Shin Meiwa SS
After the end of WWII, Kawanishi reorganised itself as Shin Meiwa and with a ban on aircraft construction worked on overhauling US Martin Marlin flying boats. With the deepening cold war the construction ban was rescinded, and Shin Meiwa returned to designing flying boats.
The model SS was designed as an ASW flying boat. Initial design testing was conducted on a modified Grumman HU-16 Albatross, although the final design showed the influence of the Martin Marlin. The aircraft was adopted in to service in Japan as the PS-1.
Although fitted with undercarriage, the gear was light weight beaching gear only. This restricted the aircraft to water operations only, with the ability to taxi onto land up and down ramps. Armament included 2 canisters carrying 2 torpedos each, and 3 hardpoints near each wingtip.
Once the PS-1 was in service, a modified version was designed for SAR duties, becoming the US-1. Stripping the military equipment allowed the aircraft to be built with genuine landing gear, allowing operations from airfields as well as from water. Upgrades to the engines in later years led to the aircraft becoming the US-1A after modification.
With the initial US-1 reaching the end of its service life, Shin Meiwa started design work on a modernised version. In 1992 Shin Meiwa changed its name to become ShinMaywa - making the name easier to transliterate for English speakers.
The new aircraft featured significant upgrades from the original design, but is still to find international buyers.