Biggest Japanese Plane of WW2

the expansion of Japanese territory during the second world war was a hugely impressive operation apart from the ground and Naval forces perhaps one of the most important elements to this endeavor was in the air Japanese aircraft were essential to cover the vast Empire from the South Pacific to the borders of India having the ability to fly for long periods of time but also being able to land in the vast ocean was a huge boost the biggest Japanese plane of the war the the kawanishi h8k flying boat ticked these boxes many considered this aircraft to be the best in its class throughout the war in today's video we look at Japan's biggest plane and why it performed so well during World War II if you enjoy this video and want to see more hit that subscribe button it's free and really helps the channel reach more history lovers like you aircraft with the ability to land and take off from water wasn't A New Concept for the Japanese they had many smaller single piloted planes to do this but something on a larger scale was needed initially the sister of the h8k the kawanishi h6k was created for this job but by 1938 when the h8k was ordered a larger more armored and versatile aircraft was needed the h8k flying boat which the Allies nicknamed Emily was an all metal construction with a length of 992 ft or 28 M it sat at a huge height of 30 ft or 9 m a fully loaded plane tipped the scales at 54,000 lb or 24,000 kilos the huge caner lever Wings housed four 18800 horsepower Mitsubishi engines these gave the flying bow to top speed of 290 M or 465 km an hour the range was the impressive part being able to reach 4,400 Mi or 7,100 km this range was due to there being eight small fuel tanks in the wings and six larger ones in the hull by January of 1941 the first of 167 aircraft were flying they would see various roles including General Patrol reconnaissance large transport and even bombing missions there were particularly effective in hunting Allied submarines as the later versions carried an airto surface vessel radar system the ability to carry numerous depth charges allowed it to attack multiple submarines or have several runs at a single sub the transport aspect of the aircraft was also very good as its size meant it could transport up to 64 fully equipped soldiers making it perfect for raiding Commando missions another great aspect of the the plane was its offensive Armament it had five 20 mm cannons spread across the nose belly and rear as well as five 7.7 mm machine guns across the other areas leaving it completely protected a crew of 10 men were required to fly and operate her depending on what role the aircraft was taking the bombing role meant to could carry up to 16 large bombs or even Torpedoes the flying boat performed extreme well in all its roles throughout the war it was synonymous with Allied Pilots as being the most difficult of all Japanese aircraft to shoot down this comes down to its sheer size with thick armor and innate ability to take heavy damage and still fly it saw action across the Pacific and performed numerous rescue missions to locate down Japanese pilots and crew at Sea despite these aircraft doing so well in the war they still couldn't handle the overwhelming might of the Allied war effort of the 167 manufactured only four examples survived the war many were either destroyed while moed in the water or attacked by several Allied aircraft at once one surviving aircraft would be assessed by the US Military and helped Advance their own future aircraft in that role although it's a Japanese plane which doesn't get as much attention as say the Mitsubishi zero it still played a v role in the Japanese war effort of the second world war what did you think about the Japanese h8k of World War II were you aware of the aircraft prior to the video let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below as always guys thanks for watching be sure to hit that subscribe button if you want to expand your knowledge and join the growing Premier history community