Nakajima E2N

In the mid-1920s, the Air Force Command of the Imperial Navy of Japan developed the concept that large fleet ships should have 2 types of hydroplane reconnaissance aircraft: a long-range reconnaissance aircraft and a short-range reconnaissance artillery fire system. The Yokosuka E1Y aircraft, which replaced the Yokosuka Ro-go Ko-gata aircraft, became a long-distance scout. As a close reconnaissance aircraft, the German seaplane Hansa-Brandenburg W. 33 was used, which was obsolete by the 1920s and produced under license by the firms Aichi and Nakajima . To replace it, a competition was announced in 1924, in which the firms Aichi, Nakajima and the Fleet Arsenal took part in Yokosuka .

The design team of the Nakajima company, led by Takao Yoshida, abandoned the idea of ​​modernizing the German aircraft, and instead developed an all-wooden half - winged plane with plain skin and open cockpit cabins. The aircraft was equipped with a licensed version of the engine "Hispano-Suiza V-8", armed with a 7.7-mm machine gun in the rear cockpit and was able to carry four 30-kilogram bombs on the outer suspension.

The first prototype was ready in 1926. There is little information about the test aircraft, but it is known that the aircraft had certain problems, in particular, poor stability. But his competitors were even worse off, and so the fleet chose the Nakajima variant of the company, adopting it under the name Sea Type 15-1 reconnaissance seaplane (or E2N1). In 1927, after the elimination of deficiencies, the aircraft was put into mass production.

In 1928, the Type 15-2 training version (or “E2N2”) was developed, in which a second set of controls was placed in the rear cockpit.

During the years 1927-1929, Nakajima produced 47 airplanes of both versions. In addition, 3 aircraft were launched for fishing cooperatives. During 1929-1930, another 30 cars produced by Kawanishi .

"E2N" were the first seaplanes of the Japanese fleet, which were launched using a catapult (all previous float-operated seaplanes took off from the gun towers of battleships and cruisers). However, their use was short-lived - not very good flight characteristics made themselves felt and quite solid wooden construction for the end of the 1920s rather than archaic.

In the early 1930s, “E2N” almost completely disappeared from parts of the first line, where they were replaced by Nakajima E4N . But they continued to be used as training until the mid-1930s.

Specifications

• Crew : 2
• Length : 9.57 m
• Wing Span : 13.52 m
• Height : 3.70 m
• Wing area: 44.00 m²
• Wing Profile:
• Empty weight: 1 409 kg
• Curb weight:
• Normal take-off weight:
• Maximum take-off weight: 1 950 kg
• Engine Mitsubishi Type Hi (Hispano-Suiza 8F)
• Power : 1x 300 liters. with. ^[one]

Flight characteristics

• Maximum speed : 172 km / h
  • on the ground:
  • at height m:
• Cruising speed : 138 km / h
• Practical range: 640 km
• Practical ceiling : 5,400 m
• Rate of climb : m / s
• Wing load: kg / m² ^[1]

Armament

• Cannon-machine gun:
  • one 7.7 mm type 92 machine gun
• Bomb load: 4 x 30 kg bombs ^[1]

• Tadeusz Januszewski, Krzysztof Zalewski. Japońskie samoloty marynarki 1912-1945 ISBN 83-86776-50-1

• E2N (Neopr.) . Corner of the sky: aviation encyclopedia. The date of appeal is 2016-23-06.