H11K Soku
Transport Flying Boat
Kawanishi
Kawanishi H11K. (蒼空) Soku. (Blue Sky). In early 1944, due to a shortage of fuel and raw materials in Japan, the Imperial Navy needed a large transport seaplane capable of carrying significant cargo by air from Japan to Sumatra and back. The success of the H6K and H8K flying boats as transporters prompted Kawanishi to develop a new flying boat. Based on the H8K, Kawanishi quickly set about designing the H11K Soku.
According to the specification, the hull and wing were to be constructed of wood with two fixed floats under the wing. The boat's fuselage is double-decked. The lower deck could accommodate up to 80 equipped soldiers or a comparable amount of cargo. On the upper, smaller deck, there were quarters for a crew of five.
Permission was obtained to build a full-scale wooden mock-up before Kawanishi could begin building a prototype. The deterioration of martial law affected the pace of construction. Priority was given to the creation of the Shiden N1K2 fighter. These factors delayed the completion of the layout. On May 1, 1945, an American bombardment destroyed an almost completed model of the H11K Soku. With his loss, all further work on the seaplane was stopped.
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