Tetsuzō Iwamoto

Tetsuzō Iwamoto
Tetsuzo Iwamoto in 1945
Nickname	Zero Fighter Ace Kotetsu "Tiger Tetsu"
Born	June 15, 1916 border town of Karafuto(Sakhalin)
Died	May 20, 1955 Masuda, Shimane Prefecture, Japan
Allegiance	Japan
Service/branch	Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJN)
Years of service	1934-1945
Rank	Sub-Lieutenant
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Order of the Golden Kite - 5th class

Sub-Lieutenant Tetsuzō Iwamoto (岩本徹三, Iwamoto Tetsuzō) (15 June 1916–20 May 1955) was one of the top scoring fighter aces of the Empire of Japan, during World War II.^[1] His total of confirmed claims is believed to be about 80. ^[2] Iwamoto was one of only a few Japanese aviators to see action over China, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. By the end of the war, he had served as a Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) frontline Chutai (squadron leader) and flying instructor.

By mid-1944, Iwamoto and Hiroyoshi Nishizawa were the only IJNAS fighter pilots credited with over 100 victories (kills). Because their respective totals are disputed, it is unclear which pilot was Japan's most successful ace. A diary, found after Iwamoto's death, suggests that he destroyed 202 aircraft, belonging to units from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. However, IJNAS pilots tended to log higher victory claims than those from other air services, in part because the IJNAS used a unique victory-claiming system, modelled on that of the British Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS).^{[citation needed]} In 1993, two scholars estimated that Iwamoto was probably the top ace of the IJNAS and had destroyed approximately 80–87 enemy aircraft.^[3]

Iwamoto entered the IJNAS in 1934 and completed pilot training in December 1936. His first combat occurred over China in early 1938, during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He emerged as the top naval ace of the war, credited with 14 aerial victories. He subsequently flew Zeroes, based on the aircraft carrier Zuikaku from December 1941 to May 1942, including at the Battle of the Coral Sea.

In late 1943, Iwamoto's air group was sent to Rabaul, New Britain, during three months of the hardest combat for the IJNAS — against air raids by Allied air units.^[4][5] Iwamoto was later based at Truk Atoll in the Caroline Islands. In 1945, during the last months of the war, Iwamoto served as an instructor, training junior pilots.^[6]

Like many Japanese veterans, Iwamoto is reported to have suffered from depression, following the end of the war.

Early life

Tetsuzo was the third son of the Iwamoto family. He was born on a border town, in the southern part of Karafuto, 15 June 1916, he later grew up in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. He enjoyed skiing in his elementary school days. When he lived in Sapporo, his father was a chief police officer.

When he was 13, his father retired and Tetsuzo moved with his family to his father's hometown, Masuda, Shimane prefecture. He studied at the Prefectural Masuda Agricultural and Forestry High School. His favorite school subjects were mathematics and geometry; in these subjects, he always scored A's on his school report.

He was an active and nimble boy. He joined a school club brass band as a trumpeter. Another hobby was growing plants and flowers. He helped local fishermen in the fishing season, going out to the sandy beach early in the morning and driving fish into the nets. He talked down to his teachers sometimes in discussions, which was very impolite for a school student in pre-war Japan. He was regarded as the most opinionated student in his school.

Starting military career

Iwamoto started his military career in 1934, after he graduated the school at 18. Following the advice from his parents to study while young, Tetsuzo left for a large city where he was supposed to take a college entrance examination. He, however, secretly applied for and passed the exam of Imperial Japanese naval airman 4th class, soon be promoted to 3rd class 5 months later. His parents were very disappointed reportedly, for they became counting on Tetsuzo rather than his eldest brother, who was already studying at some university in a large city and wouldn't come back to Masuda.^[7]

In 1936, when he was a naval mechanic 2nd class and a crewman on the light aircraft carrier Ryujo, he studied hard and passed the difficult IJNAS exam, among thousands of applicants, being enrolled in the class 34th Soju-Renshusei (Soren in short, means flight trainee program) for naval petty officers and sailors. He graduated as one of the select 26 young aviators of the class 34th Soju-Renshusei (flight trainee program) in December of that year.

On April 4, 1936, he was sent to Kasumigaura-Ku (Kasumigaura FR(AG)) as a probation for the class 34th Sojyu-Renshusei (flight trainee program), then on April 28, formally joined Kasumigaura-Ku. While his training going on November 1, 1936, he was promoted to naval mechanic 1st class. Finally on December 26, he graduated 34th class of Sojyu-Renshusei, was promoted to airman 1st class (old rank name of pre-war Japan, equivalent to senior airman).

During flight training school at the Tomobe branch of Kasumigaura-Ku (Kasumigaura FR(AG)), his fighter course instructor was the famous Chitoshi Isozaki. Isozaki was promoted to lieutenant until the end of the war and was later respected among all ranks of IJNAS Zero fighter pilots postwar Japan.

The six members of the fighter course, the class 34th Soju-Renshusei were as followed^[8]:

• Hamada, Inao, reportedly died on his first mission of escorting bombers to Hankou, China, Feb. 18, 1938, 13th FR(AG).
• Hatanaka, Morinosuke, survived the war.
• Iwamoto, Tetsuzo, survived the war.
• Iwase, Kiichi, was reported killed taking off from Buna Airfield, East New Guinea, at 0615JST, August 26, 1942, 2nd FR(AG).
• Kuwabara, Kiyomi, survived the war.
• Yamashita, Sadao, was reported killed at Lae airfield, East New Guinea, August 27, 1942, Tainan FR(AG)
• Yoshii, Kyouichi, reportedly died on a Port Moresby air raid, East New Guinea, March 23, 1942, 4th FR(AG)

In December 1936. Iwamoto entered Saeki Kokutai (Air Group) for 6 months of advanced training (called as extended education), finished and next entered Omura Kaigun Kokutai (Naval Air Group) at July 16, 1937. He had hard training there every day from senior pilots including Air Petty Officer 1st class Toshio Kuroiwa (rank grade was at that time), who was the IJNAS legendary dogfight master pilot. Tetsuzo Iwamoto (called Tetsu in short from his senior pilots) had to wait for his debut until February 10, 1938.

China front

Tetsuzo's ability as a fighter pilot was recognized by all on his first air mission with the 13th Flying Group on February 25, 1938 over Nanchang, China.

After combat training, on February 10, 1938, Tetsuzo Iwamoto was led by his leader APO 1/C Toshio Kuroiwa, flying for two and a quarter hours over the China Sea from Omura Airbase at Nagasaki to the airfield outside of Nanjing, China.

His squadron on the Chinese frontline was the 13th Flying Group Fighter Squadron. This Flying Group was the considered the best and was famed as the Nango Fighter Squadron, named after its former squadron leader, Mochifumi Nangō, who showed extreme courage and conspicuous leadership. Nango had a famous samurai sword named Kotetsu with him, which became the metaphor for old IJNAS pilots' yearned for Commander Nango^{[clarification needed]}.

Iwamoto's first combat came on February 25, 1938 over Nanchang. The squadron fighters escorted bombers Type 96 land-based attack aircraft. Then the Chinese Air Force attacked. His squadron leader Lieutenant Takuma was lost on this mission.

Iwamoto described his first combat in his notes. During the escort mission, his squadron was intercepted by sixteen I-15s and I-16s at an altitude of 5000 meters. Iwamoto claimed 4 victories (1 probable) in the combat. He got his first victory by firing when within 50m of the enemy fighter. He first saw white smoke, then the enemy burned up and crashed. He was then at an altitude of 4000 m. When he looked back, there was an enemy fighter just behind him. He instantly made a Split S maneuver and narrowly escaped.

He got his second victory against an I-15. He saw it below him, turned and attacked from its 6 o'clock high. When it was hit, it climbed sharply and went spinning downward out of control and crashed into the ground. He kept his altitude of 4,000 m. He got an I-16 at the top of its roll in his gunsight and fired a burst, its engine burning and out of control; Tetsuzo lost sight of it before it crashed, and he reported this as probable. Another I-15 came down to him from 12 o'clock ahead. Both made a climb and were soon in a dogfight. The I-15 tried to break free of him and made a straight dive. That action made it easier for Tetsuzo to aim. He downed this I-15 on farmland near the airfield. He was down to an altitude of 2000 m.

Above him, many enemy fighters kept maneuvering. He found one of them coming down with landing gears down. He chased it to an altitude of 200 m and fired a burst. The I-16 was surprised and made a split S maneuver, but crashed at a corner of the airfield. This was his 4th victory.

Anti-aircraft guns started firing heavily, and he found himself in a terrible barrage of flak. Rushing to escape at full throttle with a number of enemy fighters behind him, he succeeded in returning safely from the battlefield. His leader Kuroiwa had already returned to the Wuhu airfield, Anhui China, waiting for his return. Kuroiwa scolded Tetsu severely for his rash attacks of the day.

The escort mission fighter members list, 13th Flying Group on Feb. 25 1938

Chutai and Shotai	Leader	Wingman	Wingman
1st Chutai
1st Shotai	Lt. S.Takuma, lost	APO 3/C K.Suzuki	APO 3/C S.Omori
3rd Shotai	APO 1/C T.Kuroiwa	APO 2/C J.Kusunoki	A 1/C T.Iwamoto
5th Shotai	APO 1/C S.Akamatsu	APO 2/C T.Matsuyama
(Shotai-12FG)	APO 2/C T.Koizumi	A 1/C Y.Ozeki
2nd Chutai
2nd Shotai	Lt.J.G. Y.Yotsumoto	APO 3/C K.Kashimura	A 1/C T.Ochi, lost
4th Shotai	APO 1/C T.Arai	APO 3/C A.Kikuchi	A 1/C M.Matsumura
6th Shotai	APO 1/C M.Naitoh	APO 3/C K.Fujiwara

• Every rank name was the old rank name used in pre-war Japan, May 1, 1929 - May 31, 1941
• Air Petty Officer 3rd Class Kanichi Kashimura was the famous national hero of Japan for his miraculous return safely with his Type 96 carrier fighter left wing lost in combat December 1937.
• Air Petty Officer 1st Class Toshio Kuroiwa was the best dogfighting master pilot before the Pacific War. He was the national hero and one of the trio of IJNAS's first aerial victory over Shanghai on February 22, 1932. He finished his combat with 13 victories on the China front. He was promoted to Warrant Officer and retired IJN after the air battle settled in China October 1938, became a pilot of commercial airline Dai Nippon Koku. It was the most successful career course for a non commissioned officer pilot in peacetime Japan. He was missing off shore Malay Peninsula on an aerial transport task August 26, 1944, officially recognized as honorably died on a military mission.
• Air Petty Officer 1st Class Sadaaki Akamatsu was another dogfight master pilot before the Pacific War. He was famous for his yo-yo tactics.^[9]

The 13th Flying Group Fighter Squadron was merged with the 12th Fighter Squadron on March 22, 1938, where Type 96 carrier fighters for 1st Chutai had gears painted in red called Red legs squadron, for 2nd Chutai in blue called Blue legs squadron.

Iwamoto was awarded the citation of flying group Cmdr Tsukahara for his extreme courage and conspicuous gallantry in action above and beyond the call of duty as a fighter pilot against intense Chinese Air Force on April 29, 1938. He made 82 sorties and 14 victories credited in the China front. Tetsuzo Iwamoto became the top IJNAS ace. His activities subsequently earned him Order of the Golden Kite - 5th class recommendation in 1940.

In September 1938, 22 years old Iwamoto was ordered back to Japan, where he became a member of the Saiki Air Group and appointed to a training staff.

His flight log

Flying Technique: Class-A of IJNAS

Flght hours: over 8,000hrs on March 1944

(net hours, not tripled as U.S. single-seated fighter pilot. It was very unusual among IJNAS,^[10] IJAAF^[11] fighter pilots, although 10,000 flying hours were usual among multi-seated aircraft)

Oceanic Transition: possible, navigating and leading his fighter chutai (without Radar)

Instrument Flight: possible

Night Flight: possible

Single-seat Fighter renaissance and attack mission across night ocean: possible

Night landing: possible with simple approach lighting system

Night carrier landing: possible with approach path indicator lights

Note that only experienced ranked fighter pilots in IJNAS could do instrument flight with their single-seated fighter aircraft on their combat mission, few IJNAS officer pilots could do instrument flight even to their best.

His tactics

Single to single dogfight tactic - from losing to winning ^[12]

Quick roll (Roll Sempoh)

(up and down quick roll tactic, skidding sideways (sudden decelerate) within 1/2 quick roll to forward the opponent aircraft on one's tail and get tail shot position of it. Cmdr Takeo SHIBATA promoted, his men developed and taught him.^[13])

Coke-screw loop (Hineri-Komi Sempoh)

(short-cut or twist-in loop tactic, skidding loop. Lieutenant Isamu Mochizuki's special, Section leader and Warrant Officer Toshio KUROIWA trained him.^[14])

Yo-yo turn (Suichoku-Senkai Kasoku Sempoh)

(Lt. JG Sadaaki AKAMATSU's special at China front.^[15] )

Formation tactics -

Two groups linked formation attack

one section plays offense, zooming and diving formation attack, another section plays defense, positioned on the higher altitude to cover and support the offense section.

Keeping his groups underneath thick clouds to hide his formation and waiting until the small number of opponent aircraft group coming down, then diving and zooming attack with all in formation.

Attacking the opponent groups after their mission over and on the way to the waiting circle, in a group to fly back across the distance range over the sea. This tactics was taken when his group had much less number of aircraft.

No.3 Aerial Bomb attack tactic^[16] -

Twelve o'clock high vertical dive attack from the front top in inverted flight (Haimen Suichoku Kohka Sempoh)

Almost vertical diving (about 60 degree) attack because the 30kg No.3 Aerial Bomb needs the releasing speed over 280knot/h to work timer correctly for 1st small explosion.

Inverted flight at the starting point because Zero Fighter could not keep steep angle while diving due to its excellent flight stability.

Victories

China Front, Feb.1938 - Sep.1938

14 victories:

I-15, I-16 (citation as the IJNAS top ace)

World War II, Pacific Front and Indian Front, 8 December 1941 - 15 August 1945

228 aerial victories:

victories - 202

shared victories - 26

unconfirmed - 27

damaged - 2

destroyed on the ground - 2

• Strafed Destroyers - 3 (Rapopo Rabaul, Night 5 February 1944)
• Strafed Landing Craft - some hundreds (Kerama islands, Okinawa, night 26 March 1945)
• Strafed Airfields - Lae, Eastern New Guinea, 23 January 1942; Torokina, Bougainville, Solomons, night 1944)

Postwar

Postwar tales of friendship between Allied pilots and IJNAS aces were not the case for Iwamoto. Allied Occupation Forces searched for war criminals in the Japanese Officer Corps. He was summoned twice to Douglas MacArthur's Allied GHQ office in Tokyo. Though he was not declared a war criminal, he was blacklisted for public sector employment. Managers of nongovernmental businesses and factories in his hometown also did not employ him.

Japanese journalists who had promoted militarism during World War II started a postwar radio program called ""Shin-Jitsu wa Kou da (The Truth Is This)"", criticizing former heroes.

Iwamoto had a hard time until the San Francisco Peace Conference was held and the Allied Occupation Forces left Japan in the spring of 1952. In 1952, he finally got employment at the spinning mill, Masuda factory of Daiwa Bouseki (now renamed as "Daiwabo" Co., Ltd, 大和紡績 ). However, in the summer 1953, he got a stomachache. A surgeon examined him and diagnosed enteritis. It was found later to be appendicitis. After a series of operations, he complained of a backache. They decided to operate on him again. With cause unknown, they removed three or four ribs without anesthesia. This led to sepsis (septicemia, blood poisoning).

His wife recalled his words, "When I get well, I want to fly again." He died on 20 May 1955.

Notes

1. ^ Dr. Yasuho Izawa, 1993, Gekitsui Oh To Kuusen (Ace and Combat), Kohjin-sha
2. ^ Shores 1983, p.5 4.
3. ^ pp.171-268, Izawa, Hata, 1971, Nippon Kaigun SentouKi Tai, Kanto-sha; pp62 - 63, Izawa, 1993, Nippon Riku-Kaigun Ace Retsuden(IJAF and IJNAS Aces), Kojin-sha
4. ^ pp.127-136, Ryunosuke Kusaka,IJN Grand Fleet
5. ^ ch.9, Gregory Boyington, BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP The general attack to smash Rabaul fortress with all Allied air units continued 17 Dec.1943-Mar.1944.
6. ^

   p.470, Saburo Abe, Zero Fighter Pilots Association, 2004, "My combat against Spitfires on the VJ-day", ZeroSen, Kaku Tatakaeri!, Bunshun-Nesco;

   pp.248-249, Toshio Hijikata, 2004, Kaigun Yobi-Gakusei Zero-Sen KuuSen-Ki (Air combat note of an IJNAS reserved student officer Zero fighter pilot), Kohjin-sha

7. ^ Mrs. Iwamoto's postscript within Zerosen Gekitsui-Oh(Zero fighter ace)
8. ^ Kaigun Sentokitai-Shi (means, Our History of Naval Fighter Units)
9. ^ p.168, Seishun Zerosen Tai
10. ^ IJNAS: Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
11. ^ IJAAF: Imperial Japanese Army Air Force
12. ^ p.127, p.141, p.305 Tetsuzo Iwamoto, 1973. Zero-sen Gekitsui-Oh
13. ^ Roll Sempoh: pp.469, Saburo Abe, Zero Fighter Pilots Association, 2004. ZeroSen, Kaku Tatakaeri!
14. ^ WO Kuroiwa was the section leader when young Iwamoto first went to the China front 1938. Lt. JG Mochizuki was his chutai leader in 281 FR(AG) Mar. 1943 - Oct. 1943.
15. ^ Yo-yo turn: p.168, Noritsura Odaka, 1985, Kohjin-sha. Seishun Zerosen Tai
16. ^ Cmdr Takeshi Sanagi, Senior Staff Officer of the South East Fleet HQ at Rabaul Fortress. Dec 1973, Maru Magazine. Rabaul FR(AG) spirit stands!

References

Books

• Iwamoto, Tetsuzo (194x-?). Iwamoto air combat log notebooks (posthumous detail manuscripts in three volumes of notebooks, found 1970s from his family), 1939-1945. 
• Iwamoto, Tetsuzo (Feb.25,1973). Zero-sen Gekitsui-Oh (means, Zero Fighter Ace, based on the posthumous manuscripts). Kyo-no-wadai-sha. ISBN 4-87565-121-8. 
• Tsunoda, Kazuo (1990). Shura no Tsubasa (means, The Asura's Wing). Tokyo: Kohjin-sha. ISBN 4-7698-1041-5. 
• Odaka, Noritsura (1985). Seishun Zerosen Tai (means, Young Zero Fighters). Tokyo: Kohjin-sha. ISBN 0-14-016561-4. 
• Kusaka, Ryunosuke (Apr. 1952). Rengo Kantai (means, Combined Fleet). Tokyo: Mainichi Shinbunsha (Mainichi Newspaper). 
• Zero Fighter Pilots Association (2004). "Saburo Abe's chapter, Spitfire Gekitsui-Ki (means, My combat against Spitfires on the VJ-day)". ZeroSen, Kaku Tatakaeri! (means, We are Zero fighter pilots, these were our fights!). Tokyo: SeishunNesco-sha. 
• Zero Fighter Pilots Association (1987). "List of naval fighter pilots where he died, who survived". Kaigun Sentokitai-Shi (means, Our History of Naval Fighter Units). Tokyo: Hara-shobo. ISBN 4-562-01842-9. 
• Izawa, Yasuho; Hata, Ikuhiko (1971). Kohku-Jyoho, Nippon Kaigun SentouKi Tai (means, The Japanese Naval Fighter Units in World War II). KanToh-sha. 
• Hata, Ikuhiko; Izawa, Yasuho (1987). Japanese Naval Aces and Fighter Units in World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. 
• Isozaki, Chitosi (1986). Maru Magazine, Chokuei Sentouki-Tai Solomon ni Hateru tomo (means, although we escort fighter unit, pilots had to die over the battle of Solomon). Tokyo: Ushio-shoboh. 
• Abe, Masaharu (12 1993). Maru Magazine extra issue, Watashi ga mita futari no gekitsui-oh (means, Two Aces I met - Nishizawa and Iwamoto). Tokyo: Ushio-shoboh. 
• Takizawa, Kenji (Dec.1984). Maru Magazine, Toyoh Zerosen-Tai Simatsu-Ki (means, The beginning and the end of Zero Fighter Unit attacking overseas to Saipan). Tokyo: Ushio-shoboh. 
• Nakayama, Mitsuo (July 1981). Maru Magazine, B-24 hunter champion, Zero Fighter type52, my one hundred days of combat report. Ushio-shoboh. 
• Shibata, Takeo (1981). Maru Magazine, Hittsui Senten Sempoh Kotohajime (means, The Beginning of IJNAS Quick Roll tactics, I developed). Tokyo: Ushio-shoboh. 
• Genda, Minoru (2002). Kaigun Kokutai Simatsu-Ki, Hasshin (means, The Rise and Fall of IJNAS, first volume -TakeOff-). Bunshun-bunko. 
• Sakaida, Henry. Imperial Japanese Navy Aces 1937-45. Ospray. ISBN 1-855327279. 
• Shores, Christopher; Norman Franks and Russell Guest (January 1991). Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces, 1915-1920. London: Grub Street. ISBN 978-0948817199. 
• Franks, Norman L. R.; Frank W. Bailey (May 1992). Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918. London: Grub Street. ISBN. 
• Tillman, Barrett. "Ch.9 victory credits and wildcat evaluation". Wildcat Aces of World War 2. Ospray. ISBN. 
• Andrew, Thomas (1992). "appendices ace list - Royal Navy Aces". Royal Navy Aces of World War 2. Osprey. ISBN 978-1-84603-178-6. 
• Shores, Christopher (1983). Air Aces. Greenwich, CT: Bison Books. ISBN 0-86124-104-4. 

CG Movie

• Tetsuzō Iwamoto at the Battle of the Coral Sea [EU] (superimposed text in Japanese)

Movie

• Nippon Eiga-sha, Feb.16, 1944, Nippon News No.194 Solomon no Gekisen Nankai-Kessenjo (means, Southern Ocean Battle Fields of Solomon)
• Nippon Eiga-sha, Feb.2, 1944, Nippon News No.192 Rabaul (means, Fortress Rabaul)

External links

• AcesofWW2.com

Victories claimed by Tetsuzo Iwamoto

Kill	Date	Flying	Victim	Place	Notes
12	25/02/1938	A5M ¨Claude¨	6 I-15s 6 I-16s	Nanchang, China
14	-	A5M ¨Claude¨	1 I-5s 1 I-16s	unknown
15	05/04/1942	A6M ¨Zeke¨	PBY-5	Rangoon, Burma
17	25/10/1942	A6M ¨Zeke¨	2 Hurricanes	Rangoon, Burma	Destroyed at the ground
18-25	08/05/1942	A6M ¨Zeke¨	12 Dauntlesses	Coral Sea, Australia
26-29	08/95/1942	A6M ¨Zeke¨	4 Wildcats	Coral Sea, Australia
30-31	02/11/1943	A6M ¨Zeke¨	5 Mitchells	Rabaul, New Guinea
32-37	03/11/1943	A6M ¨Zeke¨	5 Helldivers	Rabaul, New Guinea
37-43	03/11/1943	A6M ¨Zeke¨	6 Dauntlesses	Rabaul, New Guinea
43-49	04/11/1942	A6M ¨Zeke¨	6 Dauntlesses	Rabaul, New Guinea (in separated sorties)
50-53	04/11/1943	A6M ¨Zeke¨	3 Avengers	Rabaul, New Guinea
53-55	04/11/1943	A6M ¨Zeke¨	2 Marauders	Rabaul, New Guinea
56-57	04/11/1943	A6M ¨Zeke¨	2 Mitchells	Rabaul, New Guinea (night kill)
58-59	05/11/1943	A6M ¨Zeke¨	2 P-38s	Rabaul, New Guinea (night kill)
60-61	06/11/1943	A6M ¨Zeke¨	2 P-39s	Rabaul, New Guinea
62	06/11/1943	A6M ¨Zeke¨	1 P-51B	Rabaul, New Guinea
92	06/11/1943	A6M ¨Zeke¨	30 Dauntlesses	Solomon Islands	Destroyed at the ground
93	07/11/1943	A6M ¨Zeke¨	1 Wildcat	Rabaul, New Guinea
100	08/011/1943	A6M ¨Zeke¨	7 Hellcats	Rabaul, New Guinea (in separated sorties)
112	08/11/1943	A6M ¨Zeke¨	12 Corsairs	Rabaul, New Guinea (in separated sorties)
113	09/11/1943	AGM ¨Zeke¨	1 P-40	Brisbane, Australia
114-116	12/11/1943	A6M ¨Zeke¨	2 Spitfires	Ubon, Siam
-	07/01/1944	A6M ¨Zeke¨	1 Blenheim	Krabi, Siam	Damaged
-	07/01/1944	A6M ¨Zeke¨	1 Beaufighter	Krabi, Siam	Burned
117-118	10/01/1944	A6M ¨Zeke¨	2 Avengers	Avon, New Britain
Persondata
Name	Iwamoto, Tetsuzo
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1916
Place of birth	border town of Karafuto(Sakhalin)
Date of death	1955
Place of death	Masuda, Shimane Prefecture, Japan