- Yes
- No
Nakajima J1N1-S (月光一一型)
The Nakajima J1N1-S is a Japanese night fighter created in 1943. The Japanese produced 477 J1N1 aircraft of all versions. These planes served until the end of the war.
History
At the turn of May and June, Yasuna Kozono, the commander of the 251st Naval Aviation Squadron, who was stationed, noticed that the zero fighters had a problem fighting B-17 bombers, and the new weapon for fighting bombers - Bomb No. 3 was only in the prototype phase. Therefore, he came up with the idea of arming the fighter with slanted cannons pointing upwards, which would allow attacking the B-17s from their blind spot. In November 1942, Kozono left New Britain for Japan to present his idea to the Naval Command, but was disregarded, and the same happened to him in the Army Command. However, Kozono did not give up and soon after learned that there were still operational prototypes of the J1N1 aircraft, he ordered their modification to the night fighter version. This time, the naval command gave the green light to work on the modifications. In March 1943, two prototypes of the J1N1-S aircraft were brought to Toyohashi Air Base for tests of the new aircraft. The first pilot was Captain Yukio Endo, who was to conduct test shooting. The target for testing was a dummy canvas pulled by a zero fighter, when Endo flew to the right place, he opened fire on the target without aiming, he managed to hit the target 15 times within 20 seconds of fire. Then it was decided to test the maneuverability of the new fighter in simulated combat with the zero fighter. The combat winik showed that the future J1N1-S has very good maneuverability and is easy to control fire during maneuvers. However, at this point the J1N1-S had not yet been accepted into service, so in May 1943 Kozono, Endo and other pilots from the 251st Naval Aviation Squadron returned to Rabaul with two prototypes of the J1N1-S. There, the planes immediately took part in combat missions. On May 20, 1943, the first success was recorded when the J1N1-S prototype piloted by Sergeant Shigetoshi Kudo shot down two B-17s, and the second prototype also recorded a shot down. By June 1943, the J1N1-S prototypes had managed to shoot down 9 B-17s, which convinced the naval command of the slanted cannons. Therefore, on August 23, 1943, the modified J1N1 aircraft were adopted as new night fighters under the designation J1N1-S Gekko (Moonlight). After the J1N1-S was accepted into service, it was used in the vicinity of the Solomon Islands and the central Pacific to fight enemy bombers, as well as for night reconnaissance and attack Allied bases. Initially, the J1N1-S aircraft were equipped with two Type 99 cannons pointing upwards and two Type 99 cannons downwards, but after some time some aircraft abandoned the downward-facing cannons. The J1N1-S aircraft were used until the end of the war, and in 1944 a modernized J1N1-Sa model was created.
Construction description
The Nakajima J1N1-S aircraft is very similar to the J1N1 fighter from the game, but there are a few differences between them, which I will describe here.
- The aircraft does not have two remote-controlled turrets with Type 97 machine guns.
- Almost all the weapons in the nose have been removed (more details later in the armament section)
- The crew consists of two people
- Behind the cockpit are two Type 99 cannons pointing upwards at a 30-degree angle. Two Type 99 cannons are mounted under the hull at a 30-degree angle downwards.
- Between the engines and the fuselage, there are bomb holders weighing 250 kg.
- In the cockpit, on top of the windshield, a Type 3 sight is mounted
Comparison of Nakajima J1N1-S with other J1N1 aircraft
Cockpit Photos
Armament
The Nakajima J1N1-S is armed with two Type 99 Model 2 cannons behind the cockpit pointing at 30 degrees with a supply of 100 rounds per gun, in addition to being equipped with two Type 99 Model 2 cannons under the hull pointing at a 30-degree angle downwards with a supply of 100 rounds per gun. The aircraft can carry two bombs weighing between 30 kg and 250 kg under the wings. Some J1N1-S aircraft were additionally equipped in the following way.
- An additional headlight was installed in the nose
- The FD-1 radar was mounted in the nose
- FD-1/H-5 radar was mounted in the nose
- The FD-1 radar and an additional Type 99 cannon were mounted in the nose
- Mounted an additional Type 99 cannon in the nose of the machine
Method of attaching the armament
Method of attaching additional equipment
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 12,13 m
- Wingspan: 17,0 m
- Height: 4,56 m
- Wing area: 40,0 m2
- Empty weight: 4562kg
- Gross weight: 6900 kg
- Maximum Take-off Weight: 7,527 kg
- Powerplant: 2 × 14-cylinder, two-cylinder, air-cooled, Nakajima NK1F Sakae 21 radial piston engine, with 840 kW (1,130 hp) each
- Propellers: Three-bladed propeller with constant rotational speed with a diameter of 3,048 mm.
Performance
- Maximum speed: 507 km/h
- Cruise Speed: 333 km/h
- Range: 2,547km
- Maximum Range: 3,778 km
- Service ceiling: 9,400 m
- Time to Climb to: 9 minutes 35 seconds at an altitude of 5,000 m
Armament
- Guns:
- 2 x Type 99 Model 2 cannons behind the cockpit at 30 degrees upwards (100 rounds per gun)
- 2 x Type 99 Model 2 cannons under hull at 30 degrees downwards (100 rounds per cannon)
- 1 x Type 99 Nose Cannon (Optional)
- Bombs:
- 2 x 30 kg bombs
- 2 x 60 kg bombs
- 2 x 250 kg bombs
- Fuel dump tanks:
- 2 x 310 L dump tanks under wings
- 2 x 330 L dump tanks under wings
Radar equipment
- 1 x FD-1 Radar in the Nose (Optional)
- 1 x FD-1/H-6 Radar in the Nose (Optional)
Armour
- 9.5mm thick armor plate behind the pilot
Summary
The Nakajima J1N1-S is an interesting aircraft for Japan in War Thunder. It is a very interesting aircraft with an interesting history. This aircraft has powerful armament that will be dangerous to enemy bombers and fighters. I encourage you to discuss in the comments and to share your own knowledge on this subject.
Finally, I apologize for the linguistic and logical errors because unfortunately English is not my main language and I had to use google translator.
Internet sources
月光 (航空機) - Wikipedia
夜間戦闘機 『月光』/中島Nakajima J1N | 大日本帝国軍 主要兵器 (japanese-warship.com)
中岛“月光”夜间战斗机开发简史_凤凰网 (ifeng.com)
Nakajima J1N - Wikipedia
Nakadžima J1N1-S 11 Gekkó [Irving] : Nakadžima (valka.cz)
Nakajima J1N Gekko (aviadejavu.ru)
Nakajima J1N1-C Type 2 / J1N1-S Gekko (Irving) Info (daveswarbirds.com)
Nakajima J1N (“Gekko”) Prototypes and Projects | | Secret Projects Forum
Уголок неба ¦ Nakajima J1N Gekko (airwar.ru)
Nakajima J1N Gekko (Moonlight) (combinedfleet.com)
Nakajima J1N Gekko ‘Irving’ — avionslegendaires.net
Nakajima J1N Gekko / IRVING - escort, night fighter (aviastar.org)
Nakajima J1N1 Irving (Gekko) Type 2 Land Based Reconnaissance Aircraft - Technical Information (pacificwrecks.com)
Nakajima J1N1-S “Gekko” (Irving) (aviation-history.com)
J1N Night Fighter - Irving, Nakajima (airpages.ru)
Nakajima J1N1-C Type 2 / J1N1-S Gekko (Irving) Info (daveswarbirds.com)
Book sources
- Fuerzas aéreas del ejército de los Estados Unidos - page 346-349
Aviones Japonese | PDF | Fuerzas aéreas del ejército de los Estados Unidos | Avión de combate (scribd.com) - Manual on Japanese aircraft, TAIC No. 1, July 1945. Report No. 9-a(43), USSBS Index Section 6 (文書名:Records of the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey ; Entry 46, Security-Classified Intelligence Library. 1932-1947. 65 ft = 米国戦略爆撃調査団文書 ; 各種日本関係情報) (課係名等:Intelligence Branch ; Library and Target Data Division) (シリーズ名:Intelligence, Air: General) - 国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション (ndl.go.jp)
- Model-art-595-Night-fighters.pdf - Dysk Google
- Japanese Aircraft of Wolrld War II : 1937-1945 ,Thomas Newdick, Edition 2 2017, page 43,97
And finally, good luck pilots, the emperor is counting on you.
