Aichi M6A1 "Seiran" WIP by Briney
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Description
A two-seater submarine-launched bomber, the Aichi M6A1 Seiran was secretly brought into service in the closing months of the Second world War. A literal "bolt from the blue" the Seiran was intended to give the equally secret Sen-Toku carrier submarines the capability of hitting targets in the Americas- appearing seemingly out of nowhere. While ostensibly a floatplane, I understand that in practice it turned out to be easier to handle and launch on the submarine if the floats were removed. Meaning the plane would have to ditch afterwards?? Since only 18 were ever built we can assume crews didn't practice take-offs very often! ;-)
I'm building this in Shade to accompany the I-400-class carrier submarine model I made last year.
Comments (3)
vkoontz
Nice render. It was a complete surprise to the allies when discovered after the War. The entire project was super secret and the primary mission was to bomb,and/or kamikaze the Panama Canal. The only remaining example is in the Dulles Udvar-Hazy annex of the Smithsonian,I've seen it. The I-400's were studied but all were scuttled when the Russians demanded to look at one.
jac204
Great render and historical reference. Although ingeneous, this seems like too little to late, and who knows how successful they would have been anyway.
Osper
Nice looking (I'm not sure about the cammo though.......;) Looking good!