Nakajima J1N
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The Nakajima J1N1 was a twin-engine aircraft used by the Japanese Imperial Navy during World War II and was used for reconnaissance, night fighter, and kamikaze missions. The first flight took place in May 1941. It was given the Allied codename "Irving", since the earlier reconnaissance version the J1N1-C, was mistaken for a fighter.
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[edit] Design
In mid-1938 the Japanese Imperial Navy requested a twin-engined fighter designed to escort the principal bomber used at the time, Mitsubishi G3M "Nell". The operating range of the standard Navy fighter, the Mitsubishi A5M "Claude", was only 1,200 km, insufficient compared with the 4,400 km of the G3M. Moreover, at the time, the potential of the "Zero", then still under development, remained to be evaluated, stressing the need for a long-range escort fighter.
In March 1939, Mitsubishi and Nakajima began the development of a project 13-Shi. The prototype left the factory in March 1941 equipped with two 1,130 hp Nakajima Sakae 21/22, 14-cylinder engines. There was a crew of three, and the aircraft was armed with a 20 mm Type 99 cannon and six 7.7 mm Type 97 machine guns. Four of these machine-guns were mounted in a powered turret, the weight of which reduced the performance of the aircraft considerably. However, the handling was excellent for such a large plane, close to that of the Mitsubishi Zero, and production was authorized for a reconnaissance variant, the J1N1-C, also known by the Navy designation Type 2 Reconnaissance. One early variant, the J1N1-F, had a spherical turret with one 20 mm Type 99 Model 1 cannon mounted immediately behind the pilot.
[edit] Operations
In 1943, Commander Yasuna Kozono of the 251st Kokutai in Rabaul came up with the idea of converting the J1N1-C into a night fighter. The field-modified J1N1-C KAI shot down two B-17's of 43rd Bomb Group attacking air bases around Rabaul on 21 May 1943.
The Navy took immediate notice and placed orders with Nakajima for the newly designated J1N1-S nightfighter design. This model was christened the Model 11 Gekkō (月光, "Moonlight"). It required only two crew and like the KAI, had a twin 20mm pair of Type 99 Model 1 cannon firing upward and a second pair firing downward at a forward 30 degree angle, placed in the fuselage behind the cabin, similar to the German Schräge Musik configuration. This arrangement was effective against B-17 Flying Fortress bombers and B-24 Liberators, and its existence was not quickly understood by the allies who assumed the Japanese did not have the technology for night fighter designs. Early versions had nose searchlights in place of radar. Later models omitted the lower-firing gun and added a single 20MM cannon (J1N1-Sa Model 11a). Other variants without nose antennae or searchlight added a 20MM cannon to the nose.
The J1N1-S was used against B-29s in Japan, though the lack of good radar and insufficient high-altitude performance handicapped it, since usually only one pass could be made against the higher speed B-29 bombers. However, some skillful pilots had spectacular successes, such as Lt. Sachio Endo, who was credited with destroying eight B-29s and damaging another eight before he was shot down by a B-29 crew, Shigetoshi Kudo (9 victories), Shiro Kuratori (6 victories), and Juzo Kuramoto (8 victories); the last two claimed five B-29s during the night of 25-26 May, 1945. Another Gekko crew shot down five B-29's in one night, but these successes were rare. Many Gekkos were also shot down or destroyed on the ground. A number of Gekkos were relegated to "Tokko" missions, the Japanese term for kamikaze attacks, using 250kg bombs attached to the wings.
[edit] Survivors
Only one J1N1-S Gekko "Irving" survives today. Following the occupation of the home islands, U.S. forces gathered 145 interesting Japanese aircraft and sent them to the United States aboard three aircraft carriers. Four Gekko's were in this group: three captured at Atsugi and one from Yokosuka. Serial Number 7334, the aircraft from Yokosuka, was given Foreign Equipment number FE 3031 (later changed to T2-N700). Records show that after arriving aboard the U.S.S. Barnes, air intelligence officials assigned Gekko 7334 to Langley Field, Virginia, on December 8, 1945. The airplane was moved to the Air Materiel Depot at Middletown, Pennsylvania, on 23 January, 1946.
The Maintenance Division at Middletown prepared the Gekko for flight tests, overhauling the plane's engines and replacing the oxygen system, radios, and some flight instruments with American equipment. Mechanics completed this work by 9 April. The Navy transferred Gekko 7334 to the Army in early June, and an army pilot flew the Gekko on 15 June, 1946, for about 35 minutes. At least one other test flight took place before the Army Air Forces flew the fighter to an empty former Dodge C-54 factory at Park Ridge, Illinois, for storage. The remaining three Gekkos were scrapped.
In 1949 the Gekko was given to the Smithsonian's National Air Museum, but remained in storage at Park Ridge, Illinois. The collection of museum aircraft at Park Ridge numbered more than 60 airplanes when the war in Korea forced the United States Air Force to move it to the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration and Storage Facility in Suitland, Maryland. Gekko 7334 was dumped outside the restoration facility in a large shipping crate in 1953 where it remained until building space became available in 1974. In 1979, NASM staff selected Gekko 7334 for restoration.
Following restoration of the Museum's Mitsubishi Zero in 1976, the Gekko became the second Japanese aircraft to receive the skilled attentions of NASM restoration craftsmen. The airframe was found to be seriously corroded from having remained outside for twenty years. At that time, it was the largest and most complex aircraft restoration project the NASM had ever undertaken. Work started on 7 September, 1979, and ended 14 December, 1983, following 17,000 hours of meticulous, dedicated labor. Today Gekko 7334 is fully restored and on display in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Washington D.C., the sole remaining example of Japan's innovative line of night-fighting Gekkos.
[edit] Variants
- J1N1 : Prototype.
- J1N1-C : Long-range reconnaissance aircraft.
- J1n1-C KAI :
- J1N1-R : Later redesignated J1N1-F.
- J1N1-S : Night fighter aircraft.
- J1N1-Sa :
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J1N-1.jpg
J1N1-C (Hei Kai) Model 11 |
 J1N1-F Reconnaissance modified with 20mm gun turret |
 J1N1-S Night fighter with airborne radar although no armament is pictured here |
 J1N1-S of the 210th Kokutai with drop tanks |
[edit] Specifications (J1N1-S)
This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.General characteristics
- Crew: two
- Length: 12.77 m (41 ft 11 in)
- Wingspan: 16.98 m (55 ft 8 in)
- Height: 4.56 m (14 ft 11 in)
- Wing area: 40.0 m² (430 ft²)
- Empty weight: 4,840 kg (10,648 lb)
- Loaded weight: 7,010 kg (15,422 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 8,184 kg (18,005 lb)
- Powerplant: 2× Nakajima Sakae, 843 kW (1,130 hp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 507 km/h (317 mph)
- Range: 3,778 km (2,361 miles)
- Service ceiling 9,320 m (30,570 ft)
- Rate of climb: 522 m/min (1,712 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 175 kg/m² (36 lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: 0.24 kW/kg (0.15 hp/lb)
Armament
- 4 × 20 mm Type 99 cannon, two upward- and two downward-firing
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
[edit] Bibliography
- Francillon, Réne J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1970 (2nd edition 1979). ISBN 0-370-30251-6.
- Green, William. Warplanes of the Second World War, Volume Three: Fighters. London: Macdonald & Co.(Publishers) Ltd., 1961. ISBN 0-356-1447-9.
[edit] See also
Comparable aircraft
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