The Aichi E10A was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

night reconnaissance

flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...

of the 1930s. A single-engined

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

, 15 were built for the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

as the Type 96 Night Reconnaissance Seaplane, serving from 1936 but were retired in 1941 before the

Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

Development and design

In 1934, based on experience of testing the Experimental 6-Shi Night Reconnaissance Flying boat, the Imperial Japanese Navy drew up a specification for a new night reconnaissance aircraft, intended to shadow enemy fleets during the cover of darkness, with orders being placed with

Aichi is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...

and with Kawanishi.Mikesh and Abe 1990, p. 76. Aichi's design, with the company designation AB-12, was a single-engined

of all-metal construction. Its two-bay wings folded rearwards to save space on board ship, while its crew of three were accommodated in an enclosed cabin. It was powered by a pusher water-cooled Aichi Type 91 engine, driving a four-blade wooden propeller.Mikesh and Abe 1990, pp. 76–77. The first prototype flew in December 1934, and when tested proved to have superior stability to the competing Kawanishi E10K,Mikesh and Abe 1990, p. 139. and so was ordered into production.

Operational history

The AB-12 entered service in August 1936 with the Japanese Navy as the Type 96 Night Reconnaissance Seaplane, with the short designation E10A. Fifteen aircraft were built, remaining in service until 1941, being phased out before the Japanese

. Despite this, it was assigned the Allied code name Hank.Francillon 1970, p.567.

Specifications (E10A)

References

*Francillon, R.J. ''Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War''. London:Putnam, 1970. . *Mikesh, Robert and Abe, Shorzoe. ''Japanese Aircraft 1910-1941''. London:Putnam, 1990. .

External links

Aichi E10A
{{Allied reporting names E10A 1930s Japanese military reconnaissance aircraft Flying boats Biplanes Single-engined pusher aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1934

Development and design

Operational history

Specifications (E10A)

See also

References

External links