The Nakajima A6M2-N (Navy Type 2 Interceptor/Fighter-Bomber) was a single-crew

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

based on the

Mitsubishi A6M Zero The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 19 ...

Model 11. The Allied reporting name for the aircraft was Rufe.

Design and development

The A6M2-N floatplane was developed from the Mitsubishi A6M Type 0, mainly to support amphibious operations and defend remote bases. It was based on the A6M-2 Model 11 fuselage, with a modified tail and added floats. A total of 327 were built, including the original prototype.

Operational history

The aircraft was deployed in 1942, referred to as the "Suisen 2" ("Hydro fighter type 2"), and was only utilized in defensive actions in the

Aleutians The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large vo ...

and

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

operations. Such seaplanes were effective in harassing American

PT boat A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the wa ...

s at night. They could also drop flares to illuminate the PTs which were vulnerable to destroyer gunfire, and depended on cover of darkness. A6M2-N Rufe at Attu NAN15Apr43

The seaplane also served as an interceptor for protecting fueling depots in

Balikpapan Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated ...

and Avon Bases (

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

) and reinforced the Shumushu base ( North Kuriles) in the same period. Such fighters served aboard seaplane carriers ''Kamikawa Maru'' in the Solomons and

Kuriles The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...

areas and aboard Japanese raiders Hokoku Maru and

Aikoku Maru was an armed merchant cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. The ship entered service in 1940, the ship was later converted to an ammunition ship. She was sunk in February 1944 during Operation Hailstone. Design ''Aikoku Maru'' ...

in Indian Ocean raids. In the Aleutian Campaign this fighter engaged with RCAF

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...

Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...

fighters and

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

bombers. The aircraft was used for interceptor, fighter-bomber, and short reconnaissance support for amphibious landings, among other uses. Later in the conflict the Otsu Air Group utilized the A6M2-N as an interceptor alongside

Kawanishi N1K The Kawanishi N1K ''Kyōfū'' (, "Strong Wind", Allied reporting name "Rex") is an Imperial Japanese Navy floatplane fighter. The Kawanishi N1K-J ''Shiden'' (, "Violet Lightning") was an Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service land-based version o ...

1 Kyofu ("Rex") aircraft based in Biwa lake in the Honshū area. The last A6M2-N in military service was a single example recovered by the French forces in Indochina after the end of World War II. It crashed shortly after being overhauled.Dorr and Bishop 1996, p. 249.

Operators

; * Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service **

Yokohama Air Group was an aircraft and airbase garrison unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during the Pacific campaign of World War II. History The Yokohama Air Group was formed in Yokohama, Japan on October 1, 1936 as a patrol unit equipped with si ...

Toko Toko is a small rural settlement 10 kilometres east of Stratford, New Zealand, at the intersection of East Road ( State Highway 43) and Toko Road. It is located on a railway, the Stratford–Okahukura Line, the western portion of which was o ...

Air Group ** Otsu Air Group **

Yokosuka Air Group The was the first aviation unit established by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1916 and survived until the end of the Pacific War. It was charged with educating and training aviation personnel, practical testing of new aircraft, and tactical resea ...

(technical evaluation unit) ** 11th Air Fleet ** 5th Air Fleet ** 36th Air Fleet ** 452nd Air Fleet ** 934th Air Fleet ; *

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

- Postwar, one Nakajima A6M-2N was captured in

Indo-China Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

, it was impressed into service with the French Navy in late 1945. ; *Use by Indonesia air forces

Specifications (Nakajima A6M2-N)

References

Bibliography

* Dorr, Robert F. and Chris Bishop. ''Vietnam Air War Debrief''. London:Aerospace , Publishing, 1996. . * Francillon, R.J. ''Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War''. London:Putnam, 1970. . * Green, William. ''War Planes of the Second World War, Volume Six: Floatplanes''. London: Macdonald & Co., (Publishers) Ltd., 1962. * Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. ''The Complete Book of Fighters''. New York: Smithmark, 1994. . * Jackson, Robert. ''Combat Legend: Mitsubishi Zero''. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 2003. . * Janowicz, Krzystof. ''Mitsubishi A6M2-N Rufe (Kagero Famous Airplanes 4)'' (in Polish/English). Lublin, Poland: Kagero, 2004. . * Mikesh, Robert C. ''Warbird History: Zero, Combat & Development History of Japan's Legendary Mitsubishi A6M Zero Fighter''. Osceola, Wisconsin: Motorbooks International, 1994. . * Sakaida, Henry. ''Imperial Japanese Navy Aces, 1937–45''. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 1999. . * Gunston,Bill. ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Combat Aircraft of World War II''. London, UK: Salamander Books Ltd., 1978

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakajima A6m2-N Floatplanes Low-wing aircraft 1940s Japanese military reconnaissance aircraft Aleutian Islands campaign A6M2-N Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1941