Somebody, somewhere posted this classic photo, taken in the summer of 1944, of the famous Kawanishi H8K "Emily" named "敷島" (Shikishima*), prompting me to collect details about the particular flying boat from different Japanese sources.
"Shikishima" was a transport aircraft for high-ranking officials. It was the third supplementary prototype of the H8K1 Experimental Type 13 Large-sized Flying Boat of which one prototype and four supplementary prototypes were built. The first prototype was powered by Mitsubishi Mk4A Kasei 11 engines while the supplementary prototypes were equipped with Mitsubishi MK4B Kasei 12 engines. These supplementary prototypes were redesignated Type 2 Flying Boat Model 11 on 5 February 1942.
"Shikishima" belonged to the air unit attached to the Yokosuka Naval District, which operated out of the Yokohama Seaplane Base in Kanagawa Prefecture, as indicated by its tail marking (not visible in the photo) "横鎮74" (Yokochin74, without a hyphen).
While its exterior was nearly identical to the standard model, the interior was modified to accommodate 27 passengers. In the passenger cabin on the second deck, there were wooden-framed single seats—nine on the right and eleven on the left—facing inward, while the second cabin featured inward-facing benches accommodating four people on the right and three on the left. The specifications for the "Shikishima" listed an empty weight of 16,084 kg and a fully equipped weight of 24,500 kg.
On the nose we can see the antennae of the Type 3 "Ku-6" Wireless Telegraph Set (三式空六号無線電信機) which was an aircraft-mounted radar system that the Imperial Japanese Navy put into use during World War II. The name "wireless telegraph set" was used to conceal its true nature. It is also known as the H-6 Radar or the Ku-6 Radar.
*"Shikishima" is another name for Japan, derived from the ancient site of Shiki, where the emperor's palace was located.
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