Kawanishi H6K

what is it?

The Kawanishi H6K was a large maritime patrol flying boat designed and produced by the Japanese aviation manufacturer Kawanishi Aircraft Company. Flown by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II, the service designed it "Type 97 Large Flying Boat" (九七式大型飛行艇) while the Allied reporting name for the type was Mavis. The British mistakenly identified this aircraft as the Kawanishi Navy 97 Mavis.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 piston engines with propellers · 40 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 340 km/htop speed
• range 4,797 kmwithout refuelling
• size 21.5 tmax take-off weight
• built 215made in total

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 90 years ago, in 1936.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 40 m: about 9 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 4 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 4,797 km: 27× Amsterdam to Brussels.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1936-07-14

introduced

1938

retired

1945

status

retired

number built

215

role

maritime patrol flying boat

origin

🇯🇵 Japan

makers

Kawanishi Aircraft Company

engines

4× Mitsubishi Kinsei 43 / Kinsei

length

25.6 m

wingspan

40 m

height

6.3 m

max take-off weight

21.5 t

top speed

340 km/h

cruise speed

222 km/h

range

4,797 km

wings

monoplane

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.