H6K | |
---|---|
General information | |
Type | Maritime patrol flying boat |
National origin | Japan |
Manufacturer | Kawanishi |
Status | Retired |
Primary user | Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service |
Number built | 215[1] |
History | |
Introduction date | January 1938 |
First flight | 14 July 1936 |
Retired | 1945 |
Developed from | Kawanishi H3K |
The Kawanishi H6K was an Imperial Japanese Navy flying boat produced by the Kawanishi Aircraft Company and used during World War II for maritime patrol duties. The Allied reporting name for the type was Mavis; the Navy designation was "Type 97 Large Flying Boat" (九七式大型飛行艇). Developed in the 1930s, it was used for reconnaissance, transport, bombing, naval warfare, and executive transport by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The national airline also used it as commercial airliner. The British mistakenly identified this aircraft as the Kawanishi Navy 97 Mavis.[2]