1/72 Aichi M6A1 Seiran
Item #60737

Product Description

AICHI M6A1 SEIRAN
Soon after the advent of aircraft and submarines during World War
I, the combined operation of those two weapons were considered
by many countries. However, it was only the Imperial Japanese
Navy that could put it to practical use. At the outbreak of the
Pacific War, many large-sized submarines of the Imperial Japanese
Navy were equipped with catapult and small observation-type
aircraft desiged to attack harbors and to bomb the U.S. mainland.
Acknowledging the success of former attacks by the Imperial
Japanese Navy, it decided to plan surprise attack missions to the
Panama canal by special submarineborne aircraft at the beginning
of 1942. The plane was the Aichi M6A1 Seiran, designed
exclusively fot this one exceptional mission. It was in May 1942
when the Aichi Aircraft Company received specifications to
develop and produce a special attack bomber. At first, the use of
the then new Suisei bomber with some modifications was proposed,
but the conversion was found impractical because of the
difficulty to have interchangeability of major assemblies. On
November 1943, the first prototype made its maiden flight.
Undergoing several improvements, the Aichi Aircraft Company
received an order for limited production from the Navy in May
1944. The engine was a 12-cylinder liquid-cooled Atsuta 32, which
was based on the German Daimler-Benz DB603. A 12.7mm, type-2
flex mounted machine gun was equipped at the rear, and torpedo or
a 250kg/800kg bomb could be carried. The Seiran was to be
carried by the I-400 class submarine in the hanger tube of 4.2m
in diameter and 30.5m in length. The hanger tube was capable of
holding three Seirans. They were stored on catapult launching
cars with armaments for quick ejection after surfacing. To cope
with the space limitation, the Seiran was designed to conserve
space by folding the wings. The wings were pivoted on the main
spar where it joined the fuselage. By rotating the leading edge
downward, the wing could lie back flat against the sides of the
fuselage. The outer portions of each stabilizer and elevator
hinged at 90cm from the fuselage centerline and folded downward.
Vertical clearance was obtained by folding the tip of the fin to
the right. 28 Seirans including a Nanzan, its
ground-take-off-and-landing equivalent, were produced in total by
1945, and submersible carriers for them, the I-400 and I-401,
were completed almost simultaneously. Having the target changed
from the Panama canal to the U.S. Navy air craft carriers staged
at Ulithi Atoll due to the change in priorities the war demanded,
the 1st Submarine Flotilla including the I-400 and I-401 with
three Seirans each departed Japan on 23 July 1945 for their first
and last mission. On 15 August, the flagship I-401 monitored a
radio message from headquarters, informing them of Japan's
surrender and the flotilla was ordered to return to the nearest
port in Japan. Thus the chance to prove the Seiran's worth was
missed forever.

Suggested Paint Colors

AS-1 - Dark Green (IJN)
AS-2 - Dark Gray (IJN)
X-10 - Gun Metal
X-18 - Semi Gloss Black
X-5 - Green
X-7 - Red
XF-1 - Flat Black
XF-16 - Flat Aluminum
XF-22 - RLM Grey
XF-52 - Flat Earth
XF-56 - Metallic Grey
XF-7 - Flat Red
XF-9 - Hull Red