Bristol Beaufighter, part nine. The Beaufighter serving with Nos. 488 & 489 Squadrons.

 

The Bristol Beaufighter also served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during World War 2, albeit the two squadrons that operated the type, Nos. 488 and 489, made it under Royal Air Force (RAF) command. 

• No. 488 Squadron was reformed at Church Fenton, Yorkshire, after having served through the south-east Asian campaign, when Japan invaded. On 25th June 1942 they were reformed as a night fighter 'intruder' squadron and for this purpose, they were re-equipped with the Bristol Beaufighter. In August 1942, they became fully operational and were rebased to Ayr, Scotland. In February 1943 they commenced to perform intruder missions over France. As they operated from Scotland, they had to refuel at Coltishall and then proceed with the raid. They operated the Beaufighter Mk. II and Mk. VI until August 1943 when their role was switched to the night defensive fighter one and subsequently, the Beaufighters were replaced by the De Havilland Mosquito.

• No. 489 Squadron: Unlike No. 488, this unit was formed at Leuchars, England and operated in Europe for the whole duration of the war. 
  Committed to the torpedo-bomber role, this unit began to transition to the Beaufighter TF. Mk.X from the ageing Handley Page Hampden in September 1943, completing the transition in November that same year. This transition meant that, as the Beaufighter had a crew of just two, pilot and navigator, the gunners and the wireless operators required by the Hampden became surplus personnel, so they had to be relocated to other units while the pilots were trained to operate the Beaufighter.
  The unit resumed the anti-shipping patrols in January 1944, targeting German shipping lanes off the Norwegian coast, that were often protected by flak ships. During the squadron's first sortie with the Beaufighter, they managed to sink a merchant ship before they were spotted by a group of German Messerschmitt Bf. 109 fighters. During the return trip they strafed another German merchant ship damaging it. 
  In April 1944 the unit was rebased to south east Anglia, to be part of the Anzac Strike Wing, together with No. 455 Squadron (an Australian unit) and they operated in support for the upcoming Operation Overlord (Normandy landings) by attacking merchant ships  and looking for movements in the shipping lanes off northern France Belgium and the Netherlands.
  For those operations, many of the Beaufighters were equipped with cannons instead of torpedoes, as they were more effective to destroy the anti-air defences of the ships that were being attacked. They also targeted German E and R-boats. 
  On D-Day they were tasked with isolating an area of the English Channel to prevent E and R-boats from attacking the Allied barges from disembarking. This task of patrolling the Channel was extended through the summer of 1944 and was performed with high success rates. It wasn't until October 1944 that the unit returned to their previous anti-shipping assignment, operating from Dallachy, Scotland. 
  From this period until the end of the war in Europe, they patrolled mainly the Norwegian shoreline and fjords. On 9th February 1945 they, together with other Beaufighters of the Anzac Strike Wing (this time reinforced with a British squadron), managed to damaged the German destroyer Z33. That same month, the squadron sunk another German freighter, carrying thousand of tons of mines and during March, another ship was sunk.
  Their last operational sortie in Europe took place after the war, on 21st May 1945. It was a simple patrol by a pair of Beaufighters. 
  In June, with the war in Europe now over, they were moved to Banff, Scotland, to transition to the De Havilland Mosquito, in order to serve in the Pacific Theatre, however, before the transition was completed, Japan collapsed, putting an end to the war and the squadron was disbanded on 1st August 1945.

Sources:
1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._488_Squadron_RNZAF
2nd https://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RNZAF/No_488_sqn_RNZAF.html
3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._489_Squadron_RNZAF
4th https://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RNZAF/No_489_sqn_RNZAF.html

Supermarine Spitfire. Oceanian Users. Part One. New Zealand.

 

To type about the Supermarine Spitfire's service with New Zealand means to type about the No.485 Squadron, as it was the only unit of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (albeit under direct RAF command).

The No.485 Squadron was formed on 1st March 1941 at RAF Driffield in Yorkshire. It was initially equipped with old Spitfire Mk.Is and was formed with a mixture of both veteran New Zealander pilots coming from other units and novice ones. 

The Spitfire Mk.I was chose in order to accommodate most of the pilots to its usage. In Mid-April 1941 the squadron became operational and the Mk.Is were replaced with Mk.IIs and was tasked with patrolling the North Sea. On 3rd June 1941 the squadron achieved its first aerial victory when Marcus Knight (Squadron Leader) shot down a Junkers Ju.88 that was attacking a convoy off the Yorkshire coast.

From mid-June they were rebased to the south of England, to contribute to the defence of the Channel and in August they received the Mk.Vb. Equipped with this variant they had to face the fearsome German Focke-Wulf Fw.190, which inflicted various casualties in the squadron. 

They took part in the Channel Dash in 1942, clashing with the German fighter screen and in June 1943 they received the Mk.IX and had a very busy summer flying constant patrols over the European continent. 

In 1944 they were re-assigned to 2nd Tactical Air Force and they served through North West Europe campaign, providing air support to both British Second Army and First Canadian Army. In late August the squadron was rebased from the British Isles to Caen-Carpiquet Air Base, in France, to be closer to the Canadian Army advancing on the north coast of France. 

On 1st January 1945 the squadron suffered casualties when the Luftwaffe attacked during Operation Bodenplatte and, in February, they were called back to the United Kingdom, to be re-equipped with the Hawker Tempest, however, as the Tempest was limited in numbers, that change never took place and, two months later they were rebased to Twente, in Holland where they were re-equipped with the bubble canopied Spitfire Mk.XVIe. 

During this last period of the war, they flew mostly reconnaissance missions and rarely encountered any Luftwaffe aircraft. Their final encounter was with a German Messerschmitt Me.262 which was able to evade the Spitfires thanks to its superior jet engines.

The squadron was disbanded on 26th August 1945, with many of its personnel having already returned to England and New Zealand and many opting for joining either the RAF or the RNZAF in peacetime service.

Sources:

1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._485_Squadron_RNZAF

2nd http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RNZAF/No_485_sqn_RNZAF.html

Bristol Beaufort. Part One. Some Commonwealth and Turkish Users

 

The Bristol Beaufort was a British twin-engined torpedo-bomber designed and manufactured by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was developed based on the experience gained on the previous Bristol Blenheim light bomber. It was mainly used the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), but  a total of two-hundred were provided to other users, namely, the following ones:

• Canada: Two units of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) employed the Beaufort. No. 415 (which, during World War 2 was under RAF's command) had six Beaufort in strength between September 1941 and January 1942.
  A new Operational Training Unit (OTU) unit, initially under RAF's organic command was formed in November 194. This unit called No.32 (Coastal) OTU was formed at RAF Sidney, on Vancouver Island in the British Columbia. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, this unit was promoted to No.32 Torpedo Bomber Squadron and was tasked with patrolling the Eastern Pacific. At the appropriate time the RCAF decided to create a force of their own and, therefore, formed on 26th October 1942 the No.149 (Seawolf) Squadron at RCAF Patricia Bay, close to RAF Sidney. This squadron received the Beauforts of the No.32 OTU, when that unit replaced them with Handley Page Hampdens for crew training purposes. However, by that time, the Beauforts were outdated and they were withdrawn on 16th August 1943. They were eventually replaced by the Lockheed Ventura. Twelve Beaufort passed into private Canadian owners and three machines survived until March 1947 before being scrapped.
• New Zealand: A total of six Beauforts served with No.489 Squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) at RAF Leuchars (Scotland) in August 1941, with the intention of forming a front-line unit like No.415 Squadron RCAF. However, two Beauforts were destroyed and the remaining four ones were transferred in early 1942 to other RAF units to replace their losses. 
• South Africa: During 1941 the South African Air Force (SAAF) ordered a total of 18 Beauforts to help them better protect shipping lanes around the Cape of Good Hope. The British Government confirmed that 18 was the maximum number available, and so two Flights were formed, Nos. 36 and 37 at Winfield with seven Beauforts each. There they made some patrols over South Atlantic before going North in April 1942 to take part in the Operation Ironclad, the invasion of Vichy-France-controlled Madagascar. They remained there until mid-November performing many patrols and anti-submarine sorties before being merged, on 3rd July with No.32 Flight (equipped with Martin Marylands) and forming the No.20 Squadron SAAF. Initially only the Northern part of Madagascar was taken, but, eventually the whole island was conquered and, on 4th September it was decided to put the unit under No.207 Group RAF. Therefore, the unit was renumbered to No.16 SAAF, to avoid confusion with No.20 Squadron RAF.
  Madagascar surrendered on 6th November 1942. 
  South African Air Force's Beauforts were returned to the RAF and were replaced by Blenheims, but these machines were grounded on 8th June 1943 after moving to the Middle East. Additional 40 Beauforts were supplied to the SAAF, both of Mk.I and Mk.II variants, to replace the Blenheims. These Beauforts served with the No.16 Squadron from 15th June 1943 until 28th February 1944. They flew patrols in North Africa and, during September, some sorties on Southern Italy to support the Allied crossing of Messina Strait. They also escorted the Italian battle fleet to its surrender.
• Turkey: In 1944 eleven (or twelve, according to some other sources) Beaufort Mk.IAs were supplied to the Turkish Air Force (TAF). Some Turkish had already trained with the type in the Middle East and England. At least ten additional Mk.IIAs followed in 1945 and were assigned to the 105th Torpedo and Reconnaissance Group, tasked to patrol the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. The Mk.IAs served until 1947 when they were replaced by Bristol Beaufighters and the Mk.IIAs remained until 1950, becoming this way, the last flying Beauforts. The Turkish Beauforts carried no torpedoes, but they were used as reconnaissance bombers.

Sources:

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

2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bristol_Beaufort_operators

3 Hall Park Books - Warpaint 50 - Bristol Beaufort

Bristol Blenheim, foreign users, part one

 

The Bristol Blenheim was a British a British twin-engined light bomber designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (commonly known by 'Bristol'). The Blenheim was extensively used during the first half of World War 2, with some machines being used as trainers even until the end of the war. 

The main user was the British Royal Air Force (RAF), but the type saw also use under other users:

• Australia: The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) operated the Bristol Blenheim in two squadrons, Nos. 454 and 459. 
  No.454 was equipped with Blenheims in November 1942 when it was based in Iraq where they were used as trainers. They were in service until January 1943 when they were replaced by the Martin Baltimore.
  No.459, was formed in February 1942 with just six aircraft (two Lockheed Hudsons and four Blenheims Mk.IV). The Blenheims were kept until May when they were replaced by Hudsons.
• British Raj: The Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) had some outdated Blenheim Mk.I bombers serving with the No.3 Coastal Flight based at RAF Dum Dum, close to the city of Calcutta in 1942. Due to blogger's tag limitation of 200 characters, this couldn't be included in the list and, also, the drawing should be considered as semi-speculative as we lack clarification about their operational service with the RIAF.
• Japan: It's known that at least one Blenheim Mk.I and one Blenheim Mk.IV were captured and employed by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF), as some wrecks were found in Semarang, Java after the war, in August 1947. It's interesting to note that the hulk of the Blenheim Mk.IV discovered there, appears to be modified to serve as a transport with extra windows and, apparently, refitted with Nakajima Sakae engines. 
  As our drawings are based on old blurry photos, they should be taken as highly speculative on how they looked like when in Japanese service.
• Indonesia: In 1945 or 1946, Indonesian forces acquired a Bristol Mk.IV from unknown sources (some claims are made they were acquired from the Netherlands). The aircraft was re-engined with Nakajima Sakae engines, so it's possible it belonged to the Japanese and it was re-captured by the Indonesians when the Japanese left in 1945. 
  This machine had not only its engines replaced, but the frontal cockpit completely faired over too.
• New Zealand: No.489 Squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) served under RAF's Coastal Command and it was equipped with the Blenheim from August 1941 until January 1942 when it was re-equipped with the Blenheim Mk.IVf, which were in service patrolling the North Sea until March when they were replaced by the Handley Page Hampden as the squadron was re-converted into an anti-submarine torpedo bomber unit.
• Turkey: Turkey ordered 12 Blenheim from the United Kingdom in April 1936, making the Anatolian country the second foreign user of the Blenheim (the first one was Finland). The first two machines were shipped by sea in October 1937 while the remaining 10 were ferried by air between March and June 1938. Additional eighteen machines were ordered and delivered between November 1938 and February 1939 with additional 10 Blenheim Mk.I being given to the Turkish Undersecretariat of Military Aviation (the forerunner of the modern Turkish Air Force) in 1940.
  Three additional Mk.IVs, plus 17 Mk.V were supplied in 1943. These more modern machines came from RAF Middle East stocks. They served with the Turkish 3rd Regiment of the 2nd Air Division, at Gaziemir Air Base, in Izmir.
• South Africa: The South African Air Force (SAAF) evaluated a single Blenheim Mk.I in 1938, but didn't order the type. This single Mk.I was assigned to No.31 Squadron, which served with the South African Coastal Command and was used in late 1939 in the search of the German Pocket Battleship Graf Spee. This aircraft also shadowed two Italian ships as they were heading to neutral Portuguese Mozambique in June 1940 when Italy entered the war. The Blenheim attacked one of the ships with guns and bombs and forced it to run aground. 
  In spite of this service, the type was judged unsuitable for the SAAF and was returned to the UK.
  In February 1942 the No.15 Squadron SAAF, replaced its Martin Marylands by Blenheim Mk.IVf when they were assigned to the No.201 Group RAF. Some of these machines were up-armed with an additional 20 mm cannon placed in the nose glazing. A detachment was assigned to Kufra Oasis in April 1942, to prevent its use by the Germans, but the three aircraft were lost in the desert. They were not discovered until 1959.
  Later, in July 1942 No.15 replaced the Mk.IV by Mk.Vs and they were rebased to Mariut, in Egypt, where they conducted anti-shipping operations and saw some distinctive action. The unit replaced its Blenheims by Douglas Bostons in July 1943.
  Two additional SAAF squadrons flew the Blenheim Mk.V, Nos.16 and 17 from November 1942 until June 1943 and January-May 1943 respectively. They operated over the Indian Ocean and they were replaced by the Bristol Beaufort and the Lockheed Hudson respectively.

Sources:

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

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bristol_Blenheim_operators

3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 26 - Bristol Blenheim

4.Osprey Publishing - Combat Aircraft 5 - Blenheim Squadrons of World War 2

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15_Squadron_SAAF

6. http://www.aviationofjapan.com/2016/06/japanese-blenheims-at-semarang-java.html

7. https://web.archive.org/web/20051214192414/http://nei.adf-serials.com/indonesian-aviation-1945-50.pdf

8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._489_Squadron_RNZAF

9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._454_Squadron_RAAF

10.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._459_Squadron_RAAF

11. https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205212382

12. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a8Blenheim.htm

Airspeed AS.10 Oxford, part one, Australian & New Zealand Users

The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a British twin-engined monoplane aircraft that was developed and manufactured by Airspeed Ltd.It was initially considered as just a trainer version of the AS.6 Envoy, however it quickly became a design of its own as it saw use as aircrew trainer in many countries of the British Commonwealth. Its main use was navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery roles through the World War 2.
In this post we're focusing on the use that Australia and New Zealand gave to the Oxford.

• Australia: In Australia, the imported Oxfords retained their original RAF serials, in spite of having been assigned the prefix A25 (just like it happened with the Fairey Battles). The first Oxford was imported into Australia on 28th October 1940 and the last one on 20th March 1944, making a total of 391 machines having served with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). These aircraft were both of the Mk.I and Mk.II variants which, the first ones, had a turret (designed by Armstrong-Whitworth) for gunnery training, and the second ones hadn't. They were mainly employed for pilot and navigation training.
  The Oxford was commonly known by the trainees as the "Ox-Box" and they were employed at the Empire Air Training Schools for instruction in flying, navigation, gunnery, radio and bombing. Additionally, Mk.II versions operated with Nos. 1, 2 and 5 Communication Units, in the communications role.
  In the years after the World War II, the Oxford was retained by the RAAF in the trainer and communications role until 1953 when they finally withdrew from service. Together with the Avro Anson, the Airspeed Oxford was the main trainer in service with the RAAF for more than 10 years.
• New Zealand: Between 1938 and 1954 (some sources claim it was until 1952) the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) operated a total of 299 Oxfords. This was more than nearly other type of aircraft then in service with the RNZAF. They were ordered in 1937, making New Zealand one of the first nations to operate the type. An initial batch of five aircraft was delivered with the fifth aircraft being intended to be use as a survey airplane. They were shipped disassembled to New Zealand and were assembled at RNZAF Hobsonville during late 1938. The RNZAF ordered six more machines and later, 30 more of them. When the Commonwealth Air Training Plan was created, further 140 were allocated, which included the last batch of 30 ordered. They were used by many Air Training Schools (ATS) in New Zealand in the trainer role.

Sources:

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

2. https://www.airforcemuseum.co.nz/aircraft/airspeed-oxford/

3. https://www.airforce.gov.au/sites/default/files/minisite/static/7522/RAAFmuseum/research/aircraft/series2/A25.htm

Avro Anson, part five, Oceanian Users

The Avro Anson was used by every Commonwealth country and, Australia and New Zealand weren't the exception.
Australia was the second largest participant in the Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Australian government ordered 969 Anson Mk.I in 1935 with the first ones arriving on 19th November 1936 on board of SS Orari. They were assigned to operational duties on coastal patrols and others were allocated to communications units. Seven of them were equipped with dual controls and went to No.1 Aircraft Depot unit based at RAAF Laverton, in Melbourne. Eight squadrons of the Permanent and Citizen Air Force (which was the RAAF reserve unit). A number of naval cooperation exercises were carried out before the start of the war.
In the training role the Anson served with the Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 8 Service Flying Training School (SFTS), Nos. 1, 2, and 3 Air Observers School and the General Reconnaissance School. After the war, many Ansons were sold to private aircraft companies with one of them becoming part of the Governor General's Flight together with an Avro York and a Percival Proctor. When serving with the RAAF, the Anson was not retired until the GAF (Government Aircraft Factories) English Electric Canberra bombers and the CAC (Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation) Sabre were in active.
In New Zealand 24 Ansons (though according to some other source, the number was 23) were imported initially for training purposes. Seven of them were diverted to India and most of the Ansons were used as communication aircraft during and after the war. One of them is restored and at display in the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum at Wigram, Christchurch.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Anson
2. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 53 - Avro Anson
3. http://britishaviation-ptp.com/avro652_3.html

Fairey Battle, part three

The Fairey Battle was a British single-engine light bomber designed and manufactured by Fairey Aviation Company. By the end 1940 the type was withdrawn from front-line service and was relegated to training overseas. The overseas user we're covering today are:

• New Zealand: For some unknown reason, two Battles ended up in New Zealand. One of them, registered as P6673 arrived in July 1941 from Canada and was numbered as "Instructional Air-Frame Number 42". The other one, registered as K9177 was sent in November 1941, arrived in February 1942 and was numbered as "Instructional Air-Frame Number 59". However, according to other sources, it was sent on 22nd November 1942 to the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and remained there as an instructional air-frame until May 1943 when it was shipped to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and sent to the ANA (Australia National Airways) Flying School to be used, after being repaired, as a mascot. However it was decided to use it for spare parts. We couldn't find any graphical evidence, so the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Southern Rhodesia: As Southern Rhodesia was part of the Empire Air Training Scheme, they received 25 Battles which were sent to the newly created No.24 Combined Air Observers School which was formed in Moffat, Southern Rhodesia. The school was designated as "No.24 Bombing and Gunnery School" in May 1943. Its main equipment was the Battle Target Tug, with 25 of them listed as active in 1944. In the unit's annual report it was stated, "Other than the extreme age of these machines, calling for constant repairs and replacements, very little trouble has been experienced on the type". The last 12 of Southern Rhodesia's Battles were written off in August 1945. As we couldn't find any photo, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
  Concurrently, the No.266 (Rhodesia) Squadron, was formed in late October 1939 at RAF Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire, and were equipped with the Fairey Battle for a brief period of time, until January 1940 when they were re-equipped with the Fairey Battle.
• Denmark: According to some sources, a licensed-production line was already set-up in Denmark to manufacture the Fairey Battle but none of them was completed before the German Invasion in April 1940. Interestingly enough, in the same factory where the Battle was going to be manufactured, it was expected to produce the Fokker G.I too. 
• Finland: During the Winter War, in late November 1939, the Finnish Government asked to the British Government for aircraft. Therefore, 20 ex-RAF Battles were released for delivery to Finland and were expected to arrive between January and March 1940. However, with the end of the hostilities, none were delivered and the aircraft were sent to the RAF.
• Poland: In June 1939 a Polish Military Mission to London was formed under the command of General Ludomil Rayski. After long negotiations, it was agreed that one Spitfire, 10 Hurricanes and 100 Battles would be supplied to the Polish Air Force in a scheduled delivery.
  In fact, a first batch of 30 Battle was intended to be shipped to Danzig (Gdansk), but some archives state that it was one Spitfire and 25 that were loaded. On 18th September 1939 a merchant ship departed from Liverpool's harbour escorted by the Polish Destroyer ORP Blyskawica, arriving the two of the to Gibraltar two days later, as the cargo was expected to be unloaded in Constanta, Romania and delivered to Poland by land. However, Romania had declared that it was throwing in its lot in with the Germans and paralysed the transit of weapons all across its territory. Therefore the ship was ordered to sail to Istanbul, when the fall of Poland was unavoidable. They were offered to Turkey instead.
  At the same time, it seems that when Germany invaded Poland, the UK's Chief of Air Staff offered the immediate release of 20 Battles to be flown to France to be collected by Polish pilots. The proposal was refused on the grounds that deliveries of such small war material would make no difference in the outcome of the battle.

Sources:

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

2. http://www.rathbonemuseum.com/DENMARK/DKPhotos/DKPhotos.html

3. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a22k.htm

4. https://www.bombercommandmuseumarchives.ca/canadaairwar/canadaairwar1940.pdf

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._266_Squadron_RAF

6. Aeroplane Database June 2016 - Fairey Battle

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)