After locking the ship was raised almost 26 m compared to the level of the Atlantic ocean and out into the waters of the artificial lake Gatun. More ships followed in the Wake of the lake between numerous Islands and came into a narrow section length of 13.7 km — dredging of Gaillard at the end of which was located the first lock, Pedro Miguel. In the chamber of the gateway, they were down to 9.5 m and, after about 2 km at the small Miraflores lake, came to the gate of the last two gateways. Dropping them to 16 m, the court came to the Gulf of Panama on the Pacific coast. All gateways have the same design, which was based on a steel gate with a thickness of 2.1 m and a height of about twenty meters. These gates, especially on the part of the Atlantic ocean, where all three lock chambers positioned one after the other, and was the most vulnerable point of the channel. If the result of torpedo and bomb attack they would be destroyed, the navigation through the channel would be stopped for a long time.
The solution to the problem of defense of this vital strategic facility Americans engaged for two years before putting the canal in operation. From the sea they built artillery FORTS (Sherman, Amador, Clayton and Gulick) that its long-range battery (range about 28 km) covered the gateways from attack by enemy battleships. After the attack of Japanese aircraft on pearl Harbor, the defense of the canal was reinforced by anti-aircraft guns 88 artillery regiment, and several radar stations, type SCR-270.
These radars could detect aircraft flying at an altitude of 300 m at the distance of 32 km, and at an altitude of 7600 m — at a distance of 180 km.
In addition, air and sea space from both ends of the channel is regularly patrolled by coast aircraft (mostly fighters, P-40 from the airfield, Albrook, Howard, Franz), and US Navy ships.
A draft blows through the Panama canal from the air were like the Germans and the Japanese, but the closest to their implementation came second. The Japanese plan was developed under the leadership of Admiral Yamamoto, the legendary commander of the Combined fleet of Japan. The goal of the plan was torpedo-bombing attack on the gateways, that would have helped the Japanese Navy to hold the superiority on the Pacific ocean, achieved after the defeat of the Americans at pearl Harbor. For its implementation at the beginning of 1942 began the development of technical specifications for a new weapons system designed to strike at the gateways. The basis of it was new submarines of large displacement, capable of carrying a few strike aircraft to make long ocean trips. In February 1942, Yamamoto signed the plan, providing for the construction of a carrier fleet of special purpose of 18 such submarines. The project of submarine was developed by engineers from the Chief naval Arsenal in Yokosuka and the State naval shipyard in Kure. He was named Sensuikan-Toku (STo) is a submarine for special purposes.
In the original design of STo was supposed to have displacement on the surface of 4,550 tons, and a cruising range of 40,000 miles. Aviationtechnical equipment included a pneumatic catapult with a track length of 27 meters, designed to launch aircraft weighing up to 5 tonnes crane and sealed a sturdy hangar for two aircraft shock. The main feature of these aircraft was the complete absence of any boarding devices. This allowed us to minimize the Assembly time of the machine before starting.
Before laying the first submarine of the terms of reference was revised and its displacement increased to 5223 t, and the amount of airborne aircraft brought to three units. The increase in hangar resulted in a reduction in the movement range of the boat at 2500 miles.
According to the initial plan of operation, the submarines of the squadron had to leave Japan and follow to the point of release of the aircraft located between the West coast of Ecuador and the galápagos Islands. After takeoff strike aircraft was supposed to follow to the North coast of Colombia at an altitude of 4,000 m with an interval between cars in the 1000 m. After crossing the coastline impact the group had to turn around 270 degrees and over the Caribbean sea to fly to the Panama canal. At a distance of 120 — 130 miles away was planned to reduce the height of the flight of the strike group up to 300 m to avoid detection lookouts, radar, and in front of the goal is to divide it into two parts. The planes, armed with torpedoes, were to attack the inner gate the gateways to the lake Gatun, and armed with bombs — the outer gate. After the attack, the group met at the appointed place and followed to the submarine. After landing close to the submarine aircraft carriers, the pilots moved on them, inundating a previously unnecessary planes.
Later Japanese strategists concluded that in the case of successful attacks on the locks aircraft-carrying submarines as effectively can be used for attacks on American cities, military bases, and to block traffic in the area of Cape horn. However, it will need a seaplane with float undercarriage, which can be used repeatedly.
On 18 January 1943 at the shipyard in Kure laid the first submarine-aircraft carrier under registration number I-400. By this time the Japanese firm Aichi, specializing mainly in the production of aircraft for naval aviation, already started to build a prototype bomber float for STo.
Wooden full-scale mockup of the aircraft Seiran
According to the specifications, the seaplane had a maximum speed of 555 km/h at an altitude of 4,000 meters, the maximum flight range of 1500 km, a torpedo-bomb load 850 kg and folded to fit in the hangar of the submarine.
Kumatora Aoki, President of Aichi, entrusted the General management of the project engineer, Takushiro of Homei, lead designer, has appointed Norio Ozaki, and his assistants, Ushiro Ozawa and Mori-Shi Mori. Secret talks between representatives of the company and the designers of STo on coordination of all technical and organizational issues was completed in April 1942.
May 15, 1942 all the requirements of new aircraft recorded in the document known as the 17-Shi ( his full name — “17-Shi experimental naval bomber-attack”).
The bomber got on the firm index working AM 24. With the aim of reducing time for designing of AM-24 it was decided to establish on the basis of one of the best serial deck dive bomber D4Y Suisei was designed under the guidance of a design engineer Macao Yamana from the 1st naval air technical Arsenal in Yokosuka. Yamana has worked in close cooperation with the engineers of the company of Aichi, which was deployed serial production of the D4Y.
Initially, the designers of the Aichi seemed to be enough to make the design Suisei minor changes, and it can be used as a seaplane, submarine-based. However, all was not so simple. The main armament D4Y — 500-kg bomb hung on rocking in the bomb Bay. This kept the aerodynamic characteristics, but a limited amount of bomb Bay was not allowed to take on Board more powerful ammunition. Well, and 500-kg bombs were not enough for the destruction of the massive gates of locks. Besides bomb Bay prevented the fulfillment of another requirement Yamamoto — suspension under the plane of the 850-kg torpedoes. If to secure the necessary arms on the external sling under the fuselage, the D4Y at the launch truck was not in the hangar height — he was hindered by the propeller. To make the screw removable, the designers determined to be invalid, because it increased the Assembly time of the aircraft before launching it with a catapult.
Wing D4Y also not satisfied designers. For ejection floatplane was required to significantly increase the lift of the wing by increasing its area and increased mechanization.
The only element D4Y, which was completely satisfied with the developers, was its powerplant. On Suisei stood a 12-cylinder liquid-cooled engine Aichi Atsuta 32 with a capacity of 1400 HP. It was a copy of the German engine Daimler-Benz DB 601 But, the license for which the firm Aichi bought in Germany November 20, 1936. Despite the fact that the military insisted on using a more reliable engine air-cooled Mitsubishi MK8 Kinsei capacity of 1,300 HP Nakajima Homare or NK9B 1800 HP, Norio Ozaki chose it to power the unit from D4Y. After all, compared to the engines air-cooled Atsuta 32 had a significantly smaller midsection and provide the pilot the best possible forward visibility while aiming. But more important than the dimensions, there were some differences in the operating characteristics of engines with different cooling systems. Motor with air cooling required after running a while to warm up, and the motor with water cooling you can directly before starting to fill with hot oil and water, then the plane will take off immediately after the motor attains the required speed.
All these details made the designers Aichi to leave attempts of adaptation D4Y a submarine and create a completely new aircraft. It was only used advanced aerodynamics D4Y and its powerplant. Part of the engineering solutions were taken from float and scout Е16А Zuiun Aichi. In particular, it floats, the tail part of the fuselage and fin. However, all these structural elements have undergone serious alteration. The designers have changed the pattern of attachment of the floats to the plane for Е16А each of them was attached to two profiled struts and one strut that worsened the aerodynamics, and the AM-24 was installed on the single wide cantilever rack, equipped with a mechanism for resetting in flight, which could use the pilot if necessary, for a sharp increase in speed. Tall and elegant the keel of the Zuiun is not placed in a hangar, and the ending just cut off.
Training aircraft М6А1-K Nanzan
Wing AM 24 and my power scheme is consistent with wing D4Y, but had a wider scope and increased in size. But its main feature is the powerful mechanization. Engineers Aichi put on the wing is very efficient, versatile double-slotted flaps. This design has already been used on Е16А and has proved itself from the best side. For folding the wing during storage of the aircraft in the hangar in its root part, the main spar has established a special swivel joints design engineer Anraku. Folding was carried out similarly to the scheme adopted by the American aircraft company Grumman first wing turned counterclockwise 90 degrees to the axis of the main spar, and then pressed against the fuselage in flight. The blades of the stabilizer is also developed. Thanks to these tweaks the dimensions of the plane when folded (width-2,46 m, height 2.1 m) does not exceed screw diameter — 3.2 m.
In the hangar of the submarine AM-24 were folded and attached to individual starting trucks that cut off to the minimum possible. The distance between the planes was so low that the engineers had to maximally deflect the rudder on the fin. The only removable parts of the aircraft were the floats with racks. In the stowed position they fit within the cylindrical sealed compartments located along the sides of the aircraft hangar under the deck superstructure.
The main performance characteristics М6А1 and D4Y2
Flight performance of aircraft Seiran М6А
Working out the placement of the aircraft in the hangar of the submarine was carried out on full-scale wooden mockup of the aircraft, the construction of which was completed in the summer of 1942. The reduction of aircraft in the flight configuration without floats for a team of four engineers took 4.5 minutes. The installation of the floats add to it another 2.5 minutes of precious time.
Many disputes between developers and the military caused the composition of the infantry armament of the aircraft. In addition to defensive 13 mm machine gun Round 2, in the drawings, the AM-24 was present and the exchange rate synchronous 7.7 mm machine gun, which was located above the engine on the right side of the fuselage, right in front of the cockpit. However, in January 1943, this gun, the caliber of which was already clearly insufficient, refused, making the choice in favor of reducing the takeoff weight of the aircraft. Later still considered the possibility of installation of two 20-mm cannon Round 99 Model 1, which are most widely used in the Navy with the ammunition rounds in 100 rounds on the barrel. As a variant of strengthen arms and assumed the ability to install 20 mm cannons Round 2 with the same ammunition or two 17-mm machine guns with an ammunition supply of 200 rounds. But all these projects have remained on paper.
Outer hardpoints under the fuselage of the aircraft was calculated at one 850-kg torpedo Round 91 Model 2 or one 800-kg bomb.
In the period from January to June of 1943, most of the technical problems encountered in the development of the machine, it was decided, and the factory of the company in the Aichi city of Aurach began construction of the first four prototypes of the aircraft. In October 1943, the first AM-24 under the military designation М6А1 rolled out of the Assembly plant on a special cart. Painted in the conventional Japanese prototypes of the aircraft the color orange, he impressed the audience with the purity of its lines. The impression was that the car was made for racing aircraft, not to perform serious missions.
Seiran, which the Americans in the factory shop in Nagoya
Test pilot of new aircraft has appointed captain-Lieutenant, Tadashi, Now an experienced pilot of the experimental division of the naval aviation Arsenal, he is considered the “godfather” of the A6M. It Now gave the plane a poetic name Seiran that is translated from the Japanese. Literally translated, the name Seiran might sound like: “Light of heaven storm or Mist on a clear day”. Sam Now explained the name the fact that the sudden appearance of the aircraft above the heads of enemies, lest they imminent trouble just as travelers on top of the mountain is threatened by an unexpected fog in clear weather. Therefore, in aviation and historical literature to interpret the name Siran simply as “Mountain mist”.
December 8, 1943, Now lifted the plane into the air. After landing, he said that the plane has a serious problem with longitudinal stability. It was a “chronic illness” all the float planes at that time, and a universal cure for it did not exist. In January 1944, when testing connected another two prototypes of the aircraft, the designers decided to increase the area of the keel М6А by returning to the place of the “cut” of its endings. However, the height of the aircraft increased by 0.45 m and out the dimensions of the hangar. Had to equip the ending hinges and locks and before rolling the machine into the hangar to put her on the right side. On training (wheeled) version of the Seiran, whose problems with stability due to the lack of floats was not the height of the keel is not increased, and they were issued with cut the keel.
After refinement of design prototypes and fixes some small defects firm Aichi has started serial production of the aircraft, the designation М6А1 Model 11.
The Navy ordered 123 of the aircraft. Their assembling was carried out in secrecy. At the plant in Nagoya only for М6А1 dedicated shop with a strict access control. All work was performed in a limited number of specialists. Thanks to these measures until the end of the war, U.S. intelligence did not know about the existence of the bomber-torpedo bomber Seiran, so no code American symbols this aircraft is not received.
Assembly of aircraft was accompanied by great difficulties. The reason for this was an earthquake near Nagoya on 7 December 1944. As a result of this cataclysm at an aircraft factory there was a serious destruction. The firm has lost Assembly building and a number of other vital equipment. Damage received and almost ready aircraft. Restoration work was carried out within a few months, which greatly influenced the pace of production.
Next, in 1945 brought new troubles. On 12 March, and then on 17 may the us air force made air strikes on factory in Nagoya, Japan, causing enormous damage to the entire production. 26 June and 24 July, the raids again. Systematic bombing exposed and plants are subcontractors supplying various components and avionics for Seiran. All this led to the fact that the Assembly М6А1 virtually ceased. During the production the Japanese managed to build only 28 aircraft, one in 1943 and ten in 1944, 17 in 1945. In total were eight experimental machines, two of which are under the designation М6А1-IT was a training-wheel variants of the aircraft. At first it was called the Seiran-Kai, and then Nanzan — “South mountain.”
Nanzan had a tricycle landing gear with fixed tail wheel. Main landing gear folded into a recess located in the wing. The strut and wheel were covered with dural flaps. Cleaning and landing gear were made using the hydraulic system. According to unconfirmed reports, chassis, and system of issue-cleaning, no change was taken from the bomber D4Y. The wing and stabilizer on М6А1 TO avoid.
In the autumn of 1944 the Imperial Japanese Navy began to form special 631-aircraft group, which acted serial Seiran. She was attached to 1st aircraft carrier fleet of special purpose of the 6th fleet, which was to strike at the locks of the Panama canal. The formation of the group was completed on 15 December 1944. Its commander was appointed captain Runout Arizumi, who later became the commander of the fleet.
All collected М6А1 were based on naval aviation in Yokosuka. Then they test flew and passed on to representatives aircraft fleet. Also arrived here the pilots 631 of the first group for training. Planes performed training flights over the air base of naval aviation in Fukuyama. For reviews of pilot Kazuo Takahashi who in the fall of 1944, trained in dumping torpedoes and bombs with educational А6М1, the plane behaved quite stably. However, a significant distance (about 800 m), a few spoil the overall impression. Handling on combat modes Nanzan was comparable with the best Japanese fighter, the A6M Zero. Discharge of torpedoes was happening at the speed of 350 km/h from a height of 30 meters. After separation of the freight car was thrown about 20 meters, and Takahashi was doing a u-turn, watching the progress of the torpedoes.
From 1 October Takahshi started to learn martial Seiran. This plane behaved in the air more severely. Special attention he required during landing. After touching the water surface floats, the machine had a tendency to yaw and all the time strove to scatterball. External suspension (800-kg bomb or 850-kg torpedo) maximum airspeed of both aircraft was reduced by nearly 40 km/h.
If you compare the Seiran with carrier-based dive bomber D4Y2 Suisei, immediately struck by the sharp deterioration of the basic flight characteristics. But the command and the pilots were a little concerned about this fact. The range of offset possibilities of a submarine that could covertly podoiti to targets at the closest distance, and the lack of speed and height — a sudden blow.
М6А1 flight crews (about 30 people) and technical staff, 631 -, and groups were selected from structure of naval aviation. The most famous in the formed crews Seiran was the pilot Nobuo Fujita and shooter observer Shoji Okuda who in 1942 was bombed a forest in Oregon.
Restored Seiran in the exposure of aviation Museum in Washington
The construction of the STo submarines was with no less difficulty, and constantly behind schedule the Reasons for this were many. The main subjective of prichinoi was the death in April 1943, the main mastermind of the operation, Admiral Yamamoto. And the objective — lack of funds and necessary materials After the death of Yamamoto, the strength of the squadron of submarines of special purpose reduced by half, and then left only five boats from the original eighteen Badly depleted fleet has decided to strengthen the less expensive submarines of project AM which was a remake of the submarine repeaters A2 carriers two aircraft Seiran Work on AM began in the spring of 1943, when at the shipyard in Kure laid the four submarines were able to Finish only two of them — boats I-13 and I-14 They joined the Navy, respectively, 16 Dec 1944 14 March 1945.
As for the STo submarines, the first submarine aircraft carrier I-400 was transferred to the Navy 30 December 1944, Second, the I-401, January 8, 1945. A third boat, I-402 I decided to redo the tanker, and the construction of the fourth stop. The fifth submarine, which was ready by 95 percent, bombed the us air force. For a long time, these boats were considered the world’s largest submarines. Even the first nuclear missile submarine George Washington was inferior to the STo in length by 6 m.
Thus, part of the 1st carrier fleet special assignments included four submarines I-400, I-401, I-13 and I-14 with ten Seiran aircraft. In late January 1945, flight and maintenance crews 631-group profits on their ships. On may 11, 1945 all four boats went out from Kure and entered the sea of Japan reached the port of Maizuru in Kyoto Prefecture. The port of Maizuru became the main base of the flotilla. Here for six weeks, crews worked through the launch with the catapult in an effort to minimize the preparation time of the aircraft. As a result of intensive training from surfacing and opening the lid of the hangar to the takeoff of the first Seiran has been reduced from 30 to 14.5 minutes.
By this time the Japanese officers completed the refinement plan the Panama operation. For the time past since 1942, the Japanese intelligence managed to collect a lot of information about the channel. She even managed to find a few hundred pages of drawings and technical documentation for the channel, which was taken from a Japanese engineer working on the construction of the canal in 1910 and 1914. Using these documents, the Japanese built an exact copy of the wooden gate locks. Among the American prisoners were found and the officer (most likely a pilot) who served in the canal area. During interrogations, he described in detail the operation of the system of defence and encouraged by the Japanese command. saying that the American military unit I think. The Panama canal deep rear and the vigilance of the patrols is at an unsatisfactory level.
25 April 1945, the commander of the 1st flotilla Arizumi gathered his officers to discuss the new version of the plan. Release date squadron was scheduled for June 1945. The transition to the point of aircraft production took two months. The route of the squadron and strike aviation group was in compliance with the scheme of the attack Yamamoto, but to reduce the risk of discovering all the boats from the air distance between them appointed 50 miles. Aircraft production was planned in the dead of night. To turn on the radio, the light in the hangar and on the deck was strictly forbidden. To increase the speed of the flight the aircraft had to fly without floats and then return to land on the water the Aircraft was supposed to follow at low altitude over the whole route. A blow to the floodgates planned to produce two torpedoes and 800-kg bombs, and to increase the probability of hitting the target with all ten aircraft were supposed to attack one gate, located on the side of lake Gatun.
To clarify the plan were carried out post game, in which the conditional opponent has found a battle group and successfully repelled the attack. The reason for this result was the lack of visual contact and radio communication between aircraft, which assemble a strike team in the air was not feasible. In addition, badly affected by the low level of training of pilots. Of all personnel of combat flying from the deck of the submarine was made only two people.
In the course of the game and part of the pilots openly declared his disagreement with the plan that enraged Arizumi and his Deputy Fukunaga. However, they made a plan some changes. In particular, the date of the strike was coordinated with the phase of the moon to rise and the group proishodit in the moonlight, and refused to torpedo attack. The new version of the plan, all aircraft were armed with bombs. The commander of the air group from the boat I-400 Atsushi Asamura in a personal conversation with Aritomi asked him to conduct a suicide attack using the tactics of the kamikaze pilots. He believed that only such a tactic compensates for poor training and can completely eliminate the probable mistakes in the bombing Agreeing with the proposal Asamura Arisumi gave a secret order to block the mechanisms of the bombs on all planes In early may, the attack plan was finally approved by the command of the combined fleet of Japan.
May 20, 1945 approved a list of Seiran crews of all four submarines Leader appointed Atsushi Asamura.
Boat I-400. Plane # 1: pilot — Kazuo Takahashi, shooter Thor Usemine. Plane # 2: the pilot — Hisao Watanabe, the shooter — To Shimako. Plane No. 3: pilot — Shuji Okuyama, arrow — Yorozu Watanabe.
Boat I-401. Plane # 1: pilot — Atsushi Asamura, shooter, Sueo Takano Aircraft No. 2: the pilot — Nobuo Takahashi, the shooter, Eigoro Noro. Plane No. 3: pilot — Macao Ohashi, arrow — Tomonori Nishino.
Boat I-13. Plane # 1: pilot — Kiusau Furuya, shooter, Katsumoto Yamamoto. Plane # 2: the pilot — Shiro Dpi, arrow — Takeshi Tsuda.
Boat I-14. Plane # 1: pilot Nobuo Tokunaga, arrow — Takurami Kashiwara. Plane # 2: the pilot — Matsunosuke Nakaka-RA, Strelok — Hideo Cameos.
Arizumi announced its pilots about that. what crews will be to carry out a suicide attack. He decided to do it just before the flight, but the pilots noticed that the mechanisms of the bombs locked and among the personnel began brewing conflict. Some pilots considered themselves offended by the fact that they turned into suicide bombers without their consent. To make such an attack against an inanimate gateways they considered a humiliation of the samurai spirit. Kazuo Takahashi in a raised voice said to his commander: “We are not afraid to become suicide bombers, but why you could not openly tell us the truth!” To which he replied that it was not his decision and that the non-disclosure of certain details of the operation made for the peace of mind of the personnel.
5 June 1945 I began training air group. They were conducted at night to avoid possible bombardment squadron of American aircraft.
First practiced takeoff with a catapult and assemble a strike team in the air, then the night flight. The 15th day of the beginning of the school bombing at the gate mock gateway was built by specialists of the naval Arsenal in Maizuru. The real bombing in these exercises was not carried out, because the bomb racks on all aircraft Seiran was already converted. During night training, the group lost two aircraft. The pilots of these machines were lost in the dark and crashed into ropy.
On the further course of the event was influenced by the operational environment in the Pacific. Despite fierce resistance and massive kamikaze attack, the Japanese Navy and army surrendered Okinawa. In the largest in the history of the Second world war amphibious operations, the Americans got a foothold, from which it is possible to prepare landing directly on the Japanese Islands. The attack on the Panamanian gateways has lost its strategic importance, and the Japanese high command canceled the operation.
According to the order of the command of the Imperial fleet No. 95, dated 25 June 1945, all naval forces had to focus on countering American ships to prevent a landing on the Japanese Islands. Arizumi was summoned to the headquarters and put before his fleet a new challenge — to make a suicide attack on American ships in the vicinity of Ulithi Atoll.
The first stage of a new operation received the name Hikari (Japanese light). It was attended by the boats I-13 and I-14. used as air, is delivered to the Atoll of Truk from Hong Kong float scouts C6N Saiun. After performing this task, the submarine returned to Hong Kong I. taking on Board aircraft Seiran and join I-400 and I-401. From that moment began a new phase of the operation codenamed Arashi (Japanese — storm), which was to attack American ships at dawn on 17 August the crews of the aircraft Seiran.
But these plans were not carried out on 16 July, American aircraft sank the boat I-13 to Dialled reached only I-14. Uploading your C6N she went back on July 27, went to sea, I-400 and I-401.
6 August aboard the I-401 was a fire and she was unable to meet with the I-400 to the designated area, and while the commanders of the said new meeting, Japan surrendered.
On the morning of 15 August to the radio announcement of surrender and order all ships to follow to the nearest port with a raised black flag, traditional for these cases, the white flag coincided with the national flag of Japan. I-400 and I-401 surfaced, the team destroyed all secret documents and threw their planes into the sea.
When travelling to port of the submarine was met by the American ships, and on Board landed the prize of a party for inspection and acceptance of the surrender on August 30-31 underwater aircraft carriers anchored in Tokyo Bay. After a detailed examination of all three boats of the type STo were flooded.
Of the 28 aircraft Seiran Americans got only one. This machine was in the Assembly shop of the plant in Nagoya and was badly damaged by bombing. The trophies were taken to the United States and carefully examined after which the aircraft disassembled, transferred to the aviation Museum he is currently restored and displayed in the Museum of air and space in Washington.
The design of the aircraft Aichi Seiran М6А
М6А Aichi Seiran was a twin engine bomber-torpedo bomber specifically designed for basing on submarines-aircraft carriers. The crew consisted of two people — the pilot and the shooter-observer.
The fuselage is all-metal, semi-monocoque. The power set consisted of stamped ribs, spars and stringers. Trim — dural panel.
Technologically, the fuselage was divided into three parts the nose (engine compartment), middle and tail.
In the nose compartment on Motorama, welded steel pipes, installed an aircraft engine liquid cooling. Immediately behind the engine housed the oil tank, which is attached to the first power frames. It is attached and the motor mount. The first power frame carried out as well as a fire wall. Under the engine in General shaped channel mounted oil and water radiators. The entire engine compartment was closed with a quick-detachable duralumin panels providing good access to the engine and its units.
The middle part of the fuselage occupied the cabin crew. Workplace pilot was placed instrumentation that provide flight in any weather conditions, flight-navigation instruments and control devices of the power plant. The pilot seat was regulated by the position and height. On the dashboard was installed combined strelkovoy sight. On the prototype aircraft mounted telescopic sight Туре2 Navy, and the serial — optimalisasi Navy Tures Mk1 Model1. Working gunner seat observer was located immediately behind the pilot’s seat There was a VHF, a removable optical bombsight and navigation devices
All the cabin crew had a total glazing with sliding back sections. For easy access to the cockpit the sides of the fuselage was arranged handrails and footrests.
The wing — folding crehange-Ronnie all-metal tail — wood. The spars of the wing — beam. The folding mechanism of the wing — with hydraulic drive.
The wing racks were attached odnorodnye all-metal floats. The strut mounting mounted cutters, which carried out a forced reset of the floats in flight In the lower part of the wing were stops for fixing the machine on the starting truck. On the left wing was mounted LDPE
The mechanization of the wing consisted of a double-slotted flaps. The power range of the ailerons, metal, linen lining. To compensate for the efforts on the ailerons were operated trimmers.
The all-metal double-slotted flaps with four fixed positions “retracted” “take-off”, “landing” and “brake flaps”. Control wiring the ailerons and flaps rough.
The tail plane is all-metal with fabric covering the rudders. Stabilizer and fin — dvuhkonturniy with duralumin plating. The rudders were operated trimmers. Control wiring rudders hard.
The upper part of the keel was on the right side. The stabilizer was also developed, and the line of folding of the stabilizer was at a distance of 0.9 m from the axis of symmetry of the aircraft.
The power plant of the aircraft consisted of one 12-cylinder liquid-cooled engine Aichi Atsuta 32 takeoff power 1400 HP At an altitude of 1700 meters, the power of the engine was 1250 HP, and at an altitude of 5000 meters — 1290 HP
The engine was mounted on steel Motorama with rubber cushioning. Each cylinder had a separate exhaust pipe. The engine was completed with a three-blade metal variable-pitch propeller with a diameter of 3.2 meters.
The oil system included oil tank capacity 49 l. oil pump, piping and oil cooler.
The fuel system consisted of eight tanks, four in each wing. Tanks refueled through filler. The total capacity of the tanks — 934 liters. The feed tank was next to the engine and equipped with anti-g compartment with a capacity of 10 liters.
Weapons. The defensive armament aircraft included 13-mm machine gun Round 2 (license German MG 131) with an ammunition load of 300 rounds. He was set on the pivot setting which is attached to pivoting frame with two fixed positions. In the stowed position the gun was at the bottom, and the top glazed part of the frame was a continuation of the cockpit canopy. In firing position the frame was turned, the gun raised up and glazed down down.
Torpedo and bomb armament was suspended on one underfuselage hardpoints and include the 850-kg torpedo Round 91 Model 2 or a bomb weighing 800 kg.
A. CHECHIN, N. Food reserve was
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Seaplane Aichi M6A Seiran. May 1945. Although Nazi Germany had already surrendered, but Japan is, however, provided the American army and Navy fierce resistance, both on land and at sea, thus causing their opponents a huge loss. Moreover, being in a critical situation, she not only conducted defensive operations, but were planning a counterattack on strategic targets on the American continent.