Aichi Kokuki

Aichi Kokuki
Company type	Limited company
Industry	Aircraft manufacturing
Founded	1898; 126 years ago in Nagoya, Japan
Fate	Integrated into Nissan
Successor	Aichi Machine Industry Co., Ltd
Products	Aircraft
Parent	Nissan
Website	Aichi Kokuki corporate website

35°08′02″N 136°53′49″E / 35.1337981°N 136.8969623°E / 35.1337981; 136.8969623

Aichi Kokuki KK (愛知航空機株式会社, Aichi Kōkūki Kabushiki Kaisha, Aichi Aircraft Co., Ltd.) was a Japanese aerospace manufacturer which produced several designs for the Imperial Japanese Navy. After the war, the company was reorganized as Aichi Machine Industry Co., Ltd (愛知機械工業) where they made small kei cars until 1966 when they were integrated into Nissan and developed the Nissan Sunny and Nissan Vanette.

History

Aichi Watch and Electric Manufacturing

The company was established in 1898 in Nagoya as Aichi Tokei Denki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha (Aichi Watch and Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd.). Aircraft production started in 1920,^[1] and the company relied initially on technical assistance from Heinkel,^[1] which influenced some of their designs. Later, with the prodding and support of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the company started making seaplanes using technology imported from Short Brothers in the UK.^[2]

During the inter-war period, Aichi was the beneficiary of technology transferred from Heinkel of Germany. At the time, a team from the League of Nations occasionally visited German aircraft manufacturers to monitor the ban on military aircraft research and production. A Japanese military attache who was a member of the monitoring team, let Heinkel know, confidentially and in advance, of the planned visits. Heinkel thus succeeded in continuing its design on the aircraft ordered by Aichi Aircraft without being spotted.^[3]

In 1943 the aircraft division was spun off as Aichi Kokuki Kabushiki Kaisha (Aichi Aircraft Co., Ltd.).^[4]

Aichi Machine Industry

After the war, the company was reorganized, manufacturing kei cars under the Cony brand name in Japan. Its current descendant, Aichi Kikai Kōgyō Kabushiki Kaisha (Aichi Machine Industry Co., Ltd.), is integrated with the Nissan corporate structure.^[5]

Products

Aircraft

Model name	First flight	Number built	Type
Aichi AB-1	1928	1	Single engine biplane airliner
Aichi AB-2	1930	2	Single engine biplane reconnaissance floatplane
Aichi AB-3	1932	1	Single engine biplane reconnaissance floatplane
Aichi AB-4	1932	6	Single engine biplane reconnaissance flying boat
Aichi AB-5		1^[6]	License built single engine biplane floatplane
Aichi AB-6	1933	1	Single engine biplane reconnaissance floatplane
Aichi AB-7		2	Single engine biplane reconnaissance floatplane
Aichi AB-8 [jp]		1	Single engine biplane dive bomber
Aichi AB-9		1^[7]	Single engine biplane dive bomber
Aichi AB-10			Single engine biplane dive bomber
Aichi AB-11	N/A	0	Single engine biplane dive bomber
Aichi AB-12	1934	15	Single engine biplane reconnaissance flying boat
Aichi AB-13	1936	2	Single engine biplane reconnaissance floatplane
Aichi AB-14	1937	17	Single engine biplane reconnaissance flying boat
Aichi AM-7	N/A	0	Unbuilt single engine monoplane reconnaissance floatplane
Aichi AM-10	N/A	0	Unbuilt single engine monoplane reconnaissance floatplane
Aichi AM-15 [jp]	N/A	0	Unbuilt single engine monoplane fighter or unbuilt single engine monoplane sports plane^[a]
Aichi AM-16 [jp]	N/A	0	Twin engine monoplane reconnaissance flying boat
Aichi AM-17	1938	1,495	Single engine monoplane dive bomber
Aichi AM-18 [jp]		2	Single engine monoplane reconnaissance floatplane
Aichi AM-19		133^[b]	Single engine monoplane reconnaissance floatplane
Aichi AM-20	N/A	0	Unbuilt single engine monoplane reconnaissance airplane
Aichi AM-21	1940	31	Twin engine monoplane trainer flying boat
Aichi AM-22	1942	256	Single engine monoplane reconnaissance floatplane
Aichi AM-23	1942	114	Single engine monoplane torpedo bomber
Aichi AM-24	1943	28	Single engine monoplane dive bomber floatplane
Aichi AM-25	N/A	2	Twin engine monoplane night fighter
Aichi Type H		2^[c]	License built single engine biplane carrier fighter
Aichi Type 2 Single-seat Reconnaissance Seaplane		1^[d]	License built single engine biplane reconnaissance floatplane
Aichi Type 15-Ko Reconnaissance Seaplane	1925	4	Single engine monoplane reconnaissance floatplane
Aichi Type 2 Two-seat Reconnaissance Seaplane		16	License built single engine biplane reconnaissance floatplane

Engines

Aichi AC-1 - 1929 experimental nine-cylinder radial engine
Aichi Atsuta (アツタ or 熱田) - licensed copy of the Daimler-Benz DB 601A inverted V12
Aichi Ha-70 - two Atsuta engines coupled together

Automotive

Nissan engines

Transmissions

FS6R31 - with synchronous control.
F30A / F50A / F70A
MFA60 / MFA80
W60A
FS5R30A
MRA70
GR6

Vehicles manufactured

Nissan Cherry
Nissan Sunny
Nissan Vanette
Nissan Serena (Largo)
Cony Guppy, a two-seat microcar
Cony 360 Wide, a cabover keitora/Microvan/minitruck
Cony Giant 360 [ja], predecessor to Cony 360
Cony 360 a passenger kei car

References

Footnotes

^ The AM-15 designation was used for two different designs.
^ An additional 1,285 aircraft were built by Kyushu and Hiro
^ An additional 2 pattern aircraft were built by Heinkel.
^ An additional 1 pattern aircraft was built by Heinkel.

Notes

^ ^a ^b Mikesh and Abe 1990, p. 61.
^ Odagiri 1996, p. 216.
^ Odagiri 1996, p. 217.
^ Mikesh and Abe 1990, p. 79.
^ "Aichi Kikai manufacturing history". Aichi Machine Industry Website. Aichi Kikai. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
^ Mikesh, Robert C.; Abe, Shorzoe (1990). Japanese Aircraft, 1910-1941. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 72–73. ISBN 1-55750-563-2. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
^ Mikesh, Robert C.; Abe, Shorzoe (1990). Japanese Aircraft, 1910-1941. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 75–76. ISBN 1-55750-563-2. Retrieved 24 November 2024.

Bibliography

Mikesh, Robert C. and Shorzoe Abe. Japanese Aircraft, 1910-1941. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 1990. ISBN 0-85177-840-2.
Odagiri, Hiroyuki. Technology and Industrial Development in Japan. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1996. ISBN 0-19-828802-6.

External links

"Aichi Kikai manufacturing history". Aichi Machine Industry Website. Aichi Kikai. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2010.

[8] The AM-15 designation was used for two different designs.

[9] An additional 1,285 aircraft were built by Kyushu and Hiro

[10] An additional 2 pattern aircraft were built by Heinkel.

[11] An additional 1 pattern aircraft was built by Heinkel.

[MikeshAbe1990p61-1] Mikesh and Abe 1990, p. 61.

[2] Odagiri 1996, p. 216.

[3] Odagiri 1996, p. 217.

[4] Mikesh and Abe 1990, p. 79.

[5] "Aichi Kikai manufacturing history". Aichi Machine Industry Website. Aichi Kikai. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2010.

[6] Mikesh, Robert C.; Abe, Shorzoe (1990). Japanese Aircraft, 1910-1941. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 72–73. ISBN 1-55750-563-2. Retrieved 24 November 2024.

[7] Mikesh, Robert C.; Abe, Shorzoe (1990). Japanese Aircraft, 1910-1941. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 75–76. ISBN 1-55750-563-2. Retrieved 24 November 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[a]

[b]

[c]

[d]

v t e Aichi aircraft
Manufacturer designations	AB-1 AB-2 AB-3 AB-4 AB-5 AB-6 AB-7 AB-8 AB-9 AB-10 AB-11 AB-12 AB-13 AB-14 AM-7 AM-10 AM-15 AM-16 AM-17 AM-19 AM-20 AM-21 AM-22 AM-23 AM-24
Imperial Japanese Navy short designations	B7A C4A D1A D3A E3A E8A E10A E11A E13A E16A F1A H9A M6A S1A
World War II Allied reporting names	Grace Hank Jake Laura Paul Susie Val

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	United States