what is it?
The Kawanishi E7K was a three-seat reconnaissance seaplane that was designed and produced by the Japanese aviation manufacturer Kawanishi Aircraft Company. It was allocated the reporting name Alf by the Allies. The initial model of the aircraft, the E7K1, had been designed in response to a request from the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) for a successor to the Kawanishi E5K. Powered by a single Hiro Type 91 W-12 inline engine, the prototype E7K1 made its maiden flight on 6 February 1933.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 14 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 93 years ago, in 1933.
- Top speed is 2.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 14 m: about 3 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
- 1933-02-06
- introduced
- 1935
- retired
- 1943
- status
- retired
- number built
- 533
- role
- reconnaissance floatplane
- makers
- Kawanishi Aircraft Company
- engines
- 1× Mitsubishi MK2 Zuisei 11
- crew
- 3
- length
- 10.4 m
- wingspan
- 14 m
- height
- 4.9 m
- max take-off weight
- 3,300 kg
- top speed
- 276 km/h
- cruise speed
- 185 km/h
- range
- —
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q699421, Wikipedia: Kawanishi E7K (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.