H6K Mavis

The H6K Mavis is the basic Japanese flying boat. It is superior to it's allied equivilent, the PBY Catalina. The H6K outclasses the PBY in about every respect, most notably it's large payload of four 250kg bombs, torpedoes, or depth charges, which is double to that of the Catalina.

Although the armour of the Mavis is weak, it has an adequate AA complement of six 7.7mm machine guns that can shrug off light air attacks. However, it is big and slow, and fighter escort is advised to draw fire away from these "LSTs of the air".

Uses
The H6K Mavis has three main uses: recon, anti-ship actions, and anti-sub operations.

The first use is recon. Mavises do fine in this role, however, the more versatile E13A Jakes and F1M Petes are suited better at this task. Even if the player puts up a Mavis for recon duties, they should equip it with a payload.

The second use is anti-submarine operations. The Mavis is quite reliable in the ASW role. Being able to carry four depth charges (more than other aircraft), you can completely annihilate a submarine in just 1-2 well aimed runs. Plus, Mavises carry on board sonar to detect submerged subs.

Last but not least, the Mavis can be used against surface targets. Against them, the H6K's bombs are ineffective, as the slow Mavis makes a terrible level bomber. Call in purpose built aircraft to tackle this job. Equipping them with torpedoes is your best bet against surface targets. It's four torpedoes are generally overkill against destroyers, and with one successful run, can send a cruiser to the bottom.

H6K vs. H8K
The H6K's bigger brother, the H8K Emily, is an upgraded version of the former. The H8K has the same payloads and similiar AA defences, but is faster, more maneuverable, and has slightly thicker armour. But the biggest plus of the Emily is that in island capture they come in squads of three for the same cost as a single Mavis. Overall, the Mavis is a semi-reliable aircraft, but the H8K is an all round improvement.

Stats
In Game Description: ''This huge flying boat, with a wingspan 50% larger than the B-17 bomber, is considered an excellent transport and reconnaissance plane. Known to the Japanese as the 'Type 97 Flying Boat', it can carry a payload of torpedoes, a 2205 lb bomb load or 16 passengers.''
 * Armament
 * 7.7mm gun x6
 * Torpedo x4 (optional)
 * 250kg bomb x4 (optional)
 * Depth charge x4 (optional)
 * Island Capture cost= 100cp
 * Succeeded by: H8K Emily
 * Equivelent: PBY Catalina