Aichi E13A, Japanese Users

The Aichi E13A was a long-range reconnaissance seaplane that was used by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1941, when it was introduced, until the end of the World War II in 1945.
It was the most numerous seaplane of the IJN and had a crew of three plus a bombload of 250kg (550lb). It was designated by the IJN as "Navy Type Zero Reconnaissance Seaplane".
It started its career in China, operating from seaplane tenders and cruisers (Kinugasa, Atago, Takao, Chokai, Maya, Kumano, Chikuma, Tone and Suzuya, among others) and, later, in early December 1941, it was used to scout the Hawaian isle of Oahu, in order to prepare the attack on Pearl Harbour. It was also employed in the decisive battles of Coral Sea and Midway, where it clashed against the United States Navy, but it was also used in the campaign of Guadalcanal, where it was used as a night harassment and it was nicknamed as Boiler-Charlie by the Marines, due to its noisy engine.
A total of 1418 airplanes were built and, toward the last days of war, they were employed in kamikaze missions.
It was powered by a 1080hp Mitsubishi Mk8 Kinsei and it came in many variants:

• E13A1: Two prototypes, which later were reconverted to the first production model denominated as Model 11
• E13A1-K: Trainer version fitted with dual controls.
• E13A1a: A slighlty improved version with redesigned floats and improved radio equipment.
• E13A1a-S: Night harassment version, fitted with flash suppressors.
• E13A1b: Version equipped with an air-to-surface radar, it had a night flying sub-variant called E13A1b-S.
• E13A1c: Anti-ship version fitted with two downward firing 20mm type 99 Mark II cannons, bombs and depth charges.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aichi_E13A

2. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aichi_E13A (translated)

3. http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=443

Aichi E13A - Thai & French users

In this post we cover two users of this Japanese floatplane.

• Thailand: Back in 1942 three Aichi E13A were handed over to the Royal Thai Navy. Those were followed by three more in 1943. They were employed in coastal defence, patrol and search & rescue missions. They operated from the Royal Naval Aero Base Sattahip, located at the Southern part of the country. They served through the inmediate postwar, until 1948 when they were written off and replaced.
• France: When the Imperial Japanese Army left the French Colony of Indochina, they left many equipment behind, among them, eight Aichi E13A that were taken over by the local French Authorities and pushed over into service by the Aéronavale (French's Naval Air Arm) and also, at least one, by the Armée de l'Air which was probably given to the Aéronavale's 8S squadron that was the one that employed them in the reconnaissance role during the First Indochina War. They operated mainly from the B.A.N. Cat-Lai, close to Saigon, that was also the same base that they operated when serving with the Japanese.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aichi_E13A

2. http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=443

3. http://www.combinedfleet.com/ijna/e13a.htm

Aichi E13 - Various foreign users

Today we bring you some foreign users of this Japanese seaplane.
The Aichi E13A was a long range reconnaissance seaplane that was used by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1941 to 1945 and then by numerous countries.

• Chinese Red Army: Apparently some of them were found derelict in Southern China, and they were employed by the Chinese Red Forces during the 1945-1949 period of the Chinese Civil War. As we couldn't find graphical evidence of these airplanes, the drawing should be considered as speculative. The fate of those airplanes is unknown, but they were, most likely, scrapped.
• Republic of Korea: In 1949 a single airplane was found in the isle of Jeju which was a former Japanese base. It was entirely painted in white to be evaluated. Later, in August of that same year, the markings of the Republic of Korea Air Force were added and it was tested in a wind tunnel in Seoul. In August 1950 it was moved to an airbase North of Seoul, in order to push it into service, however, it was completely destroyed when a North Korean bomber bombed the base. As we couldn't find graphical evidence, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• New Zealand: In 1942 an airplane was captured by the Royal New Zealand Air Force, flown to Jacquinot Bay, in New Britain. It was entirely painted in white to be evaluated. However one of the floater broke, and started to leak. It wasn't repaired and it sank.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aichi_E13A

2. http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=443

3. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aichi_E13A (translated)