View source for Watanabe E9W

{{Short description|Japanese reconnaissance seaplane}}
<!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft]]. Please see [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content]] for recommended layout. -->
{|{{Infobox aircraft begin
 |name= E9W
 |image= File:Watanabe E9W1.jpg
 |caption= E9W1
}}{{Infobox aircraft type
 |type= [[Submarine aircraft carrier|Submarine-borne]] [[reconnaissance]] [[seaplane]]
 |national origin= Japan
 |manufacturer= [[Kyushu Hikoki K.K.|Watanabe Ironworks]]
 |designer=
 |first flight= February [[1935 in aviation|1935]]
 |introduced= 1938
 |retired= 1942
 |status=
 |primary user= [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]
 |more users=
 |produced=
 |number built= 35
 |variants with their own articles=
}}
|}

The '''Watanabe E9W''' was a Japanese [[Submarine aircraft carrier|submarine-borne]] [[reconnaissance seaplane]], the first aircraft designed by [[Kyushu Hikoki K.K.|Watanabe Ironworks]].

==Development and design==
In January 1934, the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] had a requirement for a two-seat [[reconnaissance]] [[seaplane]] to be operated from its [[Junsen type submarine|J-3 type]] [[submarine]]s, and it placed an order with Watanabe for design and development of an aircraft to meet this requirement. The first of three prototypes flew in February 1935.<ref name="Mikesh p259">[[#MA90|Mikesh and Abe (1990)]], p. 259.</ref>

The E9W was a two-seat, single-engine, twin-float, unequal-span seaplane designed to be easily dismantled for hangar stowage on a submarine, capable of being reassembled in two minutes 30 seconds and disassembled in one minute 30 seconds.<ref name="Mikesh p259"/> It was armed with a 7.7&nbsp;mm (0.303&nbsp;in) machine gun operated by the observer. Following successful testing of one of the prototypes on the submarine ''I-5'', an order for a production batch of 32 aircraft, designated E9W1, was placed.<ref name="Greenv6 p137">[[#WG62|Green (1962)]], p. 137.</ref> When the [[Pacific War]] begun, six E9W1s were operational; this number was nearly doubled by July 1942.<ref name=MJC117>[[#MC22|Claringbould (2022)]], p. 117.</ref>

E9Ws left the Watanabe factory with an [[Alclad]] coating and a black engine cowling. Combat units then went on to apply camouflage as they saw fit, usually from stocks available in depots, shipyards, or other bases.<ref name=MJC117/>

==Operational history==
The aircraft entered service in 1938 with the [[Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service]] as the '''Navy Type 96 Small Reconnaissance Seaplane''' with the last being delivered in 1940.<ref name="Greenv6 p137"/> Although it was in the process of being replaced by the [[Yokosuka E14Y]] [[monoplane]], it was still in front-line service at the time of the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], remaining in service until July 1942, being used to direct their parent submarines onto Chinese ships attempting to pass the Japanese blockade of the [[South China Sea]].<ref name="Greenv6 p137"/> The E9W1 was given the [[World War II Allied names for Japanese aircraft|reporting name]] '''Slim''' in 1942 by the [[Allies of World War II]].

==Operators==
* {{flag|Empire of Japan}}
** [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]
* {{flag|Thailand}}
** [[Royal Thai Navy]]

==Specifications (E9W1)==
{{Aircraft specs
|ref= War Planes of The Second World War: Volume Six: Floatplanes<ref name="Greenv6 p138">[[#WG62|Green (1962)]], p. 138.</ref>
|prime units? = met
|crew=2 (pilot, observer)
|length m=8.00
|length ft=26
|length in=3
|span m=9.91
|span ft=32
|span in=9.5
|height m=3.71
|height ft=12
|height in=2
|wing area sqm=23.51
|wing area sqft=252.95
|empty weight kg=882
|empty weight lb=1,940
|gross weight kg=1,253
|gross weight lb=2,756
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=[[Hitachi Tempu II]] radial engine
|eng1 kw=<!-- prop engines -->224
|eng1 hp=<!-- prop engines -->300
|max speed kmh=232
|max speed mph=144
|cruise speed kmh=148<!-- if max speed unknown -->
|cruise speed mph=92<!-- if max speed unknown -->
|range km=731
|range miles=454
|range note=<ref name="Mikesh p259"/>|endurance=4.9 hours<!-- if range unknown -->
|ceiling m=6,740
|ceiling ft=22,100
|sink rate ftmin=<!-- sailplanes -->
<!--
        Armament
-->
|armament = *1 x 7.7mm (0.303in) machine gun
}}

==See also==
{{aircontent
<!-- include as many lines are appropriate. additional lines/entries with carriage return. -->
|see also=
|related=<!-- related developments -->
|similar aircraft=<!-- similar or comparable aircraft -->
* [[Yokosuka E14Y]]
|lists=<!-- related lists -->
* [[List of aircraft of World War II]]
* [[List of flying boats and floatplanes]]
* [[List of submarine-borne aircraft]]
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book | ref = MC22 | title = IJN Floatplanes in the South Pacific 1942-1944 | first = Michael John | last = Claringbould | series = Pacific Profiles | volume = 8 | isbn = 978-0645246940 | date = 2022 | publisher = Avonmore Books | location = Kent Town, Australia }}
* {{cite book | ref = WG62 | title= War Planes of The Second World War: Volume Six: Floatplanes|last=Green |first=William |year=1962 |publisher= Macdonald|location= London}} 
* {{cite book | ref = MA90 | title= Japanese Aircraft 1910–1914|last1=Mikesh |first1=Robert C. |last2 = Abe | first2 = Shorzoe |year=1990 |publisher= Putnam|location=London |isbn=0-85177-840-2 }} 
* {{cite journal | ref = MP00 | last1=Passingham|first1=Malcolm|title=Les hydravions embarqués sur sous-marins |journal=Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire |date=March 2000 |issue=84 |pages=25–37 |trans-title=Japanese Submarine-embarked Seaplanes |language=French |issn=1243-8650}}
* {{cite book | ref = MT89 | last= Taylor |first= Michael J. H. |title=Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation |year=1989 |publisher=Studio Editions |location=London }}
* {{cite book |title= The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985)|publisher= Orbis Publishing}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Watanabe E9W}}

{{Kyushu aircraft}}
{{Japanese Navy short aircraft designations}}
{{Allied reporting names}}
[[Category:Floatplanes]]
[[Category:Biplanes]]
[[Category:1930s Japanese military reconnaissance aircraft|E09W, Watanabe]]
[[Category:Submarine-borne aircraft]]
[[Category:Watanabe aircraft|E9W]]
[[Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1935]]