Kawanishi H8K

H8K
Kawanishi H8K2 at Kanoya Museum, Japan
Role	Maritime patrol flying boat Type of aircraft
National origin	Japan
Manufacturer	Kawanishi
Designer	Shizuo Kikuhara
First flight	January 1941
Introduction	February 1942
Retired	1945
Status	Retired
Primary user	Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Produced	1941–1945
Number built	167

The Kawanishi H8K^[a] is a flying boat used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during World War II for maritime patrol duties. The Allied reporting name for the type was "Emily".

The Kawanishi H8K was a large, four-engine aircraft designed for long range and extended endurance on patrols or bombing missions typically flown alone over the ocean. The prototype first flew in January 1941, and H8K1s made their first combat sortie in March 1942. The robust H8K2 "Emily" flying boat was also fitted with powerful defensive armament, for which Allied pilots had substantial respect wherever this aircraft was encountered in the Pacific theater. Aircraft historian René Francillon called the H8K "the most outstanding water-based combat aircraft of the Second World War."^[1]

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