Chapter II: Historical Record
(continued)

Japanese Naval Aircraft at Pearl Harbor

AICHI E13A1 Float Plane

The first to be launched that day was an Aichi E13A1 (Jake) float plane, designed in 1938 to replace the aging Type 94-95 reconnaissance float planes built by Nakajima in 1933. The new float plane was intended to operate from cruisers and seaplane tenders. Its primary mission was reconnaissance but on occasion the aircraft was used for bombing missions, air-sea rescue, staff transport and, as the war became more desperate, kamikaze attack.

The major defects of the aircraft were lack of fuel capacity, armor protection of the crew, and limited defensive armament. On the positive side it was a reliable machine able to stay aloft for 15 hours.

At 5:30 a.m. on December 7, 1941, the cruisers CHIKUMA and TONE each catapulted into the darkness a AICHI E31A1 to scout the anchorages at Pearl Harbor and Lahaina Roads, Maui. The planes, on reaching their destination, would scout for about 15 minutes to insure that their reports would be accurate. Their message back to the fleet would break the spell of radio silence that had been in effect since the fleet had sortied in late November 1941. Two hours later the CHIKUMA's float plane signaled "Enemy fleet in port."

TECHNICAL DATA

Description: Single-engine twin-float reconnaissance seaplane. All metal construction with fabric-covered control surfaces.

Accommodation: Crew of three in tandem, enclosed cockpits.

Powerplant: One Mitsubishi Kinsei 43 14-cylinder air-cooled radial, rated at 1,060hp for takeoff and 1,080 hp at 2,000m (6,560 ft). driving a three-blade metal propeller.

Armament: One flexible rear-firing 7.7mm Type 92 machine-gun and One flexible downward-firing 20mm Type 99 Model 1 cannon (field modification on late production aircraft).

External load: one 250kg (551-lb.) bomb, or four 60kg (132-lb.) bombs or depth charges.

Dimensions: (E13A1a) Span 14.5m (47 ft. 6 7/8 in.): length 11.3m (37 ft. 0 7/8 in.); height 7.4m (24 ft. 3 11/32 in.); wing area 36 sq m (387.499 sq ft.).

Weights: (E13A1a) Empty 2.642kg (5,825 lb.); loaded 3,640kg (8,025 lb); maximum 4,000kg (12,192-lb.): wing-loading 101.1kg/sq m (20.7 lb./sq ft.); power-loading 3.4kg/hp (7-6 lb/hp).

Performance: (E13A1a) Maximum speed 203 knots at 2,180 m (234 mph at 7,155 ft); cruising speed 120 knots); range 1,128 nautical miles (1,298 st miles).

Production: A total of 181 E13A1s were built between 1938-1942.

Aichi Tokei Denki K.K., Funakata: 133 aircraft (1938-42)

Dai-Juichi Kaigun Kokusho, Hiro: 48 aircraft (1940-42)

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