JMSDF Kanoya Naval Aviation Museum

 

Kanoya Air Base Museum

I was in Kyushu in July for a trail run in the mountains of the Kirishima-Kinowan National Park amidst the torrential rain brought by Typhoon Danas. The weather was so severe that the course had to be shortened and the race terminated prematurely for many participants. Needless to say, I DNF.

Fortunately, the skies cleared the next morning and I took the opportunity to visit Japan Maritime Self Defense Force's ( JMSDF ) Kanoya Air Base Museum which is only about 60km from Kirishima City. JMSDF has in total three museums catering to different aspects of naval warfare in Kyushu and Honshu. The Sasebo museum deals with surface warfare, the Kure museum deals with undersea warfare and the Kanoya museum with naval aviation.

Kanoya Air Base And Museum

Kanoya is a city in Kagoshima Prefecture located in the remote south-eastern part of Kyushu Island. Due to its southerly latitude and its proximity to the southern seas, Kanoya Air Base was extensively used for Kamikaze operations in the closing days of World War II. Today, it is the headquarter of Fleet Air Wing 1 with its P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft ( and the P-1 since July 2019 ), UH-60J search and rescue helicopter, as well as TH-135 and SH-60 training squadrons.

The museum is located just outside of the airbase and is accessible to the public seven days a week except during the New Year holidays. Admission is free of charge.

History and Purpose

The museum is popularly known as the Kanoya Sky Museum ( 鹿屋スカイミュージアム ) in Japan. It first opened in December 1973 and received a total of 840640 visitors up till December 1991 when it was closed for renovations. The renewed museum was reopened in July 1993 and has received 1904613 visitors until December 2018, a monthly average of about 5000.

The design of the 2-storey main building is rather drape and unexciting. It houses some 5500 artifacts relating to the history of Kanoya Air Base under the administration of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II and also post war and modern JMSDF naval aviation activities. Not surprisingly, it has a special section dedicated to the Kamikaze pilots, many of whom took off from Kanoya never ever to return. A immaculately restored Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52c Zero fighter is displayed in this indoor area.

The extensive outdoor display area has many legacy maritime patrol aircrafts like the P-2V Neptune, S2F-1 Tracker and rotary crafts like the KV-107II but the most unique has to be the Kawanishi H8K2 flying boat from WWII. It is the one and only surviving specimen in the entire world but more of that later.

As usual, the purpose of these Self Defense Force museums are always for publicity and recruitment. There is no conscription in post war Japan and the SDF is made up entirely of career soldiers and these are always in short supply, made worse by the declining birth rates and shrinking population. The museum show cases the activities and equipment of the SDF with the hope of enticing young men and women to join its ranks when they come of age.

The Indoor Exhibits

A large hall with high ceiling welcomes the visitor to the museum. At the receptionist counter, the visitor book has only two columns for your signature. One column for visitors from Kagoshima Prefecture and the other column for visitors from all the other 46 Prefectures of Japan. There is no provision for foreigners or non-Japanese visitors as the museum is not expecting ANY. It is remote enough that many of the Japanese themselves may not have known about it far less make a visit. As such, be warned that the displayed exhibits are mainly in Japanese language only.

A floor to ceiling stained glass art piece depicting the active volcano Sakurajima basking in the glow of the setting sun stands erect at the end of the entrance hall. Entitled Evening Glow on Sakurajima ( 夕映桜島 ) and crafted by artist Hirayama You, it was meant to recreate the last vision of Japan seen by the Kamikaze pilots as they depart Kanoya Air Base for their final suicide mission. The purpose of this art piece was purportedly to appease the spirits of these young men who sacrificed their lives for their country and to pray for world peace. It was installed at the museum in 1993.

Stained Glass panel Yuei Sakurajima ( 夕映桜島 ）
 by Hirayama You ( 平山郁夫 )

Standing next to a pillar in front of the stained glass panel is a half sized bronze statue of a Kamikaze pilot entitled Special Attack Pilot's Statue ( 特攻隊員の像 Tokkoutaiin no Zou ) with a small display about the sculptor Fukushima Kiyohiko ( 福島精彦 ) who had to battle some chronic physical disability while sculpturing. These art pieces help set the tone for the extensive collection of Kamikaze related documents including dairies, last wills, photographs and personal belongings of the pilot that the visitor is about to encounter on level 2 of the museum

Special Attack Pilot's Statue by Fukushima Kiyohiko

Photography was strictly prohibited within the special exhibit area on the Kamikaze Special Attack Corps out of respect for the deceased members. It was a good place to learn about the history of the special attack units as long as you can understand Japanese and have plenty of time to spend at the museum. As I only had a couple of hours to spare, I moved on to the adjacent room where the main attraction of the museum was displayed - a restored Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52c Zero fighter. This was the only location on the second floor where photography was permitted.

Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52c Zerosen

The A6M5 Model 52c was an evolved late generation zero fighter that was first flown in Sep 1944. They were mainly used to intercept American B-29 bombers and for Kamikaze special attacks. The restoration effort has an interesting history as it combined the parts from 2 wreckages from different areas in Kagoshima. One was an A6M2b Model 21 salvaged from the beach near Tarumizu City ( 垂水市 ) which is located south of Sakurajima. The other was an A6M5 Model 52c fished from the seabed off Fukiagehama ( 吹上浜 ) in western Kagoshima.

Salvaging the Zerosen wreckages.

The reconstruction works must have been monumental but the museum did a fantastic job. The Zero fighter looked immaculate and the cockpit can be viewed at close range with all the instruments in place. It looks primitive compared with that of a more modern fighter like the F-5. Even the Nakajima Sakae Model 21 radial engine is displayed next to the aircraft.



View of the cockpit

The Nakajima Sakae Model 21 engine - 14 cylinder two-row air-cooled radial

The tail hook for catching the arrestor cable on the aircraft carrier flight deck

All around the Zerosen are scale models of ship and aircraft and photographs of admirals.

More displays await the visitor on the ground floor of the museum. You will come across many scale models of legacy anti-submarine patrol aircrafts like the P2V-7, P-2J, P-3C and amphibious aircrafts like the US-1 as you descend the stairs.

P2V-7, YS-11 and helicopter scale models

On the ground level, an entire section is dedicated to search and rescue operations ( SAR ) with the displays centering on the partial airframe of a decommissioned Mitsubishi S-61A Sea King SAR helicopter. The visitor can enter the cabin and cockpit of the helicopter, walk around and see the winch, life raft and rescue basket up close.

Mitsubishi S-61A Sea King SAR helicopter

Interior of the S-61A is surprisingly spacious

Life raft, rescue basket and flotation device 

 

Close up of rescue basket

S-61A cockpit

The S-61A Sea King has long since retired and has now been replaced by the UH-60J Sea Hawk helicopter in the SAR role.


Still on the ground level but at a different corner is the front section of a Kawasaki P-2J Neptune anti-submarine patrol aircraft on display. This aircraft was most likely P-2J serial number 4770. A total of 83 were produced by Kawasaki between 1969 and 1979 with the last aircraft being s/n 4783. All had been retired from service by 1995, replaced by the P-3C Orion. The visitor can step up to view the cockpit or crawl through to the nose cone.




Front section of a P-2J Neptune ASW aircraft, likely s/n 4770

P-2J nose cone

P-2J cockpit

This is also where one can learn everything about the Neptune variants. The various consoles within the P-2J were faithfully reconstructed as museum display complete with the instrument panels and even the seats. They include the work space for the 2 acoustic sensor operators, the Tactical Co-ordinator ( TACCO ), navigation officer, non-acoustic sensor operator ( radar, Magnetic Anomaly Detector, electronic warfare ) , communications officer and ordnance officer.

L-R : AW1 ( Acoustic 1), AW2 ( Acoustic 2 ), TACCO, Navigation,
AW3 ( non-acoustic sensors - Radar, MAD, EW )

 

Radio operator console



Wright R3350-32W Radial Engine

The Wright R3350-32W duplex cyclone 18 cylinder air-cooled radial engine that powered the P2V-7 is shown with parts of the propeller. A series of Japanese sonobuoys are also displayed from the primitive HQS-2 passive type sonobuoy with vacuum-tube technology to slightly more advanced all-transistor versions like the HQS-4 and its successor HQS-6 and even later versions HQS-12, HQS-31 and HQS-33. The JMSDF used US made sonobuoys from 1954, its year of inauguration, until 1958. From 1959 only domestically developed sonobuoys were deployed.

Cutaway display of various Japanese developed passive type sonobuoys

 

HQS-5D sonobuoy with parachute

A Mk 34 acoustic torpedo and a Mk 44 air-launched lightweight torpedo are on display with a ATM-84D air-launched Harpoon missile which can be carried by the P-3C Orion.  A replica of a contact type sea mine is also exhibited in front of the nose of the P-2J.

Mk 34 Acoustic Torpedo ( front ) and Mk 44 Air Launched Lightweight Torpedo ( back ) 

 

A replica of the Harpoon missile on the pylon of an ASW patrol aircraft

Contact type sea mine

JMSDF uniforms

So that more or less wraps up the museum's indoor displays. There are of course a few miscellaneous exhibits like uniforms, rank insignias, museum mascots and odds and ends but the outdoor aircraft displays awaits.

The Kanoya Sky Museum with its extensive outdoor exhibition of legacy naval aircrafts

Outdoor Aircraft Collection

The over the years the Kanoya Air Base Museum has amassed a huge collection of legacy naval fixed wing and rotary assets. They include amphibious planes like the Shinmeiwa US-1, maritime patrol aircrafts like the Lockheed P2V-7 and S2F Tracker, trainers like the Beechcraft B-65 Queen Air and the Beech SNB-4 Expeditor, Kawasaki KV-107II mine sweeping helicopter, the ancient looking Bell 47 trainer helicopter, Kawasaki OH-6D and many more. Some like the Kawanishi H8K2 flying boat shown below is unique to this museum and can be found nowhere else.

Kawanishi H8K2 Model 12

The last Kawanishi H8K2 Model 12 on display at Kanoya
Allied reporting name " Emily " Source Wikipedia.

This large aircraft is known as the Nishiki Hikotei ( 二式飛行艇 ) or Type 2 flying boat in Japanese. It was considered one of the most outstanding maritime combat aircraft of WWII with its large capacity, long endurance and strong defensive armaments. The allied reporting name for the H8K was " Emily ". Of  all the 167 built, this aircraft is the sole surviving specimen.

Unsurprisingly, the museum has made the H8K Nishiki Hikotei the official museum mascot and has created a caricature in the form of a flying whale called Nishiki Don. It has a counterpart that looks like a doggie with flappy ears that resemble wings called Hikotaro which means flying Taro. Taro ( 太郎 ) is a very common Japanese name for the male gender. The Hikotaro character was created to mark the museum's 25th anniversary.

You can read about the H8K2 Emily in my separate blog post here.



The museum mascot Nishiki Don

The sidekick Hikotaro created for the museum's 25th anniversary

Shin Meiwa US-1A

Next, the Shin Meiwa US-1A STOL Amphibian for Search and Rescue is probably also unique to this museum. The US-1A flying boat had been in service with the JMSDF only and had never been sold to any foreign nation. Affectionately known as Otori ( おおとり ) or Big Bird, the US-1A was credited with saving more than 500 lives from 1976 until 2017 when the type was retired from service.

The Shin Meiwa US-1A Amphibious SAR flying boat.

The US-1A with a Kawasaki P-2J in the background

 

The unique shape of the wave suppressor is clearly seen here

 

The swiveling landing gear made the US-1A a true amphibian

Grumman S2F-1 Tracker

Between 1957 and 1959, the fledging JMSDF received a total of 60 Grumman S2F-1 anti-submarine patrol aircraft under the Military Aid Program from the US. The S2F was the world's first purpose built single airframe ASW aircraft. It was later re-designated the S-2 Tracker. The Japanese nick-named theirs the Aotaka ( あおたか ) which most likely means blue eagle. The S-2 was powered by two Wright R-1820-82WA radials and could be armed with torpedoes, depth charges and rockets. The last of JMSDF's S-2F1 was retired on 30th Mar 1983.




Grumman S-2F1 ( S-2A ) with dorsally mounted ESM pod



Side view of S-2F1 ( 4131 )

 

 

Rear view of S-2F1

Kawasaki P2V-7 Neptune

The JMSDF operated a total of 64 P2V-7 Neptune land based anti-submarine patrol bomber beginning from 1956. The first 16 aircrafts were transferred from the USN while the rest were either assembled or manufactured by Kawasaki. Together with the carrier capable S-2F1 Tracker, it formed the mainstay of JMSDF's aerial ASW asset. The Japanese nick name is Owashi ( おおわし ) meaning Big Eagle.

The P2V is powered by two Wright R-3350 32W radials augmented by two Westinghouse J34-WE-34 turbojets. The JMSDF retired its last P2V-7 in 1981.





The P2V-7 can be distinguished from the P-2J by its
4 bladed propeller and single wheel on the main landing gear

Kawasaki P-2J Neptune

The museum also has not one but 2 Kawasaki P-2J Neptune ASW patrol planes on display, though not unique to Kanoya, as far as I am aware, only the Kakamigahara Aerospace Museum in Gifu Prefecture has another P-2J on display. The P-2J was the license-produced and upgraded version of the Lockheed P2V-7. The radial engines of the P2V-7 were replaced by turboprops and the P-2J used 3 bladed propellers instead of the 4 bladed ones found on the P2V-7. The P-2J's main landing gear has 2 smaller wheels unlike the P2V-7 which has one single large wheel.

A total of 83 P-2Js had been produced with 82 new builds and one converted from a P2V-7. All P-2Js had been retired from service by May 1994.





P-2J serial number 4771



P-2J serial number 4771





P-2J serial number 4783





The turboprop engine with a 3 bladed propeller
and the smaller turbojet mounted next to it.
Note the two wheels on the main landing gear. 



 

 

 

Fuji KM-2

The Fuji KM-2 was the licence-built version of the Beechcraft T-34 Mentor trainer. The JMSDF had 62 KM-2 as its primary trainer. It was nicknamed komadori ( こまどり ) which means robin in Japanese. All had been ben retired by 1998 but many improved versions spawned from the original KM-2. The KM-2B ultimately became mass produced as the T-3. The KM-2D had a turboprop engine and was mass produced as the T-5. The KM-2F aka T-3 kai ( improved T-3 ) was mass produced as the T-7.




Fuji KM-2 Trainer



The KM-2 : Mother Of All Trainers

 

Beechcraft SNB-4

 

The SNB-4 was the military derivative of the venerable Beechcraft Model 18. The JMSDF was provided with 35 SNB-4/5 in 1957 and deployed them for instrument flight training and navigation training until their retirement in 1966. They were nicknamed benibato ( べにばと ) which means red turtle dove. They were eventually replaced with the Beechcraft B-65.

 



The Beechcraft SNB-4

 

The Beechcraft SNB-4

Beechcraft B-65

Between 1963 to 1967 the JMSDF took in 28 Beechcraft B-65 Queen Air as trainers. The JMSDF has been using them as trainers for multi-engine aircrafts like the P-2J. They were nicknamed umibato ( うみばと ) which means pigeon guillemot. The B-65 were gradually being replaced by the TC-90 from 1974 and all have been retired by 1990.


 

 

The Beechcraft B-65 Trainer

 

 

This Queen Air's vertical stabilizer seem to be missing its rudders

B-65 Queen Air

Douglas R4D-6Q

The R4D is the USN / USMC variant of the C-47 Skytrain / Dakota. The R4D-6Q is basically the C-47B ( later redesignated C-47J in 1962 ). The JMSDF had received a total of 3 aircrafts in 1958 one of which strictly speaking was an R4D-7. It was nicknamed manatsuru ( まなつる ) meaning white-nape crane. They were then the only transport planes of the JMSDF. They were replaced by the YS-11 in 1971. Two of the aircrafts were purchased by the US and sold to the Philippines leaving the last one on display at Kanoya.

 

 

 

Douglas R4D-6Q ( C-47B )







Kawasaki Vertol KV-107II

The Kawasaki Vertol KV-107II was the license-built version of the Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight medium lift helicopter. The JMSDF acquired a total of 9 such helicopters in 2 batches for mine sweeping duties and nicknamed them shirasagi ( しらさぎ ) which means white heron. The initial 2 helicopters were the KV-107II-3 model while the later 7 helicopters were the improved KV-107IIA-3 model. The displayed helicopter with serial number 8608 belongs to the later model.


The Kawasaki Vertol KV-107IIA-3 mine sweeping helicopter

  

 

Rear view of the KV-107IIA-3

Mitsubishi HSS-2A

The Mitsubishi HSS-2A is the license-built version of the Sikorsky S-61B ( SH-3D ) Sea King anti-submarine warfare helicopter. 28 were built beginning in 1963. In addition JMSDF had another 55 HSS-2 ( SH-3A ) and 23 HSS-2B ( SH-3H ). The HSS-2B had been taken out of service in 2003.




Mitsubishi HSS-2A ASW helicopter

The HSS-2A next to the bus bay of the car park

Bell 47G-2

The Bell 47G-2 ( H-13H ) was license-produced by Kawasaki between 1954 to 1964. It had wooden rotors and 75 were built. It was nicknamed hibari ( ひばり ) meaning sky lark. It was mainly used for training, liaison and observation. It had been retired from service in 1982.

Bell 47G-2

Kawasaki / Bell 47G-2

Kawasaki OH-6D

The JMSDF acquired 14 Kawasaki OH-6D for pilot training manufactured under license from Hughes Helicopters ( now Boeing ). All have been retired by 2011 and had been replaced by the MD-500, the civilian version of the OH-6 which is still in production.

Kawasaki OH-6D next to parking lot

Main anchor of the IJN battleship Hiei ( 比叡 )
on display on museum grounds

Is Kanoya Worth Visiting?

With so many interesting exhibits, Kanoya Air Base Museum is definitely a must visit site for military enthusiasts. A chance to see the world's last Kawanishi H8K2 Emily flying boat close-up already makes the trip worth while. Having said that, the museum is not without its short comings.

Its remoteness makes accessibility a real issue especially when the rail service does not extend to Kanoya. There are regular buses plying the Kagoshima - Kanoya route but it takes 2 hours one way and will cost about $18. Driving there in a rental car is probably a marginally better option but it still takes 1 hour 40 minutes through toll road. Fortunately there are ample parking spaces available and parking is free.

I noticed that most of the JMSDF aircrafts on display were those that had long retired and the museum lacks more modern aircrafts. The TC-90 trainer and the P-3C maritime patrol aircraft can be candidates to consider as both are being gradually retired. Scale models of the latest aircrafts like the Kawasaki P-1 can also be added to give the museum a more contemporary feel.

Another glaring deficiency is the state of the outdoor aircraft exhibit. Apart from the H8K2 flying boat, most of the aircrafts on display on the sprawling grounds around the museum looked somewhat neglected with weather-worn paintwork and even missing parts. If only these old warbirds could be repainted periodically and have some basic maintenance to spruce them up.

Without a roof to provide protection from the elements, the condition of the displayed aircrafts can only gradually deteriorate with time. I hope the JMSDF will consider building a large hangar as a permanent housing for the aircrafts, perhaps during the museum's next renovation. With typhoons getting more frequent and ferocious due to global warming, I do not think displaying the aircrafts out in the open is a wise option moving forward. The proximity of Kanoya Air Base to Sakurajima, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, also means that should a major eruption occur, all those precious aircrafts could be damaged.

Lastly, if you have gone that far south in Kyushu, also consider visiting the Chiran Peace Museum in Kagoshima which is dedicated to commemorating the pilots of the Kamikaze Special Attack squadrons. It's an hour's drive south of Kagoshima City, or about 3 hours from Kanoya on the other side of Kagoshima Bay.

The Last Emily : Kanoya's Nishikawa H8K2 Type 2 Flying Boat



The Kawanishi H8K2 Model 12 Type 2 Flying Boat
Allied code name Emily at Kanoya Air Base Museum.
Source Wikipedia

Most of us are familiar with combat aircrafts of World War II like the North American P-51 Mustang, the Supermarine Spitfire, the Messerschmitt Me-109, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the Avro Lancaster and maybe even the Consolidated PBY Catalina. But how about the Kawanishi H8K? I must confess I did not know of its existence until my recent visit to the naval aviation museum of Kanoya Air Base in Kagoshima, Japan.






The Kawanishi H8K2 Emily Type 2 Flying Boat. Source : Hasegawa Model Co.

Kawanishi H8K

The Kawanishi H8K was a large 4-engine maritime aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service ( IJNAS ) during WWII. It was commonly known as the Nishiki Hikotei ( 二式飛行艇 ) or Type 2 Flying Boat and its allied reporting name was " Emily ".

It was manufactured by the Kawanishi Aircraft Company ( 川西航空機 ) which was well known for its various seaplanes. Its chief designer was Kikuhara Shizuo ( 菊原静男 ).

The H8K was fast, has a large lifting capacity and very long range. It was robustly built and also has a very comprehensive set of defensive armaments. It saw service between 1941 to 1945 and was deployed in maritime patrol, bombing, reconnaisence and transport missions. Many including the aviation author René Francillon considered it to be one of the most outstanding maritime combat aircraft of WWII. A total of 167 H8K of different variants were built during the War but as of today only one has survivied and it is now displayed at the Kanoya Air Base Museum ( 鹿屋航空基地史料館 ).

Kawanishi H8K2 Model 12 Emily at Kanoya Air Base Museum. Source : Wikipedia

Emily of Kanoya 

The Kanoya Air Base Museum is one of three museums managed by the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force ( JMSDF ) and is dedicated to the history of naval aviation. Kanoya Air Base itself was a major IJN airfield during WWII and was extensively involved with conducting Kamikaze suicide attacks during the closing years of the War. Today it is the headquarters of JMSDF's Fleet Air Wing 1 with its P-3C Orion anti-submarine unit, search and rescue unit and 2 helicopter training units.

The museum has a large collection of legacy Cold War era naval aircrafts and helicopters previously in service with the JMSDF but also a restored Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52c Zero fighter and as mentioned the H8K Type 2 flying boat.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the crown jewel of Kanoya has to be the one and only Kawanishi H8K left in the world so much so that the museum has made the flying boat the official museum mascot and has created a caricature in the form of a flying whale called Nishiki Don.

Nishiki Don : the whale mascot of Kanoya Air Base Museum

But how did this Emily, a H8K2 Model 12, end up at Kanoya? I discovered that there was a convoluted story behind the preservation of this Type 2 flying boat. One that began with long trip across the Pacific to the United States, an extended period of storage, a subsequent reunion with its designer and a long drawn campaign to bring it back to Japan.

Some significant land marks in the history of the last Emily.

Survivor

It was said that when Japan surrendered on 15th Aug 1945, there were only four surviving Kawanishi H8Ks in all of Japan. Three of them were air worthy and they were located at the Nanao Auxillary Seaplane Station in Ishikawa Prefecture. However, one crashed and sunk off the coast of Shimane in transit to Takuma Naval Air Station located in Kagawa Prefecture within the Seto Inland Sea. Takuma was then one of the major seaplane base hosting the Type 2 flying boats.

Kawanishi H8K2 Emily Flying Boat beached at a
damaged installation in Japan circa late summer 1945.
Source : Naval History and Heritage Command

By 22nd Aug 1945, all three surviving H8Ks were at Takuma. An unverified source mentioned the US commander only wanted to keep one aircraft for tests and evaluation so the other two were eventually destroyed. To maintain the H8K in flyable condition was a tall order as demobilization was on ongoing and the was just not enough manpower for the up keep of the huge plane. Somehow a seven man team of technicians was recruited from the Kure Naval Arsenal and they had the H8K fixed by October 1945. With a team of six flight crew, Lieutenant-Commander Hitsuji Tsuneo ( 日辻常雄 ) who was then commander Takuma Naval Air Group, successfully flight tested the Type 2 flying boat without any incidents. On 13th November 1945 Hitsuji and his team flew the H8K to Yokohama, tailed by a PBY Catalina. He noted that the journey took him about one and a half hours while the slower Catalina took slightly more than two hours. From Yokohama it was ferried to Naval Air Station ( NAS ) Whidbey Island, Washington, where she was found to be not air worthy. The Emily was then shipped via the Panama Canal to NAS Norfolk where the Overhaul and Repair Facility had the herculean task of overhauling and reassembling the aircraft without the benefit of blueprints, technical manuals and spare parts, starting December 1945.

The Emily had thus far accumulated 15000 flight hours and upon the completion of her refurbishment, she was flight tested on 23rd May 1946 during which she was flown from Hampton Roads to NAS Patuxent River less than 100 miles away. Two engines had malfunctioned during the flight while a third stalled shortly after landing but none of the American aviators were injured. It seemed the Emily would never fly again. At NAS Patuxent River, hydrodynamics tests began on 22nd Aug 1946. By 30th Jan 1947, the test and evaluation program was terminated. The aircraft was taken apart, wrapped up in protective coating, crated up and shipped back to NAS Norfolk where she was mothballed under the responsibility of the Naval Air Rework Facility.

The Hampton Roads Naval Museum blog has an excellent collection photographs and information of the Emily while in the custody of the Americans.

The Japanese Internet Aviation Magazine Contrail ( Hikoki Gumo ) 航空雑誌ヒコーキ雲 has large collection of photographs and information of the Emily after her return to Japan.





Hitsuji Tsuneo wrote the book
The Last Flying Boat ( 最後の飛行艇 )
published by Kojinsha （ 光人社 )



Post War Restructuring

Meanwhile aircraft manufacturing was completely banned beginning from December 1945 during the Allied Occupation and the Nishikawa Aircraft Company tried to transform its business model to cater to a completely different peacetime market. By 1946 it was churning out daily commodities to help alleviate shortages in goods and food. It also made motorcycles and three wheeled light trucks. It was renamed Meiwa Industries in July 1947. In 1949, in compliance with some corporate restructuring law, the company was split and renamed Shin Meiwa Industry Company. Its automotive arm Meiwa Automotive Industries was divested to a certain car company known as Hatsudori Seizo Co, which in 1951 would be renamed Daihatsu Motor Co.

Rid of the automotive arm and retaining its core aircraft manufacturing and overhaul business, Shin Meiwa  ( which means New Meiwa ) soldiered on with heavy machinery and aircraft component manufacturing and eventually saw a change of fortune with the end of the Allied Occupation and the lifting of the aircraft manufacturing ban in 1952. In 1953 it had started to research on a new generation of amphibious aircraft with greater sea-worthiness based on an initial idea by Kikuhara Shizuo, the chief designer of the H8K. By 1957 the research team had successfully overcome two technological hurdles by inventing a wave suppressor and a high lift device which allowed for low take-off and landing speeds, thus paving the way to developing a short take-off and landing seaplane.

However, Shin Meiwa would soon face a new challenge in securing the necessary funds to develop the amphibious plane and the company started pitching the seaplane as the most effective means of anti-submarine patrolling with the hope that the Japanese government would start placing orders. Its PR efforts eventually drew the attention of the US Navy who would then invite Kikuhara to Washington D.C. in 1959.

Reunion and Failed Repatriation  

During his one month tour of the United States, Kikuhara Shizuo had the opportunity to visit many American research facilities including those at NASA. He observed experiments conducted in large scale water troughs and various wind tunnels and spoke with researchers over technical issues. He had also met with high ranking US naval officers and managed to obtain the promise of total support in terms of technology and materials so long as the JMSDF would make an official request. He promptly asked to be given one the US Navy's seaplanes so that he could test the new technology on an experimental plane before further development. His request was eventually accepted and a Grumman HU-16 Albatross was given to the Japanese who reverse engineered and reassembled it to build the UF-XS testbed seaplane. Shin Meiwa would then go on to produce the PS-1 anti-submarine patrol plane and later its SAR variant the US-1.

Kikuhara also toured NAS Norfolk during his working trip to Washington D.C. where he found the mothballed Emily placed in the open. In an article he later wrote for the Japanese magazine Koukuu Jyouhou ( 航空情報 ) or Aviation News, he described the plane as being preserved in fairly good condition. It was wrapped in a special rubber coating like a cocoon and the entrances were sealed. Some kind of air conditioner blew dry air into the interior of the fuselage and kept the humidity level at 28% on the day of the visit and generally less than 30% during the more than 10 years of preservation. He negotiated for its return but was unsuccessful this time as the US had decided on its permanent preservation on American soil.

A year after Kikuhara's visit, in September 1960, the Emily would suffered extensive damage when Hurricane Donna struck and ripped it off its moorings and tipped it over to its starboard side breaking loose engine number 4. Donna was the strongest Atlantic hurricane of 1960 and the strongest to hit the eastern seaboard since 1935.

Photo of Kikuhara Shizuo in an article he wrote in
Koukuu Jyouhou ( Aviation News ) magazine on his American trip
Source Internet Avaition Magazine Hikoki Gumo ( 航空雑誌ヒコーキ雲 )

 

 

The H8K2 Emily at the Tokyo Maritime Science Museum

 

Return To Japan

In the following years, the campaign for the return of the H8K to Japan continued, lead by a prominent psychiatrist Dr Saito Shigeta ( 斎藤茂太 ) ( 1917 - 2006 ) who was also an aviation enthusiast and an essayist. The movement eventually bore fruit in 1978 when the Americans decided to do away with the aircraft due to cost cutting constrains. Of the various organizations and individuals that offered to get the Emily off the hands of the USN, the Tokyo Museum of Maritime Science ( 船の科学館 fune no kagakukan ) was selected as it fulfilled the transfer criteria : it was a non-profit organization and it had the funds for the relocation. The transfer was subsequently approved by Congress and a ceremony was held on 23rd Apr 1979 to mark the event. The Emily departed Norfolk on 31st May 1979 and was put on a cargo ship the New Jersey which arrived at the Oi Container Terminal in Tokyo on 13th July. One week later, the H8K was transferred to the Tokyo Museum of Maritime Science and Lt-Commander Hitsuji was in attendance at the receiving ceremony. Restoration works commenced on 20th Feb 1980. The restored H8K was unveiled to the public on 27th March 1982, becoming part of the outdoor exhibit of the Maritime Science Museum until 2004 when it was finally relocated to Kanoya Air Base Museum.




Dr Saito Shigeta was instrumental in
the eventual return of the H8K to Japan

The reasons for the transfer to Kanoya was not apparent to me but it may have something to do with the death of the Museum of Maritime Science's founding president Sasakawa Ryouichi ( 笹川良一 ) in 1995 and perhaps to the lack of funding from his Sasakawa Foundation ( later Nippon Foundation ) thereafter. The museum has been effectively closed since 2011 with only a few ships still open to the public at its annex location. Sasakawa was a shady and controversial Japanese businessman with connections with the political elites and the underworld. He was once imprisoned as a class A war criminal from 1945 to 1948 but was subsequently released without facing charges. He made his fortunes supplying the Imperial Japanese Army in Manchuria from 1932 and post war through monopoly of the betting activities on motor boat racing, among other things.

The Emily displayed at the Maritime Science Museum whose main building
takes the shape of a ship. This old image was dated Dec 1997 

 

 

 

The H8K2 Model 12 taking-off. Source : Hasegawa Model Co.

 

 

 

Aircraft Specifications H8K2 Model 12

Length  :  28.13m
Width   :  38.00m
Height  :  9.15m
Wing Area : 160m²
Empty Weight  :  18400kg
Gross Weight    :  24500kg
Maximum Weight : 32500kg
Powerplant : 4 x Mitsubishi Kasei MK4Q Model 22  14 cylinder air-cooled radial piston each 1850hp
Max Speed : 453 km/h at 5000m altitude
Range : 7200km
Armament : 5 x 20mm Type 99 cannon
                    4 x 7.7mm Type 92 machine guns with another 3 in reserve
                    2 x 800kg torpedoes or
                    2000kg of bombs and depth charges
Radar         : Mark VI Model 1 ASV radar.
Compliment : 10                    
Take-off Distance 295m


The photographs below from Hasegawa Model Co show the completed 1:72 scale model of the Nishikawa H8K2 Model 12 with decals exactly as the last Emily at Kanoya. The tail code T indicates this aircraft operated out of Takuma Naval Air Station. Earlier during the War the IJNAS used the hiragana たく ( taku ) instead on aircrafts from Takuma.

Seaplane Tender Akitsushima

When writing about the H8K, it is impossible to omit the mention of the seaplane tender that maintain, resupply and repair the Type 2 flying boat in theatre. The IJNS Akitsushima ( 秋津洲 ) was a seaplane tender specifically built to handle the large seaplanes of the IJN. Its most unique feature was the 35 ton crane near the stern that was capable of lifting the 31 ton H8K. The 5000 ton ship can carry 689 tons of aviation fuel, 36 torpedoes and almost 62 tons of bombs ( 100 x 60kg, 100 x 250kg, 15 x 500kg, 30 x 800kg ). It can accommodate the H8K on its deck but only when in anchorage since the wingspan of 38m was much greater than the beam of the ship at 15.8m. It was just not possible with the rolling motion when the ship was underway.

IJNS Akitsushima with its fancy camouflage. Source Wikipaedia

 

IJNS Akitsushima with its fancy camouflage 1:700 scale. Source : Aoshima Model Co

IJNS Akitsushima with H8K on deck. Source Aoshima Model Co.

Erroneous depiction : Akitsushima underway with Emily onboard!
Not possible! Source : Aoshima Model Co 

 

Preserving Emily

As usual, in the immediate aftermath of many conflicts, the last thing in the minds of either the victor or the vanquished would be to save some war relic for future historical and heritage purposes. There were just too many other urgent and pressing issues to settle, like the demobilization and repatriation of veterans and the resettlement of refugees, food shortages, re-establishing the healthcare system, nation rebuilding etc.

The Kawanishi H8K was a brilliant piece of aero-nautical engineering representing the best of Japanese wartime aircraft design and manufacturing capabilities. It was unfortunate that only one would survived the War and would be taken away from Japan, rightfully by the Americans as the victors.

To the credit of the Americans, they did not simply discard or scrap the H8K after toying with it but instead mothballed it. Since they were short on funds, the USN could have donated the Emily to the National Air Museum ( subsequently renamed Smithsonian Air and Space Museum ) whom I am sure would be very glad to have her, especially knowing that this was the last H8K in the world. However, should that have happened, the Emily would become just another aircraft among the thousands of equally rare and precious aircrafts in the Smithsonian collection.

It would have been more meaningful for the Emily to be returned to Japan, to be treasured and to be seen by the generations of Japanese who has never experienced the horrors of war. Fortunately the perseverance of Saito Shigeta and his follow countrymen eventually saw the Emily being returned her country of origin. I cannot imagine what would have gone through the mind of chief designer Kikuhara Shizuo when he found his Emily languishing in Norfolk and the anguish of not being able to successfully negotiate for her return. It was after all his creation. After 33 years of solitude in America, it was like a fairy tale ending that the Emily was received by her last Japanese pilot commander Hitsuji Tsuneo on her return to Japan.

The Emily has out-lived her designers, builders and the airmen and technicians that maintained and flew her. At Kanoya, she will continue to inspire future generations of aeronautical engineers, airmen and educate, Japanese and foreign visitors alike, about Japan's dark wartime history.

Foot Note

A flying boat is a fixed-wing seaplane with a hull that allows landing on water. Its purpose-designed fuselage gives the aircraft buoyancy and allows it to float on the water surface. It usually does not have any sort of landing gear to allow operations on land. The wheels on the H8K, known as beaching wheels, are not designed to withstand the impact of landing on an airstrip.

A floatplane in contrast uses floats beneath the fuselage to provide buoyancy. The fuselage is lifted above the water surface by struts and supports.

An amphibious plane is a seaplane, either flying boat or floatplane, that is also fitted with landing gear that allow for take-off and landing on land


Shin Meiwa Industries has been rebranded ShinMaywa Industries since 1992 in an attempt to make the company name more pronounceable for foreigners. It currently produces the US-2 SAR amphibian, an evolved version of the US-1.