The Nakajima E8N was a Japanese ship-borne, catapult-launched,

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It was a single-engine, two-seat

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 a central main-float and underwing outriggers. During the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, it was known to the Allies by the

reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...

"Dave".

Design and development

The E8N was developed as a replacement for the same company's E4N and was essentially an evolutionary development of the earlier

reconnaissance seaplane Observation seaplanes are military aircraft with flotation devices allowing them to land on and take off from water. Their primary purpose was to observe and report enemy movements or to spot the fall of shot from naval artillery Naval artill ...

, with revised wings of lesser area and taller tail surfaces. Seven

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

s were constructed, under the company designation MS, first flying in March 1934.Francillon 1970, p.408. These were duly engaged in comparative trials against competitors from

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 ...

and Kawanishi.

Operational history

The MS was ordered into production, designated Navy Type 95 Reconnaissance Seaplane Model 1 in October 1935.Francillon 1970, p.409. A total of 755 E8Ns were built by Nakajima and Kawanishi, production continuing until 1940.Francillon 1970, p.410. It was subsequently shipped aboard all the

capital ship The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they are generally the larger ships when compared to other warships in their respective fleet. A capital ship is generally a leading or a primary ship in a naval fleet. Strategic im ...

s then in service, 16

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

s and five

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

s. It was used successfully in the Second Sino-Japanese War not only for reconnaissance, but also for dive-bombing and artillery spotting. One E8N was purchased in early 1941 by the German Naval Attache to Japan, Vice-Admiral

Paul Wenneker Paul Werner Wenneker (27 February 1890 – 17 October 1979) was a German admiral and diplomat. Born in Kiel, Wenneker died in Bergstedt, Hamburg. Having joined the Kaiserliche Marine in 1909, Wenneker twice served as German Naval Attaché to ...

, and dispatched on board the ''KM Münsterland'' to rendezvous with the German auxiliary cruiser ''Orion'' at Maug Island in the Marianas. The meeting occurred on the 1st of February, 1941, and ''Orion'' thus became the only German naval vessel of the Second World War to employ a Japanese float plane. Some aircraft remained in service with the fleet at the outbreak of the Pacific War, and one flew reconnaissance from the

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

Haruna during the Battle of Midway, but they were soon replaced by more modern aircraft such as 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 ...

and the

Mitsubishi F1M The Mitsubishi F1M ( Allied reporting name "Pete") was a Japanese reconnaissance floatplane of World War II. It was the last biplane type of the Imperial Japanese Navy, with 944 built between 1936 and 1944. The Navy designation was "Type Zero Obs ...

, being reassigned to second-line duties.

Variants

;E8N1 :Initial production type, powered by 433 kW (580 hp)

Nakajima Kotobuki The Nakajima Ha1 Kotobuki (寿, "Longevity") was an aero-engine developed by Nakajima. It was a radial piston developed under licence from the Bristol Jupiter. Design and development In 1917, Chikuhei Nakajima set up the "Airplane Institute" a ...

2 Kai 1

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...

. ;E8N2 :Improved production type, with more powerful (470 kW/630 hp) Nakajima Kotobuki Kai 2 engine.

Operators

; * Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service ; * Royal Thai Navy ; *

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

** Auxiliary cruiser ''Orion''

Specifications (E8N2)

References