The Hiro H2H, or "Navy Type 89 Flying boat" ( ja, "八九式飛行艇"), was a Japanese patrol

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

of the 1930s. Designed and built by the

Hiro Naval Arsenal The Hiro Naval Arsenal (''Hiro Kaigun Kōshō'' or ''Dai-Jūichi Kaigun Kōkū-shō'' (11th Naval Arsenal), often abbreviated as ''Hiroshō'') at Kure (呉), Hiroshima prefecture, was a production facility for seaplanes, flying boats, and aero engi ...

, it was a twin-engined biplane that was operated by 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, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

Design and development

In 1929, the Imperial Japanese Navy purchased a single example of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Supermarine Southampton II metal-hulled flying boat,Andrews and Morgan 1987, p.110. and after evaluation, it was passed onto the

(who designed the wooden

Hiro H1H The Hiro H1H (or Navy Type 15) was a 1920s Japanese bomber or reconnaissance biplane flying boat developed from the Felixstowe F.5 by the Hiro Naval Arsenal for the Imperial Japanese Navy. The aircraft were built by Hiro, the Yokosuka Naval Ar ...

flying boat based on the Felixstowe F.5), to study its advanced metal hull structure. Following this study, Hiro designed a new flying boat, closely resembling the Southampton.Mikesh and Abe 1990, pp. 95-96. The new aircraft was a twin-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 ...

, with an all-metal hull, and fabric covered metal wing and tail structures. It was powered by two

Hiro Type 14 The Hiro Type 14 engine, (full designation Hiro Type 14 500 hp water-cooled W-12), was a water-cooled twelve-cylinder W engine built by the Hiro Naval Arsenal (''Hiro Kaigun Ko-sho'') for the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Hiro Type 14 engine ...

water-cooled 12-cylinders

W engine A W engine is a type of piston engine where three or four cylinder banks use the same crankshaft, resembling the letter W when viewed from the front. W engines with three banks of cylinders are also called "broad arrow" engines, due to their shap ...

s. The first prototype was completed in 1930, and following successful testing was ordered into production, with 13 aircraft being built by Hiro and a further four by

Aichi is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectu ...

. Later aircraft were powered by more powerful (600-750 hp (448-560 kW))

Hiro Type 90 Hiro may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hiro'' (film), a Canadian short film * Hiro (TV channel), an Italian channel * " Hiro's Song", by Ben Folds * " Yuko and Hiro", a Blur song * "Letter from Hiro", a song by The Vapors, off New Clear D ...

engines.Mikesh and Abe 1990, pp.96-97.

Operational history

It entered service in 1932 as the Type 89 Flying boat, with the short designation H2H1. Type 89 Flying Boats entered service in time for the Shanghai Incident, and along with Hiro's earlier H1H, served in front line service until the early years of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

Specifications (Early version)

References

Notes

Bibliography

*Andrews, C.F. and Morgan, E.B. ''Supermarine Aircraft since 1914''. London:Putnam, 1987. . *Mikesh, Robert C. and Abe, Shorzoe. ''Japanese Aircraft 1910-1941''. London:Putnam, 1990. .

External links

Hiro H2H
{{Japanese Navy short aircraft designations 1930s Japanese patrol aircraft Flying boats H2H Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1930 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft