Nov 5, 2024
Seversky A8V1 Two-Seat Fighter
The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service purchased 20 Seversky 2PA escort fighters as the Seversky A8V1. This caused friction with the USAAC and may led to a loss of further sales. These were briefly employed in the Second Sino-Japanese War as Navy Type S Two-Seat Fighter or A8V1 (Allied codename “Dick”). The Japanese found them to possess unacceptable levels of maneuverability and climb rate for the escort fighter role and were therefore relegated to reconnaissance missions in Central China. Two later being passed to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper group.
More photos here.