Operations
In 1943, Commander Yasuna Kozono（小園 安名） of the 251st Kokutai in Rabaul came up with the idea of installing 20 mm cannons at 30 degree angle in the fuselage. Against orders of central command which was skeptical of his idea, he tested his idea on a J1N1-C as a night fighter. The field-modified J1N1-C KAI shot down two B-17s 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 Gekko (月光, "Moonlight"). It required only two crew and like the KAI, had a twin 20 mm pair of Type 99 Model 1 cannon firing upward in a 30° upward angle and a second pair firing downward at a forward 30° angle, placed in the fuselage behind the cabin, similar to the German Schräge Musik configuration, but also in a ventral mode—the original German Schräge Musik mount was strictly upward-firing only. Development of both Japanese and German night fighters were independent of each other. 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 two lower-firing guns and added one 20 mm cannon to face upward as with the other two (J1N1-Sa Model 11a). Other variants without nose antennae or searchlight added a 20 mm cannon to the nose.
The J1N1-S was used against B-29 Superfortresses 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-29s. However, some skillful pilots had spectacular successes, such as Lieutenant 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 (nine victories), Shiro Kuratori (six victories), and Juzo Kuramoto (eight 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 250 kg (550 lb) bombs attached to the wings.
Read more about this topic: Nakajima J1N
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