Yokosuka E6Y

The Imperial Japanese Navy was a pioneer in naval aviation, starting as early as 1912 with the purchase of two floatplanes from Britain and one from the United States.

[2] Alongside that development, the Navy also looked at aircraft as a way to extend the operational reach of their large submarine force.

Aware of the challenge of operations in the large expanse of the Pacific Ocean, the Navy was particularly looking at ways to improve their reconnaissance capability and saw submarine-based aircraft as a complement to land-based patrol.

[3] They acquired a German Caspar U.1 from the United States and a Parnall Peto from Britain, both early submarine-based reconnaissance aircraft.

[6] The aircraft was fitted with a more powerful Japanese Gasuden Jimpu [ja] seven-cylinder radial, rated at 160 hp (120 kW), which gave a maximum speed of 169 km/h (105 mph) and four and a half hours endurance.

[5] In 1931, the Kawanishi Aircraft Company was commissioned to produce eight production machines, designated E6Y1, based on the 2-Go Kai, which were built between 1932 and 1934.

[4] They saw limited service during the January 28 incident in 1932, providing reconnaissance, and subsequently there are reports that they served on submarines that operated during the Second Sino-Japanese War.