The Aichi E11A (九八夜偵, ''Kyū-hachi Yatei'') was an

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 ...

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 ...

used during the first year of

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 ...

for

maritime patrol {{Unreferenced, date=March 2008 Maritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities. Maritime patrol refers to ac ...

duties. The

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

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 ...

for the type was "Laura"; the Japanese Navy designation was "Type 98 Reconnaissance Seaplane". The Type 98 was quite similar to the earlier E10A Type 96, whose allied name was "Hank". "Lauras" were rare - only 17 were built. It was designed to be launched from

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 or

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 ...

s in order to spot their shellfire at night. The Type 98s were soon diverted to communications and transport duties.

Variants

* E11A1 : Night reconnaissance flying boat for the

. Production version.

Specifications (Aichi E11A1)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Francillon, René J. ''Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War''. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1970 (2nd edition 1979). . Pages 489-490. * Green, William. ''Warplanes of the Second World War, Volume Five: Flying Boats''. London: Macdonald & Co.(Publishers) Ltd., 1962 (5th impression 1972). . Pages 124-125.

External links