IJN  Imperial Japanese Navy

Yokosuka E14Y (Glen)
This floatplane was a submarine based. This type surveyed the effects of the Pearl Harbor attack ten days later. Also, another another Glen was launched off the West Coast of the USA that dropped bombs in the forest of Oregon from submarine I-25. In other regions, the Glen flew reconnaissance over Australia, New Zealand, the Aleutians and other locations.

Being very slow it was an easy target for Allied aircraft if spotted. Their reconnaissance flights (normally around 5 hours duration) were usually carried out under the cover of darkness to avoid such an occurrence. The "Glen" was armed with a 7.7 mm machine gun mounted in the rear cockpit. A total of 125 aircraft were built by K. K. Watanabe Tekkosho between 1941 and 1943.

Pearl Harbor Reconnaissance
"Glen" surveyed the effects of the Pearl Harbor attack on December 16, 1941, and again in January and February 1942, submarines launched aircraft made flights over Pearl Harbor.

Storage on Submarines
Glens were operated from Japanese submarines I-7 to I-11, and I-15 to I-35. It was stowed in a cylindrical water tight hangar at the front of Japanese "I" type submarines. The "Glen" was able to be broken down into 12 components for storage in the hangar. The "Glen", once assembled on the deck of the submarine, was launched from a 20 meter inclined steel tracked catapult on the forward deck.

Glen Attack on Oregon
Warrant Flying Officer Nobuo Fujita, with his enlisted air crewman, flew the only bombing missions against the continental US. He was conscripted into the Japanese Navy in 1932 and soon took flight instruction. He served in submarines I-23 and I-25 before becoming an instructor during the remainder of the war. In August, 1942, the I-25 arrived in waters off Cape Blanco, Oregon. With Commander Meiji Tagami in command, the large submarine surfaced and crewmen scrambled onto the deck, opened the hangar, and rapidly fitted wings, stabilizers, rudder, and floats to the Yokosuka E14Y Glen reconnaissance aircraft. A pair of special incendiary bombs were attached to wing racks, and Warrant Flying Officer Nobuo Fujita and Petty Officer Shoji Okuda climber into the cockpit and were catapulted into the air. The floatplane flew inland some fifty miles, and the fliers released the two firebombs over the Oregon forests. The plane returned to come down safely on the water alongside the I-25, and was taken back on board the submarine. A second firebombing mission was flown. These were the first air attacks ever made against the continental United States.

 


Role    
 Reconnaissance
Crew    
 Two (pilot, observer)
Engines   
One Hitachi Tempu 12 nine-cylinder air-cooled radial
Propellers 
 Wood 2 bladed
Span 
11.00 m
Length 
 38.54 m
Height 
3.80 m
Max. Speed 
90 kt at 1,000m
Armament  
1 x 7.7mm rear gun
Bombs    
60 kgs
Range  
476 naut miles
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