#type 16 reconnaissance

[usafphantom-2]

The Zuiun was a multi-role twin-seat aircraft that served as a dive bomber while also doubling as a reconnaissance and observation aircraft. It was planned to be carried on the Yamato-class battleships as an observation aircraft in place of the canceled Fourteenth Experimental Observation Aircraft. The fact that Zuiun deployments were limited to modified Ise-class battleships and the like is partly due to production numbers, but the biggest obstacle was weight. In an overloaded state, the Zuiun could not be launched from the Kure Type 2 Model 5. For that reason, improvements to the launch performance of the Type 2 Model 5 and rocket-assisted launches were considered, but none were realized.

@matsudaHi via X