Kawanishi K-11

The Kawanishi K-11 was a 1920s Japanese single-seat carrier fighter designed and built by the Kawanishi Aircraft Company to meet an Imperial Japanese Navy requirement. It was a private venture answering a 1926 requirement for a carrier fighter to replace the Mitsubishi 1MF, competing against designs from Aichi, Mitsubishi and Nakajima. The K-11 was an equal-span biplane with a metal fuselage covered in fabric, wooden wings and a BMW inline engine of about 500 horsepower. The first prototype flew in July 1927 and a second with a modified fuselage and tail followed in 1928. The Navy chose the Nakajima design, which entered production as the A1N, so the K-11 did not enter service and its two prototypes became company liaison aircraft.