Kawanishi K-200

History

Japanese company Kawanishi has made a name for itself in the service of the Empire by supplying a healthy inventory of seaplanes and airships. Before the war ended in August 1945, many desperate projects were undertaken by local companies to meet military needs amid the deteriorating situation in Japan.

Kawanishi, either through private initiative or at the request of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), began to design a new long-range flying craft before the end of hostilities, and from this, the "K-200" was developed, which eventually saw no prototype being completed and ended Post-war project.

Kawanishi achieved success during the war with his conventionally powered four-engine H8K airships, which had served the Japanese Navy with distinction since January 1942. Drawing on extensive aircraft experience, the K-200 developed a high-wing development with outboard floats, a boat-like lower fuselage, and a traditional single-tail design. Unlike the engines that drive the propeller blades in the H8K, six turbojets are projected to provide power and are arranged in two sets of nacelles of three each mounted on the main plane of the wing. A heavy glass cockpit is mounted forward of the wing and aft of the nose cone assembly.

The standard crew is likely to be between six and eight people.

As the K-200 is only in the planning stage, little specific information has been finalized. Its usefulness in service was limited - early Japanese turbojets had thirty machines and short ranges, although they provided the required performance.

The armament likely follows the established H8K arrangement, a mix of artillery and machine guns for offensive and defensive operations - the dorsal and stern turrets are likely to be one of the most important features. The aircraft's war payload will support torpedoes, depth charges, mines and conventionally dropped bombs.

The illustration provided is a conceptual approach to the K-200, using designs and elements common to early Western Sichuan maritime products. The performance figures shown are purely estimates.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes