Aichi E16A Zuiun (Paul) Japanese WWII Reconnaissance Floatplane

Aichi E16A Zuiun (Paul)
Japanese WWII Reconnaissance Floatplane

Overview ²

Aichi E16A Zuiun (Auspicious Cloud, Allied reporting name Paul)
Role: Reconnaissance Floatplane
Manufacturer: Aichi Kokuki
First flight: 22 May 1942
Introduction: February 1944
Primary user: IJN Air Service
Produced: 1944-1945
Number built: 256

The Aichi E16A Zuiun (Auspicious Cloud, Allied reporting name Paul) was a two-seat reconnaissance seaplane operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.

Design and Development ²

The Aichi E16A originated from a 1939 specification for a replacement for the Aichi E13A, which at that time had yet to be accepted by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS). Disagreements about the requirements in the 14-Shi specification prevented most manufacturers from submitting designs, but in 1941 a new 16-Shi specification was drafted by the IJNAS around the Aichi AM-22 design which had already been made by Aichi engineers Kishiro Matsuo and Yasuhiro Ozawa. The first AM-22, which first got the experimental designation Navy Experimental 16-Shi Reconnaissance Seaplane and later the short designation E16A1, was completed by May 1942 and was a conventional, low-wing monoplane equipped with two floats and had the unusual (for a seaplane) feature of being equipped with dive brakes, located in the front legs of the float struts, to allow it to operate in a secondary role as a dive bomber.

Variants ²

E16A1 Experimental Type 16 reconnaissance seaplane: Initial named Experimental Type 14 two-seat reconnaissance seaplane. 3 prototypes produced. Mounted 1,300 hp (970 kW) Mitsubishi MK8A Kinsei 51 engine, 2 × forward-firing 7.7 mm machine guns, 1 × rearward-firing 7.7 mm machine gun.
E16A1 Zuiun Model 11: General production model. Mounted 1,300 hp (970 kW) Mitsubishi MK8N Kinsei 54 engine, 2 × forward-firing 20mm cannons, 1 × rearward-firing 13 mm machine gun.
E16A2 Provisional name Zuiun Model 12: Initial named Zuiun Model 22. Single prototype with a 1,560 hp (1,160 kW) Mitsubishi MK8P Kinsei 62 radial engine. One plane converted from E16A1, incomplete.

Operators ²

Japan

Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Naval vessel

Battleship Ise, supplied from 634th Kōkūtai.
Battleship Hyūga, supplied from 634th Kōkūtai.

Air unit

Kitaura Kōkūtai
Yokosuka Kōkūtai
634th Kōkūtai
801st Kōkūtai
301st Reconnaissance Hikōtai
302nd Reconnaissance Hikōtai

Aichi E16A1 Zuiun Model 11 Specifications ²

General Characteristics

Crew: 2 (pilot and observer)
Length: 10.83 m (35 ft 6 in)
Wingspan:
Height: 4.79 m (15 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 28 m² (300 ft²)
Empty weight: 2,945 kg (6,490 lb)
Loaded weight: 4,553 kg (10,000 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Mitsubishi Kinsei 54 14-cylinder, air-cooled, twin-row radial engine, 970 kW (1,300 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 439 km/h (237 kn, 274 mph)
Range: 2,420 km (1,307 nmi, 1,510 mi)
Service ceiling: 10,000 m (33,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 10 m/s (1,970 ft/min)
Wing loading: 139.3 kg/m² (28.5 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 0.21 kW/kg (0.29 hp/kg; 0.13 hp/lb)

Armament

2 × fixed, forward-firing 20mm Type 99 cannons in wings
1 × flexible, rearward-firing 13 mm (.51 in) Type 2 machine gun for observer
250 kg (550 lb) of bombs

References ²

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Aichi E16A