FLYING BOAT AB-4

The Aichi AB-4 was a prototype Japanese flying boat from the interwar period. The drive was provided by a single Gasuden Urakaze engine with a capacity of 350 HP. The prototype's flight took place in May 1932, but the machine never entered mass production. The deck armament consisted of a single 7.7 mm machine gun. AB-4 was commissioned by the command of the Japanese Navy, which in 1931 ordered a flying boat capable of taking off from an air catapult and intended for night operations from the Aichi factory. The new plane was primarily to perform reconnaissance tasks and direct the fire of its own ship artillery. The factory, responding to this order, created a plane in a biplane configuration with an all-metal structure. Despite the fact that the first prototype turned out to be a successful, easy-to-fly aircraft, providing the crew with a good field of observation, the Navy ordered another five prototypes. They were subjected to very intensive tests in 1932 and were finally not approved by the command of the Japanese Navy. However, based on the design of the AB-4, it was decided to create the Aichi E10A, which entered service in 1936 and turned out to be a successful machine.