The Japanese Floatplane That Fought A B-29 | Aichi E13A 'Jake' [Aircraft Overview #81]
Today we're taking a look at the Aichi E13A 'Jake'. This was the most produced Japanese floatplane of the second world war, it served as the eyes of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and it found itself in some...ahem...interesting situations, such as picking a fight with a Boeing B-29 Superfortress.
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The Hangar Team :
Rex - Obsessive collector of books, compiler of research, and narrator.
Alexandros - Co-Writer/Research assistant and preserver of Rex's sanity.
Franch - Editing guru, makes Adobe seem "fun".
Sources:
Chant, C, Aircraft of World War Two, Bristol, Dempsey-Parr, 1999.
Francillon, René J., Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War, Putnam, 1979 (numerous revised reprints available from several publishers).
Parshall, Jon, www.combinedfleet.com/kaigun.htm. An excellent website for information on the Imperial Japanese Navy.
USS Atule patrol report, April-May 1945.
"Surface and Destroy: The Submarine Gun War in the Pacific", by Michael Sturma.
Millot, Bernard (June 1977). "Aichi E13A "Jake": l'hydravion à tout-fair de la marine impériale" [Aichi E13A: The All-purpose Seaplane of the Imperial Navy]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French). No. 91. pp. 24-27.
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Producing these videos is a hobby of mine - and apparently its now a full-time job too! I have a passion for history, and personally own a large collection of books, journals and other texts, and endeavor to do as much research as possible. However if there are any mistakes, please don't hesitate to reach out and correct anything :)
F.A.Q Section Q: Do you take aircraft requests? A: I have a list of aircraft I plan to cover, but feel free to add to it with suggestions:) Q: Why do you use imperial measurements for some videos, and metric for others? A: I do this based on country of manufacture. Imperial measurements for Britain and the U.S, metric for the rest of the world, but I include text in my videos that convert it for both. Q: Will you include video footage in your videos, or just photos? A: Video footage is very expensive to licence, if I can find footage in the public domain I will try to use it, but a lot of it is hoarded by licencing studies (British Pathe, Periscope films etc). In the future I may be able to afford clips :) Q: Why do you sometimes feature images/screenshots from flight simulators? A: Sometimes there are not a lot of photos available for certain aircraft, so I substitute this with digital images that are as accurate as possible.
I heard their is an aircraft carrier that has 2 takeoff deck one above and one below, can you search and explained this please.
How about covering the ww2 transport aircraft like the Avro York etc.
@11:45 ish there is a edit but both the wrong "they" and correct "him" paragraphs are in video. Not trying to be a know it all dick, figure is you took time to make the edit you would want to know
I have an aircraft suggestion for you to review Rex. Is it possible for you to review the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate(Allied designation:Frank)?. I think this Japanese fighter isn't discussed or talked much unlike the Zeroes, N1K1Js, J2Ms, and other single-seat fighters of the Japanese during WW2
Yugoslav IK-3 fighter
The sheer brass balls to dogfight a bomber with ONE machine gun.
..."DAVID VS GOLIATH"-(?)
'keep shooting, we'll at least dent a plate somewhere'
@@anthonyirwin6627*entire world replaced with .50BMG bullets*
"Gentleman, It's been an honor!" 🇯🇵 kzhead.info/sun/pMt8hst6pYebZZs/bejne.html
That was border line heroic 30% and 70% insane. Only if Japanese airplanes were better protected. Although they built beautiful airplanes.
If that account of the Aichi tangling with the B-29 is the same one I'm thinking of (all the details line up), that IJN observer spent a full month inside the sub (as it had just arrived on station) and got along well with the crew. Post-war, he went on to become a rear admiral in the JNSDF, and attended multiple reunions of the submarine's crew as a guest of honor, where he amusingly outranked everybody.
Somebody posted a comment asking for a source, but the comment vanished before I could reply. This, along with many other interesting Japanese POW accounts, can be found in The Anguish of Surrender: Japanese POWs of World War II, by Ulrich Straus.
@@StalwartPikeman Thank you for sharing this source. I've found a copy and am adding it to my reference library.
@@johnberger2851 Glad to hear it! It's a fascinating read.
My Dad was a civilian internee at Sime Road Camp in Singapore in 1945 and recalled the B-29 raids. On one occasion, he recalled watching a Japanese float plane labouring to get to altitude to meet the raid only to fall down in flames when it got there. Unfortunately, Dad's no longer around to describe whether this was an A6M or this Aichi.
@n0tclear Thanks, that's really useful, I wonder beside my Dad's description of that shootdown, if there was a written account of this.
@n0tclearThanks Dad was in Singapore and a prisoner of the Japanese so unless Takahashi flew near his concentration camp...this is 378 miles from Penang, it's probably not the event. Shame as I'd like to research this part of the war more. Can you tell me if any of that Penang Squadron were lost in an accident at it's moorings 1942-44? I may have been told an eyewitness account which I'd like to corroborate as well.
It's tragic but a lot of history is lost to we, the survivors, of great people either because they didn't talk about it or we were not wise enough to ask. I've realized that about every person I've lost from my life & still haven't learned my lesson.
@@athelwulfgalland My Dad was in his late teens when he was interned by the Japanese, so in the 60/70s he told me loads of stories about his life pre-war and following that internment. I was privileged to be taught physics by a veteran of the Western desert. Mum is still alive and I'm recording her memories growing up as a young teen during the Japanese occupation. Unfortunately, one of Dads cousins, a doctor at the Alexandra Hospital was killed in the massacre by the Japanese. I have dug up details of my wife's cousins one of whom was killed in 1940 flying in a Swordfish used as a bomber against the Italians. Some of these recollections in the 70s were closer in time than people talking about the Falklands War today, see how distant that seems to us now.
@@vickydroid How was your dad treated by the Japanese? if you don't mind me asking
Yes the Aichi E13 is quite a beautiful plane! A shame its not more well known
That Japanese pilot shown during your commentary was very well trained: smiling Saburo Sakai was a legend.
Haha - my thoughts exactly when watching… I guess he served as an “happy Japanese pilot” icon here.
There's a brief duplicated bit in this video - there's 10 seconds in the part about the airman being lifted on board, treated for his wounds and keeping in touch with the medic that begins at 11:25 (kzhead.info/sun/Z5urqLNsgoKIdac/bejne.html) that is then repeated at 11:35 (kzhead.info/sun/Z5urqLNsgoKIdac/bejne.html).
Yeah...i thought the aliens got me again and returned me 10 seconds to soon. :) weird case of deja vu.
Absolutely love the War Thunder animation videos that you're adding gives it a real sense of depth other than just using. Photos and really helps to tell the story keep doing that I'd like to see more animation videos included in your videos
I'll keep doing that, thanks for the feedback!
@@FranchDressing bruh...
@@merafirewing6591 I'm editing a good portion of the videos
We are always amazed at how many photographs you're able to show, and it represents a lot of research. The war game art is also really cool!
That particular game has loads of aircraft, it makes for great visuals along with the commentary, there's another channel who uses it in this way called "TJ3 History" I recommend him if you like similar aviation history and facts.
One of the first model airplanes I built was the Hasegawa kit of this aircraft. Unfortunately my modeling skills at the time really weren't enough to do it justice, but in the pre-internet age there also wasn't the the wealth of info on aircraft provided by videos like this one. Maybe I'll have to tackle the model again some day.
Japanese scouting floatplane crews were often noted for their tenacity and aggression. During the Sino-Japanese Conflict, Nakajima E8N crews claimed so many successes in aerial combat that they were occasionally commissioned for fighter escort duties, from time to time. Certainly, during the early phases of the Pacific War in 1941, F1M crews scored numerous aerial victories during the course of campaigns in The Philippines, Malaya, and the Dutch East indies.
Do you and drach have a synchronized video drop times? Yall were only off by like 6 minutes today. Lol, thanks for the videos, Rex!
A great video would be on the number of dog fights B29 s engaged in , especially the role of commanders override on the gun system.
A channel called WWII US Bombers is doing a series of videos about the B-29, both the operation and efficacy of its fire control system and its success against fighters. You should check it out!
I remember vaguely of B29 s strafing surface targets, but also instances at high altitude after bomb release of dog fighting fighters rate occasion that it was. At 31000 feet it has power loading superior to many fighters and a wing that did well at high altitude.. like to find out more.
@@jaytowne8016Dog fighting?
Thank you Rex for making this episode- the ONLY video on KZhead that covers this unique aircraft so well!
No need to apologize Rex. The content as always, is superior.
Aichi Jakes are my second fav to the Catalina, Jake/German Arado. "Not being glorious or glamorous", can be shortened to 'Steadfast' m8, thats the way I look at'm! Another Nice Job!
The Kawanishi H6K and H8K are contenders for the best flying boats of WW2. One of them also bombed Australia. You might consider a video on them. They are fascinating planes. Also the Martin Mars.
What's the Martin Mars?
Yes I second that , have never any decent never mind good videos on the H8K. Or a book on either aircraft .
@@gingergorilla695Mars was designed to replace the Consolidated PBY Catalina, which had entered service in 1938. That one became legendary during World War 2, with thousands built. Martin PB2M weighed almost 4 times as much, tipping the scales at 165,000 pounds fully loaded. It had twice as many engines, and doubles of range, at 4600 miles. Unfortunately, the Navy decided it was obsolete, and redesignated did as a transport, and only five were built. Those were delivered in 1947.
Nah, Short Sunderland was the best flying boat.
@@mikeycraig8970 Sunderland was the best flying boat in the British Navy. Overall, British also got even more efficiency out of the PBY Catalina. Also, the best flying boat of the war was the H8K “Emily”, purpose built as a warplane, not an airliner conversion. Hundred miles an hour faster than either the Sunderland or the Catalina. more heavily armed and armored than either.
Remember the movie 6 Days, 7 Nights. Those two floats that Harrison Ford and Anne Heche find in the jungle to fix their Beaver were from a E13A. They didn't actually work and were replaced on the Beaver by actual Beaver (EDO) floats, hidden by wood and fabric 'stuff' to make it look improvised. How I know that? I flew the Beaver alongside Harrison, who was only allowed to do simple stuff due to insurance issues. Great job, great times.
One of the best shipboard spotter floatplanes built tbh. Just a shame they never put in any protection for the fuel tanks or crew.
Definitely, it seems a bit of a missed opportunity considering it was significantly faster and more manoeuvrable than the famous Arado Ar 196. Put a couple forward facing guns, a little protection and you arguably have a more capable design. Unfortunately the Japanese didn't realise the pilots were of utmost importance, not the plane.
Ffs adding weight reduces performance, all Japanese planes had the same problem.
@@papalegba6796 Not all of them, the late war ones finally put it in.
@@papalegba6796 Yes of course it does, but it doesn’t reduce performance so much as to make the aichi slower and less manoeuvrable than the Ar 196. The E13A is about 50km/h faster
@@Alexandros11 Which came back to bite them, hard, when they started losing pilots a lot faster than they could train new ones.
Another great doco, and without imperial units. So much easier to listen to.
Looking forward to the Christmas edition where different designs of Santa's Sleigh are discussed as well as motive power. Are the Australian Boomers really better that the traditional Reindeer.
The Australian sleigh is a clapped out '03 Commodore Wagon, or so the legends say
That...has to happen :)
I hear the boomers gave a bumpier ride.
As a UK 'boomer', I'm rather puzzled by this...
There’s a raised wreck on display at the Bansei kamikaze museum in Kagoshima Prefecture. It’s a wreck but mostly intact as it was ditched in an emergency landing just off the coast due to engine trouble and not combat.
Nice background here! Would just add a 'Jake' played a pivotal role in Japan's most successful surface engagement of WW2 at the battle of Salvo Island. It was these type aircraft that overflew the American cruiser taskforce off Guadalcanal and dropped flares in a night engagement that made them easy targets.
I hit that age when floatplanes became appealing to me:)
We all do at some point - floatplanes do have a special magic to them!
Hit that age about 10 and haven't left
Yep. Floatplanes and flying boats. I wish flying boats were still around. I would love to fly in one. There's an H8K1 'Emily" flying boat preserved somewhere around Tokyo or Yokohama. That would be a sight to see.It would just be a train ride for me, an expat in Japan.
I sink slow too...
You need to come up with channel art/icon that you CAN use on coffee mugs, shirts, etc. Maybe an art/stylized version of the Spitfire photo you currently use.
Another great video mate. 😎👍🏻
As always; Great work Lad!
Amazing video, the quality of the animation only gets better everytime! 💗🤞✨
Well done Sir
Thanks Rex, good vid.
Always enjoy your videos. Take care of yourself and just do what you can.
It never cease to amaze me how you produce superb videos of these obscure aircraft of all nations and all time line. Can't wait for the next video.
I've learned a ton on aircraft I would have never have heard of if not for Rex, like that big French bomber or the Sea Dart
All good, as usual. thank you for your video's very informative
Thanks! 🙏
Thanks great video.
Enjoyed the video..thanks!
Been waiting on this one! I have a fascination with catapult launched, floatplanes.
Just found your channel and this video. Bravo sir. Very nice.
Me too.
Excelente trabalho! Parabéns pela postagem deste documentário, muito bom! Os hidroaviões japoneses da II Guerra Mundial eram fantásticos. Obrigado pela produção de ótima qualidade e utilidade. 👏👏👏👏🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵
Well done, as ever. This kind of content helps fill the gaps left by the conventional narrative. I would like to see one on the float Zero if you haven’t done one already.
Interesting - I'll definitely consider that although it may just be part of a larger video on the zero as a whole
A single obsolete float plane dogfighting with a single heavy bomber. It sounds like someone messing around on a video game.
Yeah haha, just shows the state of Japan - even the A6M5-N would have better suited but it left the Aichi alone… at least the zero has twin 20mils
Very interesting story, thank you !
Good vid rex
I can't believe this video is 1 year old and I haven't seen anyone mention the Kawanishi logo and how excellent that is, that's a great design.
Thanks!
I have an old, old 1960s plastic model of this aircraft, with folding wings, painted just like the one at 6:37. Theres not a lot of detail in those old kits, but the thick plastic has made it endure the rigors of time very well.
That was cool. The Japanese built some good solid aircraft. Thanks matey.
Thank you very nice!
Good video thank you
I've always loved the Aichi ever since I saw one as a kid in those aircraft encyclopedia mags from the early 80s.
Nothing wrong with audio at great informative vid as ever
That was excellent. I’ve never come across this much information on this aircraft and was surprised to hear there was a variant with a 20mm cannon. Was also surprised one took on a B-29 and not in an attempt to ram the bomber. Do you have any plans to cover its brother the Aichi E16A Zuiun (Paul)?
zuiun supermacy kzhead.info/sun/bMtygs-drX53ZHA/bejne.html
Rex, thanks for another most interesting video. Having a backlog is all well and good and commendable of course but more important is that you look after yourself and spend your Christmas time in good health. If YT permits, we won't mind if you miss a couple. January is also fast approaching and what you produce starting in the new year will more than suffice. Cheers from Ottawa, Canada!
Good job
Interesting video thank you.
Rex, you are the best
I knew the E-13 had overflown Pearl Harbor about 30 minutes before the main attack but this may be the first time I ever heard someone mention it. I think it reported the absence of thec arriers but it was considered too late to recall the planes. Besides, the Japanese admirals wanted the attack to go forth anyway.
Thanks Rex about this Japanese float plane. I collect 1/72 scale Japanese aircraft as model kits because my father served in the Pacific theater of operations with B-29's off Guam. He had one of top security clearances at that time because although he wasn't a flier, he had been trained to fix and or calibrate the Norden bomb sights and recalibrate the radar controlled 50 caliber machine gun turrets. He did witness several Japanese floatplanes which over flew Guam and were shot at by ground anti aircraft guns. He thought that they were photo recon. aircraft and considered them brave but foolish too.
The B29 shot down hundreds of planes. I’m not sure people are aware of that. It had a better kill ratio than the p51 mustang!
well the B-29 had radar control machine guns soooo that jap fighter never had a shot getting out alive
so what .. this video is about a E13 Jake floatplane .. So you are saying that B29's could shoot down aircraft ... whoopy do .. I never would have guessed .. Thanks for that wisdom ..
Perhaps as a final commentary on Aichi’s excellent designs, the company is today known as…Nissan.
That e13 pilot must be thinking a hold my pontoon moment and fail miserably
haha! that's funny! The brave little E13A battling a fish he not even reel back!
11:25. Oh my, Rex's first editing schnarff! Opps, I see it was already mentioned. Second repeating corrects a minor grammar mistake. Your track record until now is impeccable, though. SO MUCH better than some of the content I see here.
Such a little classic and definitely not widely enough recognised. The only reason I ever heard of it in the first place was because of building Tamiya's model of the aircraft cruiser Mogami; the kit specified the carried aircraft types (E13 and the later Aichi E16). They weren't glamorous, but they were out there, serving.
I've previously read about a dogfight between a B17 and a Japanese float plane, I've not heard of this incident before. Very cool.
Nakajima A6M2-N (Navy Type 2 Interceptor ,allied code name "Rufe") and Mitsubishi F1M (Navy Type 0 Reconnaissance floatplane ,allied code name "Pete").
@@typhoonhawker6548 I looked up the one I was thinking about, it was a B17 vs a Mavis
Love your content and the quality is improving dramatically. You doubled the soundtrack at 11:30. Should be easy to fix. Go in and edit it at that time with the youtube editor facility.
thanks
Thank you for a very interesting video on a plane I did not know that much about. Please consider doing a video about another floatplane that does is not so well known. That being the German Heinkel 115. This aircraft was not only used by Germany. It also saw service with The United Kingdom, Spain, Norway, Sweden and Finland. I think that would be an interesting story.
Thanks for the suggestion, I think I'll do the He 115 next
A lovely shaped plane,, nicely balanced. I think it was based on cruisers too. I always wondered, when used as kamikazis, whether or not all three crew members had to be on board.
Forgot to mention some of the interesting operators of the Aichi E13A other then the Japanese. A few of the aircraft was given to the Royal Thai Navy and one aircraft was briefly used by the Kreigmarine stationed at Malay. Several captured aircraft were used by the Allies; the RNZAF used one but it later sank due to a faulty float. The last users of the Aichi E13A were the Chinese among the other surplus Japanese aircraft and interestingly, several aircraft were used by the French Navy during the First Indochina War.
Thai and French Naval Service were mentioned! In the interest of keeping the script to a video rather than a novel not everything can be mentioned :)
1:08 A Nakajima E8N 'Dave' in the foreground there. (E7K2 'Alf' in the background as described)
Very cool video on float planes. That Japanese pilot who attacked the B-29 had real guts to do so. That E-13A, if not having floats to carry around may have been a better fighter. Those floats equal enormous drag & weight. Have you done one on the Grumman Duck Bi plane? Those are super cool.
A B-17 on lifeguard duty was a Dumbo, a B-29 was a SuperDumbo
i find it funny that whenever you talk good of these subjects in hand, you show a image of them failing, being destroyed or crashing for some or most
This was not an entirely unfamiliar type to me, Rex, but this still was a fascinating story. One thing that strikes me, given that the very similar Aichi D3A bore the Allied nickname 'Val' (female) is that this had a male nickname, even though it is clearly more bomber than fighter - as it was attempting to be against that B-29! - and I wonder why that might have been.
Val for Valery
@@ursus9104 ...as in Giscard d'Éstaing or Borzov, ie., male, you mean?
Picture of Saburo Sakai shown @11:45 japan’s greatest surviving ace
The extent of your research is amazing. How/where do you get all the info?
Some of it from websites, some from books - I had to look through the log books of the USS Atule to find the B-29 story! Sources are in the description as always
Part of me is trying to imagine what the other 2 guys were thinking while the pilot turned to engage a B-29
This is my favorite Japanese aircraft. Thanks for the video, I wish there was more material on it to make three times longer. If I ever had the money to build a replica, or fly WW2 aircraft, the E13 Jake would be my choice. I could easily fly it around the world. Despite the Jake's importance, there is only one model of it, 1/72nd scale by Hasegawa. There are some 1/350 representations to accessorize ship models, but there is no 1/48 or 1/32 kit. There is no dedicated book, and even among Japanese publications, the information is thin. It's incredible given the role of the Tone scout at Midway. Thanks again.
Same here, definitely a favorite of mine too. Such a shame none exist in any intact form. Nichimo did make a 1/50 scale kit. You can find it in UPC boxing too.
It's a strikingly good looking aircraft. Even though it's obsolete on delivery.
The IJN placed a lot more emphasis on floatplane reconaissance than the USN. Basically the IJN delegated the task of reconaissance for carrier forces to the floatplanes carried on cruisers. I mean the last two heavy cruisers built by the IJN basically reserved their entire aft deck for E13As. Most if not all spotter reports in carrier battles of 1942 were done by E13As including the infamous Tone #4 aircraft at Midway. So they played a much bigger role in tactical use than their US or british counterparts.
In my games of War on the Sea I always appreciate the recon capability of the Jake. Shes definately a spotter not a fighter tho.
Aichi planes just have a sleek look. The D3A1 remains my favorite dive bombers. Aichi planes have a smooth look to them.
Excelent video on a great planes. The only thing that I disagree is qualifying It as 'tiny'. The E13A was indeed one of the largest planes of its category: Ar.196, Seahawk, Kingfisher were all smaller, and the biplanes were mostly smaller (except maybe for the E7K Alf). But all of these were all diminute as smurfs when compared to the large land based flying boats (PBY, Sunderland, H6K, H8K, Do.24...)
Float planes are interesting as design for recognizance or support war at sea. If the Navies of the world had modernized theirs, maybe the battle of Jutland might have seen some air support for the fleets in that battle. A seaplane vs a heavy bomber is just insane mobility is none existent in that fight. That was brave for the Japanese to take on such a heavily armed bomber.
From far away it kinda resemblance the design of Arado float plane
Are you planning to cover more WWII's Italian planes? And some from the 30s, maybe (e.g., SM 33 & 55)?
Showing the one in War Thunder got me thinking, they had enough info on the design to make a virtual one, that may be helpful in restoring a real example, similar to how a digital version of Norte Dame is being used in it's restoration.
Where in the world did you find that image of the I-400 0:16 ????! Id also love if you made a video on the Aichi A6M Seiran also pictured in the vidoe
the picture at 0:14 is only an american LST (Landing Ship, Tank), fairly common ship in later stages of amphibious assaults in ww2
I'd love to see the liveries of these aircraft.
Simplified answer but Japanese airplanes were usually painted green or white and the French Navy ones in dark blue. Don''t know about the Thai version.
The Japanese just had it for Floatplane / Flying boat designs , my favourite is the " Rufe " and single float E7 , the " Jake " crew had balls taking on the B29 a really prickely adversery..Good as always Rex you keep well an warm Mate.
wow, you got to this before mark felton
Cool
What a swell little plane.
What about the A16 Paul that was supposed to replace it?
I'm not sure why the narrator keeps calling the E13A a "little" plane. It was large for a single engine aircraft. But thanks for the video. I have long been a fan of floatplane and flying boats, especially Japanese. The Jake was certainly the most capable ship launched floatplane scout of the war, with incredible range and endurance and a high top speed for its type. For the job it was designed to do, it had no equal.
I know it’s a game but I was flying a jake in battlestations pacific a few years ago and I took out two squadrons of bearcats by myself
Jake, "I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can."
Cute floatplane indeed!
Do you have a kingfisher video?
Rex, what plane in war thunder did you use to represent the e13a and the incident as seen on game footages?
It is the E13A! It's available in war thunder as a ship launched naval scout
@@Alexandros11 I never knew that but understandably rare. Ty!
@@edwardvincentbriones5062 You can also fly it in Enlisted where it can be used as CAS.