Artist's commentary:

イギリスのショート・ブラザーズの飛行艇を国産化して以来飛行艇メーカーとして成長を遂げた川西航空機が設計開発を行った、日本初の純国産飛行艇。
スマートなボディながら長大な航続力と高い搭載力を誇り、偵察・長距離爆撃・対潜哨戒・輸送任務など多くの局面で活躍しました。
ボディが翼に対して懸架式となっているのが外見上の大きな特徴で、それ故に実現した低い位置の操縦席からの下方視界は良好で、離着水時に大きなメリットを得ることが出来ました。
またこの機体でアクロバット飛行を行う大バカ野郎もいたようで、見かけによらず高い運動性能を誇っています。
しかし防弾性能が甘く、また速度も遅い為に次第に被害が拡大し、それらの弱点をカバーしている二式飛行艇に活躍の場を譲り、後方任務に専従するようになります。
また戦前には民間にもおろされており、赤道越え南方航路に従事していました。

Artist's commentary:

Kawanishi H6K Type 97 Large Flying Boat is the first flying boat that was 100% Japan-made. It was designed and developed by the Kawanishi Aircraft Company, which had grown as a flying-boat manufacturer since its domestic production of a flying boat from the UK’s Short Brothers factory.
Despite its sleek body, the H6K boasts an enormous range and high carrying capacity, which led to it making its mark in many facets of service including air reconnaissance, long-range bombing, antisubmarine patrols, and transport missions.
A major characteristic of this flying boat appearance-wise is the suspension of the hull beneath the parasol wing via a network of struts. This enables a low cockpit placement, which in turn provides good downward visibility and a great advantage when taking off and landing on water.
I heard that some nutter (I am using this expression in a somewhat friendly and comic tone) has flown aerobatics with this boat~which indicates it boasts high motion performance, regardless of its appearance.
However, this flying boat’s slowness and its weak bullet resistance gradually led to increasing loss of the planes. Subsequently the H6K became dedicated to rear support roles while handing the main stage over to the H8Ks, which had overcome such weaknesses.
In addition, this flying boat was also sold to non-governmental private carriers before WWII, operating on the route to the 'South Sea Islands' (as the western and central Pacific areas were called in those days in Japan). In addition, the H6K also flew a route that took it south of the equator.

Note: Because the area under Japan’s control was the islands north of the equator, the route crossing the equator to Portuguese Timor lasted only two weeks before the Pacific War broke out. The trans-equatorial route was also one of the themes of a movie produced by Toho in 1942 titled 'Nankai no Hanataba' a.k.a., 'Bouquet in the Southern Seas.' The H6K appears in this movie.