A fine aerial view of an H6K4 which shows the overall layout and broad parasol wing mounted above the fuselage. This layout was shared by several flying boat designs of the time including the American PBY Catalina. The Kawanishi H6K was an Imperial Japanese Navy flying boat produced by the Kawanishi Aircraft Company and used during World War II for maritime patrol duties. The Allied reporting name for the type was Mavis; the Navy designation was "Type 97 Large Flying Boat". Developed in the 1930s, it was used for reconnaissance, transport, bombing, naval warfare, and executive transport by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The national airline also used it as a commercial airliner. The British mistakenly identified this aircraft as the Kawanishi Navy 97 Mavis. Design and Development The aircraft was designed in response to a Navy requirement of 1934 for a long-range flying boat and incorporated knowledge gleaned by a Kawanishi team that visited the Short Brothers factory in...