was a Japanese

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

manufacturer during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

History

The company was founded as Kawanishi Engineering Works in 1920 in

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...

as an outgrowth of the Kawanishi conglomerate, which had been funding the

Nakajima Aircraft Company The was a prominent Japanese aircraft manufacturer and aviation engine manufacturer throughout World War II. It continues as the car and aircraft manufacturer Subaru. History The Nakajima Aircraft company was Japan's first aircraft manufacture ...

. Kawanishi built its first aircraft, the Kawanishi K-1 Mail-carrying Aircraft in 1921, and set up an airline, ''Nippon Koku K.K.'' (Japan Aviation Co. Ltd) in 1923, designing and building several aircraft for the airline's use. It was forced by the Japanese government to shut down ''Nippon Koku'' in 1929, however, with its routes being transferred to the government-owned ''Nippon Koku Yuso K.K.'' (Japan Air Transport Co. Ltd.) Kawanishi then split off the former Kawanishi Engineering Works, forming ''Kawanishi Kokuki KK'' in 1928, taking all of the Kawanishi Engineering Works' assets.Mikesh and Abe 1990, pp. 124–125. While Kawanishi was best known for its

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

s, such as the

Kawanishi H6K The Kawanishi H6K was an Imperial Japanese Navy flying boat produced by the Kawanishi Aircraft Company and used during World War II for maritime patrol duties. The Allied reporting name for the type was Mavis; the Navy designation was . Desig ...

and H8K

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 ...

s, its N1K-J land-based fighter -derived from their Kawanishi N1K1 floatplane fighter- was considered one of the best in the war. After Japan's defeat, the company was reborn as Shin Meiwa Industries (later ShinMaywa), and continued to create flying boats such as the PS-1 and US-2.

Products

Floatplanes

* E5K - 1931 three-seat reconnaissance floatplane, Kawanishi-built version of Yokosuka E5Y; 20 built * E7K - 'Alf' 1933 three-seat reconnaissance floatplane; 533 built * E8K - reconnaissance floatplane; lost to the

Nakajima E8N The Nakajima E8N was a Japanese ship-borne, catapult-launched, reconnaissance seaplane of the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was a single-engine, two-seat biplane with a central main-float and underwing outriggers. During the Pacific War, it was ...

* E10K - 1934 night reconnaissance/transport flying boat; one built, but cancelled in favor of the Aichi E10A; prototype converted into a transport * E11K - 1937 night reconnaissance flying boat; two built, but cancelled in favor of the Aichi E11A * E12K * E13K - 1938 three-seat reconnaissance floatplane; two built, but cancelled in favor of the

Aichi E13A The Aichi E13A ( Allied reporting name: "Jake") was a long-range reconnaissance seaplane used by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from 1941 to 1945. Numerically the most important floatplane of the IJN, it could carry a crew of three and a bomblo ...

* E15K - 'Norm' 1941 reconnaissance floatplane; 15 built

Bombers

* G9K ''Gunzan'' - proposed land-based heavy bomber based on the H8K, remained a project * K-100 - twin-engine land-based bomber project * TB - four-engine heavy bomber project

Flying boats

* H3K - 1930 patrol/training flying boat; 5 built * H6K - 'Mavis' 1936 patrol flying boat developed from the H3K; 215 built * H8K - 'Emily' 1941 patrol flying boat; 167 built * H11K ''Soukuu'' (Blue Sky) - transport flying boat project; mockup only * K-60 - long-range 80 ton flying boat project * K-200 - proposed turbojet-powered long-range flying boat, not built * KX-3 - 500 ton, 12 engine flying boat project

Fighters

* K-11 - 1927 carrier-based fighter * J3K - interceptor fighter, not built * J6K ''Jinpu'' (Squall) - interceptor fighter; mockup only * N1K ''Kyōfū'' (Gale) - 'Rex' 1942 floatplane fighter * N1K1-J ''Shiden'' (Violet Lightning) - 'George' 1942 land-based fighter conversion of N1K * N1K2-J ''Shiden-KAI'' (Violet Lightning-modified) - 1943 improved N1K1-J

Trainers

* K6K - 1938 floatplane trainer prototype; 2 built * K8K - 1938 floatplane trainer; 15 built

Transports

* H6K2-L/H6K4-L - unarmed transport conversions of H6K * H8K1-L/H8K2-L/H8K4-L ''Seikū'' (Clear Sky) - transport conversions of H8K; H8K4-L remained a project as all H8K4s were lost in 1945 * H11K1-L - projected transport version of H11K

Suicide attack aircraft

* ''Baika'' (,

Plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...

Blossom) - projected ''kamikaze'' aircraft based on the Fieseler Fi 103R, not built

Civil aircraft

* K-1 - 1920 mail plane * K-2 - 1921 single-seat racer * K-3 - 1921 multipurpose transport aircraft developed from the K-1 * K-5 - 1922 floatplane mail plane * K-6 - 1923 three-seat biplane airliner * K-7A Transport Seaplane - 1925 six-seat biplane floatplane airliner * K-7B Mail-carrying Aircraft - mail plane modification of K-7A * K-8 Transport Seaplane - 1926 floatplane mail plane * K-9 - cargo aircraft project * K-10 Transport - 1926 mail plane/six-seat airliner * K-12 ''Sakura'' - 1928 experimental long-range record-breaking aircraft

References

Notes

Bibliography

* (new edition 1987 by Putnam Aeronautical Books, .) * * * Mikesh, Robert C. and Shorzoe Abe. ''Japanese Aircraft, 1910–1941''. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1990. . * Richards, M.C. "Kawanishi 4-Motor Flying-Boats (H6K 'Mavis' and H8K 'Emily')". ''Aircraft in Profile Volume 11''. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1972.

External links

Corporate History of ShinMaywa at shinmaywa.co.jp
{{Kawanishi aircraft Companies based in Hyōgo Prefecture Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Japan