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The Nakajima E8N was a Japanese biplane seaplane from the interwar period and World War II. The drive was provided - in the E8N2 version - by a single engine Nakajima Kotobuki 2 KAI 2 with a power of 630 hp. The prototype flight took place in 1934, and serial production continued in the years 1935-1940, ending with the production of about 750 copies of this aircraft. The deck armament consisted of two 7.7 mm machine guns. The machine could also carry a load of bombs weighing up to 60 kilograms.
The Nakajima E8N was created in response to the demand of the Japanese Navy command in the early 1930s for a new seaplane capable of operating from air catapults. There were also efforts to replace the Nakajima E4N aircraft with a new design. The Nakajima Manufacturing Plant, responding to this demand, decided to significantly develop the design of the E4N aircraft, improving its aerodynamics, performance and maneuverability. Two basic development versions of the Nakajima E8N were produced in the course of serial production. The first (E8N1) was the first production series, powered by the Kotobuki KAI 1 engine. The second (E8N2) was already powered by the Kotobuki KAI 2 engine with more power. Aircraft of this type served in the initial period of the Japanese-Chinese war (1937-1945) and in the first months of the war in the Pacific. Single copies of the Nakajima E8N were still in combat at Midway in June 1942. Aircraft of this type - in small numbers - were exported during World War II to Thailand.