Aichi E3A

Aichi Kokuki

Industry	Aerospace
Predecessor	Heinkel (design collaboration)
Headquarters	Nagoya , Japan
Products	Aircraft, including the Aichi E3A reconnaissance seaplane

Template:Infobox aircraft

The Aichi E3A originated as the German-designed Heinkel HD 56, a reconnaissance seaplane intended for deployment on vessels of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Japanese military assigned it the designation Type 90-1 Reconnaissance Seaplane. This aircraft featured a traditional single-bay biplane configuration with staggered wings supported by N-shaped interplane struts. Its crew arrangement consisted of tandem, open cockpits accommodating both pilot and gunner.

Design and development

The company Aichi Kokuki commissioned Heinkel to create a reconnaissance seaplane design to compete in an Imperial Japanese Navy evaluation. Heinkel produced a single prototype, the HD 56, which underwent testing against rival models—the Nakajima E4N and the Kawanishi E5K. In 1931, the Heinkel design was declared the winner, contingent upon Aichi resolving certain deficiencies, notably limited operational range. Despite this, improved variants of the initially unsuccessful Nakajima and Kawanishi designs eventually entered production, with the Nakajima model manufactured in significantly larger quantities.

Subsequent alterations by Aichi included shortening both fuselage length and wingspan, substituting the prototype’s original Wright Whirlwind engine with a domestically produced Hitachi Tempu, as well as implementing various detailed refinements. Flight evaluations took place in August 1931 near Nagoya, and formal acceptance into service followed in 1932. The E3A remained operational aboard Sendai class cruisers at the onset of the Second Sino-Japanese War.