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Aichi M6A1 Seiran (愛知 M6A 晴嵐)
The Aichi M6A1 was a Japanese carrier-based aircraft that operated from Japanese submarine carriers. It was created to attack the west coast of America.
History
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was the only navy in the world in 1942 to have a fleet of submarine aircraft carriers. These ships were not equipped with specially designed aircraft, but with ordinary carrier-based aircraft, such as the Yokosuka E14Y1. These planes usually had cargo that they could take with them. These planes usually had cargo that they could take with them. This changed in early 1942, the IJN Command noticed these problems and decided that a new aircraft was needed for a special attack. The requirements were very specific:
- the plane had to fit in the hangar, which was 3.5 m wide,
- have a large load of bombs,
- Be able to launch from a catapult
- the plane was supposed to be a Seaplane
- The plane was supposed to be fast and have a range of about 1500km
The Aichi plant, which had experience in the production of reconnaissance seaplanes, was designated to work on the new aircraft. The work was supervised by Horio Ozaki. In the summer of 1942, a wooden model of the aircraft was ready, which had folding wings backwards, which made the width only 2.46 m. In September 1942, a Yokosuka E14Y aircraft launched from the I-25 submarine carried out an attack on the forests in Oregon. This attack was not stopped by the US army or air force, which confirmed the assumption that the M6A1s would be able to attack the West Coast with impunity without consequences. At the beginning of 1943, the construction of 6 prototype Aichi M6A1 aircraft began, two of which were produced as a training version, which had retractable landing gear with wheels, this version was called Aichi M6A1-K Nanzan. The first prototype of the M6A1 was ready at the 18 November1943, the second prototype was ready in February 1944.At that time, tests began, which the aircraft passed successfully. The M6A1 aircraft was directed to serial production. The first serial aircraft was ready in October 1944, the next seven were completed by December 1944, which allowed the training of new crews of Aichi M6A1 aircraft and crews of I-400, I-401, I-13, I-14 submarines. Due to the very high complexity of the design and the high price (one Achi M6A1 cost as much as fifty Mitsubishi A6M zero fighters), only 28 Aichi M6A1 aircraft were produced along with the prototypes by the end of the war. The 631st Naval Aviation Squadron, to which all Aichi M6A1 aircraft were assigned, was part of the Sixth Fleet, began in January 1945 to prepare for a surprise attack on the Panama Canal. Work on the operational plan lasted from the end of March to the beginning of April, then pilot exercises to attack the Panama Canal began. On April 25, 1945, the plan for the attack on the Panama Canal was presented to the officers and crew. Squadron Commander Fukunaga insisted that to achieve the best result, the Aichi M6A1 had to be used as kamikaze aircraft (this had not been considered a possibility before) and ordered the aircraft to be converted so that it would not be possible to drop a bomb from the dropper.10 aircraft (8 with bombs and 2 with torpedoes) were to take part in the attack. The Gatun lock, which was located on the Atlantic side, was to be attacked. However, due to the worsening war situation (the fall of Okinawa), the plan to attack the Panama Canal was abandoned in June. It was decided that the target of the attack would be the U.S. Navy anchorage on Truk Atoll. It was planned to use 6 Aichi M6A1 planes for the attack, which were to be painted and marked like American planes to make a surprise attack. Operation “嵐作戦” (Operation Storm) was launched on July 23, with I-400 and I-401 departing for Truk Atoll with 6 Aichi M6A1 aircraft on board. On the night of August 14, 1945, the I-400 arrives at the indicated rendezvous point with the I-401 (I-401 sailed to another place due to a large number of American destroyers), the crew is preparing to attack, when suddenly the next day, August 15, 1945, they receive an announcement about the surrender of the Empire of Japan. The crews of the I-400 and I-401 decide not to carry out the attack, so they throw the M6A1 planes overboard along with all their ammunition and secret documents. After the surrender of Japan, the American army managed to find a pair of incomplete Aichi M6A1 aircraft and Aichi M6A1-K training aircraft at the Achi works. A working Aichi M6A1 aircraft is also found, which goes to the USA for testing. This machine is in the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
Aichi M6A1 Art
Construction description
The Aichi M6A1 was a two-seat, low-wing aircraft powered by the Aichi AE1P Atsuta 32 engine with a power of 1030 kW (1400 hp). It came with detachable dual floats for added versatility. If conditions permitted, the aircraft could land next to the submarine, be recovered with a crane, and then reused. The floats could be ejected in flight to increase performance, or they could be abandoned altogether for the Kamikaze mission.Seiran’s wings rotated 90 degrees and folded hydraulically relative to the aircraft’s fuselage (with the tail also folded) to allow storage in the submarine’s cylindrical hangar with a diameter of 3.5 m (11 ft).It was capable of torpedo strikes with Type 91 torpedoes or horizontal and dive bombing with bombs weighing 250 kg (up to four could be carried) or 800 kg.
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 10.64 m (34ft 11in)
- Wingspan: 12.262 m (40 ft 3 in)
- Height: 4.58 m (15 ft 0 in)
- Wing area: 27 m² (290 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 3,326 kg (7,332 lb)
- Gross weight: 4,250 kg (9,369 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × water-cooled V12 engine Atsuta Type 32, 1030 kW (1400 hp) for take-off
- Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 474 km/h (295 mph, 256 kn), 560 km/h without floats (348mph, 302 kn)
- Cruise speed: 296 km/h (184 mph, 160 kn)
- Range: 1,188 km (738 mi, 641 nmi) , 1,540 km without floats (956 mi, 831nmi)
- Service ceiling: 9,900 m (32,500 ft)
- Time to altitude: 8 min 9 sec to 5,000 m
Armament
- Fixed armament
- 1 x 1x 13.2mm Type 3 machine gun on a movable mount used by the rear gunner
- Maximum load under hull 1000kg
- 4 x 250 kg Navy Type 98 Number 25 bombs
- 2 x 250 kg Navy Type 98 Number 25 bombs
- 1 x 800 kg Navy Type Number 80 Model 1 bombs
- 1 x 800kg Navy Type 99 Number 80 AP
- 1 x 850 kg 45cm Type 91 Model 3 torpedoes
Summary
The Aichi M6A1 would be a very interesting naval aircraft for the Japanese tree in War Thunder. It provides high speed and powerful bomb armament at the expense of a lack of offensive armament. The M6A1 would be very useful for naval battles. In addition, it has a very elegant design. I encourage you to discuss in the comments and to share your own knowledge on this subject.
Finally, I apologize for the linguistic and logical errors because unfortunately English is not my main language and I had to use google translator.
Internet sources
晴嵐 - Wikipedia
晴嵐／Aichi M6A：大日本帝国海軍 特殊攻撃機 (xn–ww2-523es33s4hr4hk.jp)
Уголок неба ¦ Aichi M6A Seiran (airwar.ru)
Aiči M6A1 11 Seiran : Aiči (valka.cz)
Aichi M6A Seiran: Photos, History, Specification
Aichi M6A1 Seiran (Clear Sky Storm) | Smithsonian Institution (si.edu)
Aichi M6A - Wikipedia
Aichi M6A Seiran - Specifications - Technical Data / Description (flugzeuginfo.net)
Aichi M6A Seiran Submarine-Based Attack Floatplane Aircraft (militaryfactory.com)
Aichi M6A1 Seiran: Submarine-launched Attacker - Passed for Consideration - War Thunder - Official Forum
Book sources
- Am HS04 PDF | PDF (scribd.com)
- Mushroom - Red Series 5103 Japanese Submarine Aircraft | PDF (scribd.com)
- Japanese Aircraft of Wolrld War II : 1937-1945 ,Thomas Newdick, Edition 2 2017, page 86-87