Nakajima A6M2-N

The Nakajima A6M2-N was a single-seat floatplane fighter based on the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. The Allied reporting name was "Rufe".
The A6M2-N was developed from the Mitsubishi A6M Type 0, looking for a fighter to support amphibious operations and defend remote bases. The subsequent design, developed by Nakajima, took the fuselage of the Mitsubishi A6M2 Model 11 with a modified tail and floats added. A total of 327 machines were built (of which some of them were adapted from A6M2 Model 11) including four prototypes (the first of which flew for the first time on 7th December 1941) by Nakajima at Koizumi, Japan. The production period ranged from December 1941 until September 1943.
The aircraft was deployed during 1942 and was referred by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) as the "Suisen 2" (Hydro Fighter Type 2). It was only used in defensive actions in the Aleutians and Solomon Islands operations. They proved to be quite effective at harassing American PT-Boats at night as they often dropped flares to illuminate those boats which, as vulnerable as they were to Destroyers, they used the cover of the night.
They were used as interceptors for protecting the fuelling depots in Balikpapan and Avon Bases, both located in the Dutch East Indies. They also reinforced the Shumshu Base, located in the North Kuriles Islands. Some of them also served aboard seaplane carriers such like the Kamikawa Maru, which operated in the Kuriles and Solomons area and aboard Japanese raiders Hokoku Maru and Aikoku Maru which took part in some raids in the Indian Ocean. It seems that during the Aleutian campaign, this type of fighter clashed with Canadian P-40 Kittihawks and American P-38 Lightning and Boeing B-17s. Overall, the aircraft was used as an interceptor, fighter-bomber, and short reconnaissance support for amphibious landing, among other uses.
Later in the war, the Otsu Air Group employed the A6M2-N as an interceptor, alongside the Kawanishi N1K1. The A6M2-N were based in the Biwa Lake, in the Japanese Honshu region.
After the war, France captured a single A6M2-N. This particular machine belonged to the 934th Naval Air Group and ended the war in Surabaya, Dutch East Indies. From there it was flown by the British to Singapore and then to RAF Tebrau (Malaya) to be evaluated by the ATAIU-SEA. In September 1945, just after the end of the war, it was donated to the French who flown it to Cat-Lai, in Saigon and assigned to Escadrille 8S of the Aéronavale. Considering that it wasn't well maintained by the Japanese during the final months of the war, and had been run hard by the ATAIU-SEA, it was in urgent need of service, which wasn't easy as the A6M2-N mixed the complexity of a fast fighter with the added challenges of a saltwater seaplane. Therefore it comes not surprise when, on 19th February 1946, just when the aircraft flew its first operational mission with the French, it crashed near Rach Ba Sang, in Vietnam.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakajima_A6M2-N
2. https://www.valka.cz/Nakadzima-A6M2-N-Suisen-2-Rufe-t1278
3. https://captured-wings.wikia.org/wiki/A6M2-N_(8S_Escadrille)