The Kawanishi K-10 Transport was a 1920s Japanese passenger and mail transport. Two were built, one briefly serving a route between cities in Japan, Korea and China.

Design and development

The K-10 was designed by Eiji Sekiguchi to carry passengers and mail on the challenging, over-water

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

- Dalian (Derien) route. In the 1920s these cities were Japanese possessions. It was a single bay biplane with a fabric-covered wooden structure. The wings were rectangular in plan out to rounded tips and braced together with a pair of parallel

interplane strut In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

s on each side. The wing centre-section and fuselage were joined by two N--form

cabane struts In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in c ...

. Originally the K-10 was powered by a

V12 V12 or V-12 may refer to: Aircraft * Mil V-12, a Soviet heavy lift helicopter * Pilatus OV-12, a planned American military utility aircraft * Rockwell XFV-12, an American experimental aircraft project * Škoda-Kauba V12, a Czechoslovak experim ...

Lorraine 12D The Lorraine 12D, also referred to as Lorraine-Dietrich 12D, was a series of water-cooled V12 engines produced by the French company Lorraine-Dietrich. The first variant began production in 1917, and the engines were used to power bombers for the ...

engine driving a four-bladed propeller. Its two passengers sat side-by-side in an open cockpit ahead of the pilot. This engine was soon replaced by a , six cylinder

Maybach Mb.IVa The Maybach Mb IVa was a water-cooled aircraft and airship straight-six engine developed in Germany during World War I by '' Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH'', a subsidiary of Zeppelin. It was one of the world's first series-produced engines designed sp ...

, its rectangular

radiator Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

beneath it and with a two-bladed propeller. Room was found for four passenger seats in an enclosed cabin between the wings. The fuselage was flat-sided, with rounded decking, and the tail was conventional, with a blunted rectangular

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

and narrow, rectangular

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

. It had fixed, conventional

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

with wheels on a single axle. Both faired drag struts and slender legs, fitted with conspicuous, square shock absorbers, were mounted on the lower fuselage.

Operational history

The first of two K-10s was completed in August 1926 and made its first flight soon after. In September it joined the sole Kawanishi K-7B carrying mail on the Osaka - Seoul - Dalian (Derien) route, completing six of these tours before retirement. Soon after, on 2 October 1926, it appeared at the

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

Aviation Day display, carrying passengers to enhance Japanese aviation awareness.

Operators

* Nippon Koku KK

Specifications (Maybach engine)

References

{{Kawanishi aircraft Biplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft 1920s Japanese civil aircraft Mailplanes K-10