| E16A Zuiun | |
|---|---|
| |
| A E16A1 Yo-53 of the Yokosuka Kōkutai (Naval Air Group), as can be seen by its tail markings. | |
| Role | Reconnaissance Floatplane
Type of aircraft
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| Manufacturer | Aichi Kokuki |
| First flight | 22 May 1942 |
| Introduction | February 1944 |
| Primary user | IJN Air Service |
| Produced | 1944–1945 |
| Number built | 256[1] |
The Aichi E16A Zuiun (瑞雲 "Auspicious Cloud", Allied reporting name "Paul") was a two-seat reconnaissance seaplane operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
The Aichi E16A originated from a 1939 specification for a replacement for the Aichi E13A, which at that time had yet to be accepted by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS).[2] Disagreements about the requirements in the 14-Shi specification prevented most manufacturers from submitting designs, but in 1941 a new 16-Shi specification was drafted by the IJNAS around the Aichi AM-22 design which had already been made by Aichi engineers Kishiro Matsuo and Yasuhiro Ozawa.[2] The first AM-22, which first got the experimental designation Navy Experimental 16-Shi Reconnaissance Seaplane and later the short designation E16A1, was completed by May 1942 and was a conventional, low-wing monoplane equipped with two floats and had the unusual (for a seaplane) feature of being equipped with dive brakes, located in the front legs of the float struts, to allow it to operate in a secondary role as a dive bomber.
Japan[1][3][4]
Data from Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War[1]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
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Aichi aircraft
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| Manufacturer designations |
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| Imperial Japanese Navy short designations |
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| World War II Allied reporting names |
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| Fighters (A) |
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| Torpedo bombers (B) |
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| Shipboard reconnaissance (C) |
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| Dive bombers (D) |
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| Reconnaissance seaplanes (E) |
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| Observation seaplanes (F) |
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| Land-based bombers (G) |
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| Flying Boats (H) |
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| Land-based Fighters (J) |
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| Trainers (K) |
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| Transports (L) |
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| Special-purpose (M)1 |
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| Floatplane fighters (N) |
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| Land-based bombers (P) |
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| Patrol (Q) |
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| Land-based reconnaissance (R) |
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| Night fighters (S) |
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1 X as second letter is for experimental aircraft or imported technology demonstrators not intended for service, 2 Hyphenated trailing letter (-J, -K, -L, -N or -S) denotes design modified for secondary role, 3 Possibly incorrect designation, but used in many sources | |
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Imperial Japanese Navy official aircraft names
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| Fighters |
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| Heavy bombers4 |
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| Bombers5 |
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| Patrol6 |
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| Reconnaissance7 |
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| Trainers8 |
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| Transports9 |
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| Miscellaneous10 |
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| Special-purpose aircraft11 |
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With some exceptions for rockets, jets and repurposed aircraft, names chosen were for: 1. Winds, 2. Lightning, 3. Nighttime lights, 4. Mountains, 5. Stars/constellations, 6. Seas, 7. Clouds, 8. Plants, 9. Skies, 10. Landscapes, and 11. Flowers. Published translations disagree, and many are simplified, especially for plants, where the Japanese referred to a specific variety and the common translations only to the broader type. | |||||||||
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| Aircraft in Japanese service |
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| Foreign aircraft thought to be in Japanese service |
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