Shin Meiwa US-1A

PS-1 / US-1A
A US-1A in flight
General information
Type	Air-sea rescue amphibian
Manufacturer	Shin Meiwa
Status	Retired
Primary user	Japan Maritime Self Defense Force
History
Manufactured	PS-1: 23 US-1: 6 US-1A: 14
Introduction date	1971 (PS-1)
First flight	5 October 1967 (PX-S)[1]
Retired	2017
Variants	ShinMaywa US-2

The Shin Meiwa PS-1 and US-1A is a large STOL aircraft designed for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and air-sea rescue (SAR) work respectively by Japanese aircraft manufacturer Shin Meiwa. The PS-1 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) variant is a flying boat which carried its own beaching gear on board, while the search-and-rescue (SAR) orientated US-1A is a true amphibian.

Development of the PS-1 has its origins in flying boat research performed by the Shin Meiwa during the 1950s. The company, believing that their design was capable of regular use upon the open sea, petitioned the Japanese military to acquire the type as a maritime patrol aircraft (MPA). Following the demonstration of a converted Grumman HU-16 Albatross testbed aircraft, referred to as the UF-XS, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) awarded Shin Meiwa a contract in 1966 to further develop its design via two further prototypes, which were designated PS-X. During 1969, the JMSDF placed the first order for an eventual fleet of 21 ASW aircraft, designated PS-1; orders for the SAR variant, designated US-1A, were also issued during the 1970s.

Shin Meiwa were keen to develop additional variants and derivative aircraft, including substantially larger designs which they had studied, but many of these ambitions remained as paper projects only. During the 1980s, the JMSDF decided to adopt land-based Lockheed P-3 Orions, displacing the PS-1s from the ASW role and leading to the variant's retirement during 1989. Following the withdrawal of the last active US-1A in 2017, the type has been replaced by the ShinMaywa US-2, a modernised variant.