m (131 ft 3 in)
• Height: 6.27 m (20 ft 7 in)
• Wing area: 170 m² (1,800 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 11,707 kg (25,810 lb)
• Gross weight: 17,000 kg (37,479 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 21,500 kg (47,399 lb)
• Powerplant: 4 × Mitsubishi Kinsei 43 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 750 kW (1,000 hp) each for take-off

738 kW (990 hp) at 2,800 m (9,186 ft)

(H6K4 Model 2-3 and H6K4-L 694 kW (930 hp) Kinsei 46)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 340 km/h (210 mph, 180 kn) at 4,000 m (13,123 ft)
• Cruise speed: 222 km/h (138 mph, 120 kn) at 4,000 m (13,123 ft)
• Range: 4,797 km (2,981 mi, 2,590 nmi)
• Ferry range: 6,080 km (3,780 mi, 3,280 nmi)
• Wing loading: 100 kg/m² (20 lb/sq ft)
• Power/mass: 0.1731 kW/kg (0.1053 hp/lb)

Armament

• Guns:
  
• 1× 7.7 mm (0.30 in) Type 92 machine gun in nose
• 1× Type 92 machine gun in spine
• 2× Type 92 machine guns in waist blisters
• 1× 20 mm (0.79 in) Type 99 Mark 1 machine gun in tail turret
• Bombs:
  
• 2× 800 kg (1,764 lb) torpedoes

or

• 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) of bombs

See also

Related development

• Short Rangoon
  
• Kawanishi H3K

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Aichi H9A
• Blackburn Sydney
• Consolidated PBY Catalina
• Dornier Do 24
• Latécoère 300
• Martin M-130
• Potez-CAMS 141

Related lists

• List of aircraft of World War II
• List of military aircraft of Japan
• List of seaplanes and flying boats

Notes

Bibliography

• Doubilet, David. "The Flying Boat". Sport Diver Magazine. Volume 15, Number 8, September 2007.
• Francillon, René J. (1979). Japanese aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-30251-6. OCLC 6124909. (new edition 1987 by Putnam Aeronautical Books, ISBN 0-85177-801-1.)
• Green, William (1962). Warplanes of the Second World War: Volume Five, Flying Boats. Macdonald. ISBN 0-356-01449-5. OCLC 655865554.
• "Kawanishi's Parasol Patroller". Air International. Vol. 29, no. 6. December 1985. pp. 293–298, 304–305. ISSN 0306-5634.
• "Pentagon Over The Islands...The Thirty Year History of Indonesian Military Aviation". Air Enthusiast Quarterly. No. 2, n.d. pp. 154–162.
• Richards, M.C. "Kawanishi 4-Motor Flying-Boats (H6K 'Mavis' and H8K 'Emily')". Aircraft in Profile Volume 11. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1972.
• Van der Klaauw, Bart. Water- en Transportvliegtuigen Wereldoorlog II (in Dutch). Alkmaar, the Netherlands: Uitgeverij de Alk. ISBN 90-6013-677-2.

External links

• Duel between an HK6 and 2 B-17s

На других языках

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[de] Kawanishi H6K

Die Kawanishi H6K war Japans erstes viermotoriges Mehrzweckflugboot in moderner Ganzmetallbauweise.

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- [en] Kawanishi H6K

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[fr] Kawanishi H6K

Le Kawanishi H6K est un hydravion à coque de la marine impériale japonaise fabriqué par la Kawanishi Aircraft Company et utilisé pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale pour réaliser des patrouilles maritimes. La dénomination alliée pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale était « Mavis », alors que la marine japonaise l'appelait « Grand navire volant type 97 » (en japonais : « 九七式大型飛行艇 »).

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[it] Kawanishi H6K

Il Kawanishi H6K (?), identificato anche come Grande idrovolante Tipo 97 (九七式飛行艇?) (nome in codice alleato Mavis[3]) era un idropattugliatore marittimo quadrimotore ad ala alta a parasole e a scafo centrale prodotto dall'azienda giapponese Kawanishi Kōkūki KK dalla fine degli anni trenta ed impiegato dalla Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kaigun Kōkū Hombu, l'aviazione navale della Marina imperiale giapponese, durante le fasi della seconda guerra mondiale.

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[ru] Kawanishi H6K

Морской дальний разведчик МДР-97 ВМС Императорской Японии 海軍九七式飛行艇/愛知H6K (яп. Кайгун кюнанасики хикотэй/Каваниси Эйти-року-кэй)[1] — цельнометаллический дальний гидроразведчик ВМС Императорской Японии Второй мировой войны. Разработан в авиационном КБ завода Каваниси под руководством С. Кикухары. Принята на вооружение авиации ВМС в начале 1938 года, производилась малой серией. Условное обозначение ВВС союзников Мэйвис (Mavis).

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