-
Aircraft:
Nakajima J1N1-S Gekko
- Reg: 3-102 photos
-
Serial #:
7334
- Airline: Japan - Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN)
- Photo Date: Jan 18, 2015
- Uploaded: Feb 08, 2016
- Other Location - NASM Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center, USA - Virginia
Notes:
Originally designed as a three-seat, daylight escort fighter plane by the Nakajima Aeroplane Company, Ltd., and flown in 1941, the IRVING was modified as a night fighter in May of 1943 and shot down two American B-17 bombers to prove its capability. The Gekko (meaning moonlight) was redesigned to hold only two crewmen so that an upward firing gun could be mounted where the observer once sat. Nearly five hundred J1N1 aircraft, including prototypes, escort, reconnaissance, and night fighters were built during World War II. A sizeable number were also used as Kamikaze aircraft in the Pacific. The few that survived the war were scrapped by the Allies. This J1N1 is the last remaining in the world. It was transported from Japan to the U.S. where it was flight tested by the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1946. The Gekko then flew to storage at Park Ridge, IL, and was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution. The restoration of this aircraft, completed in 1983, took more than four years and 17,000 man-hours to accomplish.
Photographer
Contact photographer for terms of use.
Aircraft
Photo location
Photographer
Badges
None
Notes
Originally designed as a three-seat, daylight escort fighter plane by the Nakajima Aeroplane Company, Ltd., and flown in 1941, the IRVING was modified as a night fighter in May of 1943 and shot down two American B-17 bombers to prove its capability. The Gekko (meaning moonlight) was redesigned to hold only two crewmen so that an upward firing gun could be mounted where the observer once sat. Nearly five hundred J1N1 aircraft, including prototypes, escort, reconnaissance, and night fighters were built during World War II. A sizeable number were also used as Kamikaze aircraft in the Pacific. The few that survived the war were scrapped by the Allies. This J1N1 is the last remaining in the world. It was transported from Japan to the U.S. where it was flight tested by the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1946. The Gekko then flew to storage at Park Ridge, IL, and was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution. The restoration of this aircraft, completed in 1983, took more than four years and 17,000 man-hours to accomplish.Camera
Canon EOS 60D | Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Show Exif data-
Aircraft
- Reg: 3-102 photos
-
Aircraft:
Nakajima J1N1-S Gekko
- Airline: Japan - Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN)
-
Serial #:
7334
-
Photo Location
-
Other Location - NASM Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center
- USA - Virginia
