Aviation of World War II

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E14Y Glen
Submarine Reconnaissance Seaplane
Yokosuka

E14Y Glen. Submarine reconnaissance seaplane, single-engine low-wing aircraft of mixed design with two floats. Developed under the direction of M. Yamada (Mitsuo Yamada), first flight of the prototype in 1939

E14Y1 was supposed to change was to replace Watanabe E9W1 and go into service with new submarine cruisers. The problems that the designers had to face when creating the aircraft turned out to be quite complex. It was necessary to create a seaplane with a sufficiently high flight characteristics, and at the same time not go beyond the dimensional limitations set by the 12-Shi specification.

When the aircraft was placed in a hangar of limited dimensions, the wing consoles were folded along the fuselage, and the stabilizer turned downward, the E14Y1, like its predecessors, was a very compact two-float monoplane.

At the end of 1938, the assembly of the first two prototypes of the seaplane was completed, which received the designation "2-Shi marine experimental boat seaplane E14Y1".

Engine - 9-cylinder Hitachi GK2 Tempu 12, air-cooled, equipped with a wooden two-bladed constant pitch propeller.

The power set of the fuselage consisted of metal pipes. The cladding in the bow was made of sheet duralumin, and the central and tail sections of the fuselage were sheathed with canvas. Mixed wing with metal spars and wooden ribs. The wing skin is entirely in linen. The tail unit had a similar design. Floats are all-metal.

The cockpit was covered with a transparent canopy and had sliding sections. The aircraft's defensive armament consisted of one 7.7 mm machine gun mounted on a pivot mount in the observer's cockpit. On wing bomb racks, the plane could carry two 30-kg bombs.

During control weighing, it turned out that the mass of the E14Y1 in 1130 kg exceeds the calculated one by 180 kg, as a result of which the seaplane could take only 200 liters of fuel, which reduced its range of action to 480 kilometers. With such a flight range, the seaplane could not perform the combat missions assigned to it, which limited the capabilities of the I-9 class submarines, with which it was supposed to enter service.

Given the overweight design of the first two machines, the third and fourth prototypes built by Watanabe were lightened by 80 kg.

Insufficient track stability, manifested in the first test flights, was eliminated by installing a small additional keel under the fuselage and increasing the area of ​​the main keel. At the same time, its upper part could fold when the aircraft was installed in the hangar.

In December 1940, after the changes made to the design, the seaplane was accepted into service under the designation E14Y1 I-1, which was later changed to E14Y1 11.

A total of 125 seaplanes were produced.

Yokosuka E14Y1
Crew 2
Dimensions
Wing span, m 11.00
Wing area, m² 19.00
Length, m 8.54
Height, m 3.80
Powerplant
1 × PE Hitachi Tempu - 12
Power, hp. 1 × 340
Weight, kg:
Empty weight 1119
Loaded weight 1450
Performanceе
Maximum speed, km/h 246
Cruising speed, km/h 165
Maximum rate of climb, m/min 295
Service ceiling, m 5,420
Service range, km 880

On a submarine E14Y1 was placed folded in a waterproof oval hangar 1.4 m high, 2.4 m wide and 8.5 m long, which was located on the deck in front of the conning tower. At the same time, the floats were undocked from the wing and fuselage, the wings were also undocked and laid along the fuselage, being fixed in this position with clamps. The tail unit was folded, the stabilizer with the elevator turned up, and part of the keel turned down.

E14Y1 folded in a submarine

E14Y1 folded in a submarine.

From the moment the submarine surfaced to the launch of E14Y1 from the pneumatic catapult, 15 minutes passed. Later, after the technical personnel gained experience, this time was reduced to 6 minutes 23 seconds. After the completion of the flight, the aircraft landed near the boat, climbed aboard with a crane, disassembled and placed in the hangar.

Photo Description

Drawing Yokosuka E14Y1

Bibliography

  • "Start from under the water" / N. Okolelov, A. Chechin. /
  • "Japan Warplanes of World War II" /Oleg Doroshkevich/