A quarrel with Nakajima

Kawanishi was born of a falling-out. Kawanishi Seibei, founder of the Nippon Keori woollen company, had backed Nakajima Chikuhei’s aircraft venture, but after a money dispute in 1919 he pulled out. With the proceeds he set up a rival: in February 1920 an aircraft department opened inside Kawanishi Kikai Seisakusho, run by his second son Ryūzō and staffed with young engineers poached from Nakajima. It built mail planes, started its own airline, Nippon Kōkū, in 1923, and in 1928 attempted a non-stop trans-Pacific flight with the K-12 Sakura, which was abandoned.

Short Brothers and von Kármán

The aircraft business became Kawanishi Kōkūki in 1928 and moved to Naruo, between Osaka and Kobe, in 1930. It partnered with Short Brothers of Britain, building the Short Rangoon as the H3K with Short engineers on hand, and invited Theodore von Kármán to design a vertical wind tunnel, the only one in private hands in Japan. The Imperial Navy set out to make Kawanishi its specialist builder of large flying boats, and the E7K reconnaissance floatplane of 1933, 533 built, established it with the fleet.

Mavis and Emily

The H6K, which the Allies called Mavis, first flew on 14 July 1936; 215 or 217 were built, some as airliners. Its successor, the H8K Emily designed under Shizuo Kikuhara, first flew in January 1941 and opened its war in March 1942 with a long-range second raid on Pearl Harbor. Heavily armed and armoured, it earned the respect of Allied crews, and the historian René Francillon called it the most outstanding water-based combat aircraft of the Second World War. 167 were built.

From floatplane to fighter

Kawanishi’s fighter came by an odd route. The N1K Kyōfū floatplane fighter of 1942 was redesigned with wheels as the N1K1-J Shiden, and then substantially reworked as the N1K2-J Shiden Kai, first flown on 31 December 1943. With four 20 mm cannon and automatic combat flaps triggered by a mercury switch, it was among the few Japanese fighters that could meet the Hellcat, Corsair and Mustang on equal terms. The family ran to 1,532 aircraft, though bombing crippled production.

Racecourse, bombs and a new name

War swallowed Kawanishi. The Naruo racecourse and golf club were requisitioned for an airfield, and with labour mobilisation, students and Korean conscripts the workforce exceeded 60,000. In March 1945 the army ordered a cover name, Jinmu Akitsusha, and in July the navy took over the plants outright. All four main works were destroyed by bombing. After defeat the company made motor scooters and three-wheelers, became Meiwa Kōgyō in 1947, and in November 1949 split, its engineering arm becoming Shin Meiwa, today’s ShinMaywa.

Заводы

• Naruo works · Naruo, Muko District, Hyōgo (now Nishinomiya) — Main works from 1930; adjacent racecourse became an airfield in 1943
• Kōnan works · Honjō, Hyōgo (now Higashinada, Kobe) — Opened October 1942; post-war ShinMaywa aircraft parts plant
• Takarazuka works · Ryōgen, Hyōgo (now Takarazuka) — Opened October 1941; site of today’s Hanshin Racecourse
• Himeji works · Himeji, Hyōgo — Opened July 1942 in a former Nippon Keori mill; Shiden Kai assembly at Uzurano airfield

Люди

• Kawanishi Seibei · founder — Founder of Nippon Keori; former backer of Nakajima
• Kawanishi Ryūzō · head of the aircraft business — Second son of the founder
• Shizuo Kikuhara · chief designer — Led the H6K and H8K designs

Рекорды и первые достижения

• H8K described by René Francillon as the most outstanding water-based combat aircraft of the Second World War