66 HEAVY FIGHTERS OF WW2
Nakajima J1N1-S Gekko
Type: Twin-engined
night fighter
Crew: Two
Dimensions:
Length: 41ft 11in (12.77m)
Wingspan: 55ft 9in (16.98m)
Height: 15ft (4.5m)
Weights:
Empty: 9,877lb (4,480kg)
Max T/O: 18,043lb (8,184kg)
Performance:
Max Speed: 315mph (507km/h)
Range: 1,580 miles (1,374km)
Powerplant: 2 × Nakajima NK1F Sakae
21 radial engines of
1,130hp each
Armament: 4 × 20mm Type99
cannons (two upward-
and two downward-firing)T
he Nakajima J1N was a versatile
Japanese aircraft that had four
distinct lives: long-range fighter,
reconnaissance platform, night fighter and,
finally, kamikaze.
The Nakajima J1N began life as a three-seat,
daylight escort fighter first flown flown in 1941.
However, in the two years since the Imperial
Japanese Navy had requested designs for twin-
engined fighters, Mitsubishi had developed
the Zero and this superlative fighter had solved
the bomber escort problem. Subsequently,
the Navy authorised Nakajima to convert the
design into a high-speed, long-range, naval
reconnaissance aircraft. Sweeping changes to
the airframe, engines, and armament made
the aircraft more reliable and suitable for the
new mission. Between April 1942 and March
1943, Nakajima delivered 54 of the new model,
the J1N1-C. When US forces first encounteredNakajima J1N
the aircraft during early operations in the
Solomon Islands they codenamed it the
‘Irving’ under the mistaken impression it was a
fighter. However, just as specialist night-fighter
design had largely been ignored by European
nations before World War 2, Japan’s similar
failing left the country without adequate night
defence when the fortunes of war began
to turn in 1943. Accordingly, a J1N1-C was
modified for night interceptor work, with the
observer’s position behind the pilot removed
and replaced with two 20mm cannon fixed
to fire above and to the front of the new
night fighter at a 30-degree angle. Two more
cannons were mounted in similar fashion but
fired downwards. On the night of 21 May, the
modified ‘Irving’ intercepted and shot down a
pair of B-17 bombers. This immediate success
caught the attention of the Naval Staff and
they ordered Nakajima to begin full-scale
production. The new interceptor was named
the J1N1-S Gekko (Moonlight). At this time,
no one in Allied intelligence circles expected
the Japanese to field an effective night
fighter and months passed before anyone
discovered what lay behind a string of regularBelow: In service with Japan’s 251st, 302nd and
322nd Kokutais, the J1N1-S night-fighters proved
fairly effective against the B-24, but with the
appearance of the faster and higher Boeing B-29,
the Gekko was seldom able to make more than a
single firing attack.and mysterious losses of both Boeing B-17s
and Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers.
Nakajima concentrated on producing the
Gekko version of the J1N for the remainder
of the war. Nearly 500 J1N1 aircraft, including
prototypes, escort, reconnaissance, and night
fighters were built during World War 2. A large
number were also used as kamikaze aircraft in
the final throws of war.