Kawanishi H8K2 Emily
Technical Information
Background
The H8K was a
four engine shoulder-wing flying boat with a crew of ten. This
well-armed,
sturdy aircraft flew long-range reconnaissance missions; and
were regarded as hard to shoot down by Allied fighters, due to
their armament and speed. The H8K was undoubtedly the best flying boat, built by any
nation during WWII.
H8K2 Type 2 Flying boat, Model 12
This variant was developed on June 26, 1943. Equipped with Mitsubishi MK4Q Kasei 22 engines and improved tail gun turret. Latter production also had Air-Surface Vessel (ASV) search rada and removed the side blisters. A total of 112 were built.
H8K2-L Seikū "Clear Sky" Model 32 Transport Variants
Of the total production of 167, 36 special Seikū transport variants were also
built.
Production
A total of 167 were built.
