Shin Meiwa US-1A

what is it?

The Shin Meiwa PS-1 and US-1A are retired large STOL aircraft designed for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and air-sea rescue (SAR) work respectively by Japanese aircraft manufacturer Shin Meiwa. The PS-1 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) variant is a flying boat which carried its own beaching gear on board, while the search-and-rescue (SAR) orientated US-1A is a true amphibian. Development of the PS-1 has its origins in flying boat research performed by the Shin Meiwa in the 1950s.

🔎How to recognise it: 5 turboprops · 33.2 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 511 km/htop speed
• range 3,817 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 20passengers
• size 43 tmax take-off weight
• built 43made 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 59 years ago, in 1967.
• 🏎️Top speed is 3.9× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 33.2 m: about 7 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 7 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 3,817 km: 21× Amsterdam to Brussels.

turboprop: A jet-style turbine turning a propeller: efficient on short hops.

spec sheet

first flight

1967-10-05

introduced

1971

retired

2017

status

retired

number built

43

role

air-sea rescue amphibian

makers

ShinMaywa

engines

5× Ishikawajima-Harima / General Electric T64-IHI-10J / Ishikawajima-Harima / General Electric T58-IHI-10-M2

crew

4

passengers

20

length

33.5 m

wingspan

33.2 m

height

10 m

max take-off weight

43 t

top speed

511 km/h

cruise speed

426 km/h

range

3,817 km

ceiling

7,195 m

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