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H8K file photo [16865]

H8K

CountryJapan
ManufacturerKawanishi Aircraft Company
Primary RoleSeaplane

Contributor:

ww2dbaseThe H8K flying boats, also designated as the Japanese Navy Type 2 Large Flying Boats, entered service in Feb 1942. While two of them were used in the ineffective bombing of Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii on 4 Mar 1942, most of the 131 H8K flying boats built were used as long-range reconnaissance aircraft. They were generally regarded as among the best flying boats of the era.

ww2dbase36 aircraft of the H8K2-L Seiku ("Clear Sky") variant design were built between 1942 and 1945. They were personnel transports with capacity for 64 passengers.

ww2dbaseOf the 167 examples built, only four survived the war. One of them was taken by the US and was not returned until 1979.

ww2dbaseThe Allied code name for the H8K design was "Emily".

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Dec 2012

H8K Timeline

4 Mar 1942 At 0000 hours, US radar operators detected two signals approaching Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii; they were two H8K flying boats from Wotje, Marshall Islands via French Frigate Shoals (where they took on fuel from submarines I-15 and I-19). At 0130 hours, five PBY Catalina aircraft were launched, armed with torpedoes, to search for the carriers that the Americans thought where the flying boats must have launched from; at the same time, five US Army fighters were launched to attack the flying boats. At 0210 hours and 0230 hours, the two flying boats dropped their payloads uncontested, although the first bombs fell harmlessly in the mountains 10 miles from Pearl Harbor and the second bombs landed in the water just outside of Pearl Harbor. The two aircraft flew back to Wotje unscathed.

SPECIFICATIONS

H8K3
MachineryFour Mitsubishi Kasei 22 radial engines rated at 1,850hp each
Armament5x20 mm Type 99 cannon, 5x7.7mm Type 97 machine guns, 2x800kg torpedoes or 1,000kg of bomb or depth charges
Crew10
Span38.00 m
Length28.15 m
Height9.15 m
Wing Area160.00 m²
Weight, Empty18,380 kg
Weight, Loaded24,500 kg
Weight, Maximum32,500 kg
Speed, Maximum465 km/h
Rate of Climb8.10 m/s
Service Ceiling8,760 m
Range, Maximum7,150 km

H8K2 Seiku
MachineryFour Mitsubishi Kasei 22 radial engines rated at 1,850hp each
Armament1x20mm forward cannon, 1x13mm rear machine gun, 64 passengers
Crew10
Span38.00 m
Length28.15 m
Height9.15 m
Wing Area160.00 m²
Service Ceiling8,760 m

Photographs

H8K1 aircraft aboard seaplane tender Akitsushima, Shortland Island, Solomon Islands, 1942H8K prototype No. 2 taking off, Feb 1942
See all 12 photographs of H8K Seaplane



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H8K Seaplane Photo Gallery
H8K1 aircraft aboard seaplane tender Akitsushima, Shortland Island, Solomon Islands, 1942H8K prototype No. 2 taking off, Feb 1942
See all 12 photographs of H8K Seaplane


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