Kawanishi E11K

The Kawanishi E11K was a Japanese flying boat of the 1930s, designed as a specialised night reconnaissance aircraft for the Imperial Japanese Navy to spot naval gunfire and shadow enemy forces after dark. Where Aichi built a biplane, Kawanishi designed a gull-winged cantilever monoplane with one Hiro Type 91 W engine in a pusher layout above the wing, retractable wingtip floats and wings that folded for storage aboard cruisers. The first of two prototypes flew on 11 June 1937 but showed poor stability and water handling and an overheating engine, so the Navy ordered the Aichi E11A. The two prototypes were fitted with beaching gear and served as the Type 96 Transport, used as liaison aircraft well into the Second World War.