In 1937, theImperial Japanese Navy requested theKawanishi Aircraft Company andAichi Kokuki to design a replacement for the Navy's E7K seaplanes.[2] Kawanishi's design, given the short designation E13K and long designationKawanishi Navy 12-Shi Three-seat Reconnaissance Seaplane, was an all-metal, single-float seaplane armed with oneType 92 machine gun and either one bomb under the fuselage or four bombs under the wings.[3]
The first of two E13K prototypes flew on 28 September 1938. In October 1938, the aircraft was transferred to the fleet base for testing, and, even though the E13K outperformed theAichi E13A except in maximum speed, it was difficult to operate, so the Navy chose the E13A to be the replacement for the E7K.[3][4] The first prototype suffered an accident due to excessive vibration, and the second vanished during a test flight and was not recovered.[1]
1 X as second letter is for experimental aircraft or imported technology demonstrators not intended for service,2 Hyphenated trailing letter (-J, -K, -L, -N or -S) denotes design modified for secondary role,3 Possibly incorrect designation, but used in many sources
