what is it?
The Aichi E3A was a reconnaissance seaplane developed in Germany as the Heinkel HD 56 to operate from warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which designated it the Type 90-1 Reconnaissance Seaplane. It was a conventional single-bay biplane with staggered wings braced by N-type interplane struts. The pilot and gunner sat in tandem, open cockpits.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 11.1 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 97 years ago, in 1929.
- Wingspan of 11.1 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1929
- introduced
- 1932
- retired
- 1937
- status
- retired
- number built
- 12
- role
- reconnaissance seaplane
- origin
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- makers
- Aichi
- engines
- 1× Gasuden / Hitachi Type 90 Amakaze
- crew
- 2
- length
- 8.5 m
- wingspan
- 11.1 m
- height
- 3.7 m
- max take-off weight
- 1,600 kg
- top speed
- 197 km/h
- cruise speed
- 125 km/h
- range
- 753 km
- ceiling
- 4,710 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1988657, Wikipedia: Aichi E3A (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.