Night fighters -Desperate War of Japan in the Pacific

Night fighters

WWI

A UK Morane Parasol shot down LZ 37, a flying boat at night on 7 August 1915 for the first time in history^[3][4][7
]. Othewise a German DFW C.V shot down UK bombers on 10 February 1917^[5][6][7].

UK WWII

A Blenheim scored a Dornier Do 17 on the night of 2/3 July 1940, which was equipped with AI Mk 3^[8][9][10].

Iwamoto's memory

Iwamoto was a IJN ace pilot.

No aircraft came home on 23rd Mar 1945. They patrolled Okinawa. An aircraft telegrammed fighter's tailing. A shitei(Ki-46) reported quite a few warships off Kerama Islands, which flew from Taiwan to Kanoya. Iwamoto, an IJN fighter pilot of 303rd Kokutai reconnoitered Okinawa at night^[11]. He wrote the action in Japanese as follows. US Marined landed Okinawa mainland on 1 April 1945.

Stars twinkles in the sky of no moon. Riding on a Zero-sen, I finished idle running. I turned on a light of wing to informing ready. I see a light of indicating lantern far forward. Seeing a signal of command post, lever full opened I took off softly. I saw no lights below in dark. Turnning around Kagoshima Airfield once with a big circle, I get 3,000m high. I fly for Okinawa on intended course directioning. I see purple bright exhaust flame in the dark sky. 30min later, I see Yaku-shima on the left, maybe. I see dotted islands forward. Up to 4,000m high, I turn on a recieiver. I hear enemy telegrams in English slightly. An hour later, Watching night fighters, up to 6,000m high, I use oxygen. I hear English intense. I see shadow of Amami-oshima on left at the back, maybe. I hear English more intense. In case of preparing intecept, flying up higher, I see a shadow of aircraft on right. Watching at the back, I gained 8,000m high. Coming near Iejima, I looked back. A night fighter chases me far some hudred meters. Diving to Iejima I lost it. Pulling up at 5,000m high, I turn around Ie-sima. I get to Okinawa-honto in a while. I fly south along the west sea side. I see a dim light far south. I fly with zero boost. Looking down Kerama Islands, big transports are lifting. I see a lot of daihatsu on the sea. I sent a wireless message. On course of returning at 500m high, I see fling aircraft for Okinawa to attack enemy near Akuseki-shima. I finished my mission of 4 hours flight^[12].

Was the US night fighter F6F-5N?

131st kokutai

Iwakawa base^[13]

The 131st kokutai was equipped with carrier bomber Suisei and Zero. It advanced at Kanoya in the end of March 1945. The kokutai refused sucide attack. It repeated attacks to airfields and warships at night. Ido, a crew of recon told a story, "We took of at 2 or 3 am and flew at 300m height. After a while, P-61 chases us. We were always shot whenever we flew to Okinawa. Comming near Okinawa, search lights catch us at once. Flaks burst very near. Invading over Naka airfild, we decended slow and released a 250 kg bomb. Passing the Nakasugusu Bay, We came back at dawn^[17]." The 131 kokutai had actioned 81 times since 1st April. All the sorites were 630 and lost 40 aircraft and 80 crews in the Okinawa Battle^[15]. 131 kokutai began to move secret Iwakawa Base off 30 km Kanoya on 13 May and finished the deploy in 10 days. 131 kokutai actioned again on 25 May. IJN ordered retreat and destroy of the Kanoya Air Base on 30 July 1945^[16].

Kasa-no-hara Air Base

A Betty detected enemy TF by a radar at night on 17th Mar 1945. A radar in Tanegashima also confirmed the enemy. But a 6F6-5N was trailing the Betty. The 6F6 shot it at dawn of 5:40 am over the Kasa-no-hara Air Base of Kyushu and lead F4Us. The 301st and 721st koukutai lost 34 aircraft and were destroyed 8 aircraft on the ground^[18]. This shows F4U took off aircraft carriers before dawn and could flow at night, as well as IJN actionedat Pearl Harbor Operation.

The tail gunner of the betty could not find the 6F6-5N. How far did it chase?

IJN night fighters development

IJN planned night fighters in 1944 & 1945
Date	Name
1944Jun05	Denko, Kyokko, Suisei^[14], Saiun-kai
1944Sep01	Suisei(D4Y2-S), Saiun-kai(C6N3)
1944Sep10	Suisei
1945Jan15	Ki-46
1945Mar24	Ginga(P1Y1)

IJN worried about intercepting B-17s at night at Rabaul in 1943. A IJN night fighter, J1N1-S shot down 2 B-17s on 21 May 1943 at first. IJN planned to develope higher performance night fighters than J1N1-S in 1943. They were Denko (S1A1) and Kyokko (P1Y2-S). IJN stopped producting J1N1-S in October 1944^[1]. The both planned night fighters were not in time of intercepting B-29. IJN gave up developing them in September 1944. The table shows how IJN worried developing night fighters and confused^[2].

While IJA adopted Ki-45 and Ki-102 as night fighters. The production of Ki-45 and Ki-102 were 1,704 and 215. Kawasaki made a trial of Ki-102 in March 1944. Japan should stop developing IJN night fighters since then. Air raids of B-29s at night destroyed Japanese cities which flew at low altitude. Instead of productioning new IJA Ki-102 and developing IJN night fighters, I think Japan had better continue old Ki-45 much as night fighters. And IJA and IJN should cooperate and develop airborne radar with desperate effort. IJN airborne PPI rader made a trial test and showed its image in the sky in August 1945 for the first time. It was late more than 5 years than UK. Japan knew Germany and Britain fought severe at night. But Japanese military governers had ignored watching on European air battle.

IJN air crews dosed with drug

An IJN medical doctors dosed air crews with drug at night action. The drug was a kind of awakening drug, methamphetamine. The doctor told them that an injection would work to see far at night^[20]. Methamphetamine was a drug synthesized by Nagai at University of Tokyo in 1893^[19].

After the Pacific War, Dai Nippon Pharmacy sold it and named hiropon. It said, "Hirou ga pon to toreru." The abuse of it destoryed lifes of famous writers, 太宰治, 田中英光, 坂口安吾 and 織田作之助. Soon Japan regulated it by 覚醒剤取締法 in 1951. Once Chinese emperors or bureaucrats enjoyed opium in Qing Dynasty, it declined China. A few modern Japanese governers depended drug. Matsuoka Yousuke usually dosed cocaine. He was an importand diplomat, when Japan walked out League of Nations and tied Tripartite Pact. Prime Minister Abe Shinzo depended on a kind of drug to sleep well in his late short duty. A site writes JFK was dependent of Amphetamine and hydrocortisone^[21]. If it is true, I found why JFK choiced wrong Vietnum option. If he read Vietnumese history himself, the knowledge helped his option. US famous inherited lawmakers sometimes use a kind of drug. Are they tired of their work? If medical doctors dose them, it permits by law. Even if our leaders are dependent of drug, govern system usually works well, someone else does their work actually. Actually Japan and Thailand eacaped Western colonization, though Shougun was not smart. All most commons always work their brains to continue their daily life. Laboring harder, we always sleepy at night.

[1] Gekko
[2] Syowa 20 nendo no Kaigun Sentoki Seisan Keikaku
[3] The Zeppelin Raiders
[4] Zeppelin Raids
[5] DFW C.V
[6] World Aviation in 1917
[7] Yakan, p15
[8] Yakan, p68-69
[9] Blenheim
[10] Nightfighting
[11] Ki-46
[12] Iwamoto p.357-361
[13] Iwakawa Kichi
[14] Suisei (Judy)
[15] Omoi, p162
[16] Ebina, p418-419
[17] Watanabe, p369-370
[18] Watanabe, p.341-342
[19] Yakubutsu jyouhou ron
[20] Omoi, p24
[21] ＪＦＫ no yamai
[22] Ahen