Muto Kaneyoshi 12 April 1945

[CHen10]

I'm a bit confused with Muto Kaneyoshi's victory over a P-51 on 12 April 1945. The Yokosuka Kokutai war diary states that three N1K2s engaged P-51s and B-29s at 0920 hours and shot down one P-51 over Chofu, Tokyo. This kill has been credited to Muto Kaneyoshi.

[Data in English is under preparation] 横須賀海軍航空隊戦時日誌　自昭和２０年４月１日至昭和２０年４月３０日（１）

On this day: VII Fighter Command: 90 P-51s are dispatched to escort B-29s on a raid against Tokyo; they claim 15-6-3 Japanese aircraft; Four P-51s are lost. Pacific Wrecks - April 12, 1945

P-51D-20 of 78FS 15FG flown by Christoe, Gordon A was shot down over Tokyo. The report says he was attacked by a "Tojo". However the time of the crash was reported as 1230 hours. National Archives NextGen Catalog

This is quite far from 0920 hours but everything else matches. I can't find any other victory claims over a P-51 on this day so it has to be Muto.

Does anybody have an explanation for this time difference? What time did the B-29s and P-51s arrive at Tokyo on this day? Because if they arrived at 1000 hours or something similar then that would make more sense.

Yokosuka Kokutai war diary 12 April 1945:

Gordon Christoe's P-51 Pee Wee far left:

Artist depiction of the "Yo-104" flown by Muto

 

[CHen10]

Just found this:

506th Fighter Group Iwo Feb-Apr 1945: 506th fighter Group, 457 Fighter Squadron, 458 Fighter Squadron, 462 Fighter Squadron

506th fighter Group 457 Fighter Squadron 458 Fighter Squadron 462 Fighter Squadron Iwo to Japan are available area.

506thfightergroup.org

The 15th Fighter Group comprised of the 45th, 47th and 78th Fighter Squadrons was the first to arrive at Iwo Jima, via Hawaii and Saipan in February.

First Lieutenant Hank Ryniker, 47th Squadron: "A field order for the next VLR mission looked like a repeat of the first - escort 73rd Bomb Wing to Tokyo, takeoff at 0800, 12 April, 1945."

47th Squadron, just like 78th Squadron, was part of the 15th Fighter Group of 7th (VII) Fighter Command. If Ryniker stated that the P-51s took off at 0800 hours, does anyone know how long would it take for the P-51s to get to Tokyo from Iwo Jima? The time they arrived at Tokyo would roughly be the time Christoe went down.

 

[Reegor]

How was time measured in the Japanese vs US reports? Z time (GMT), local time, Tokyo time, etc. Unless someone had already translated the times in what you were reading, I would expect them to be based on a different time zone. Flight time to Tokyo is documented in many accounts of bombers, but you can just divide distance by cruising speed to make your own estimate. Good luck.

 

[CHen10]

I looked at that possibility, but Tokyo time is the same as Iwo Jima time so both places are in the same time zone.



I found a Japanese website which says the B-29s and P-51s were in the target area from 1108-1121 hours.

『横須賀海軍航空隊』

横須賀海軍航空隊大正５年４月１日開隊海軍で最も古く、敗戦まで存続した伝統ある航空隊である。教育・錬成を担当。各機種の航空戦技の研究、新型機の実用実験を担当。高…

ameblo.jp

"{U.S. 21st Bomber Corps/73rd Bomb Wing departs from Isley Airfield on Saipan Island B29: 114 aircraft, 7th Fighter Corps departs from Iwo Jima P51: Approximately 90 aircraft, first target at 1108-1121 (Nakajima aircraft, Musashino Manufacturing Plant), 94 missiles were thrown, 11 missiles were thrown at secondary targets, 2 missiles were thrown at opportunistic targets, and 7 aircraft were sortied with no effect."




This makes sense because the standard tour of operations for an Iwo |ima P-51 pilot was 15 VLR missions—about 105 hours flight time— plus whatever local ground support or patrols were required.

Mustaqngs of Iwo: Mustaqngs of Iwo, 506th Fighter Group, 457 Fighter Squadron, 458 Fighter Squadron, 462 Fighter Squadron Lawrence Smith 472601

506th Fighter Group 457 Fighter Squadron 458 Fighter Squadron 462 Fighter Squadron Iwo to Japan are available area.

www.506thfightergroup.org

105 divide 15 is 7 so one entire mission is 7 hours meaning that flying from Iwo Jima to Tokyo would be 3 and a half hours roughly. This matches Ryniker's statement and the Japanese website because if they took off from 0800 hours and it takes about 3 and a half hours, then the reported time of 1108-1121 hours matches perfectly. This means that Christoe in his P-51 was shot down at 1130 hours rather than 1230 hours. It just doesn't make sense for him to enter Tokyo at 1108-1121 hours and get shot down one hour later.

As for the Yokosuka Kokutai diary saying that the N1K2s attacked the P-51s and B-29s at 0920 hours, the only thing I can think of is that the report meant 1020 hours which would be perfect.


As far I know this was the only mission which involed P-51s over Tokyo that day, so if the Yokosuka Kokutai says they encountered P-51s then they have to be the ones of VII Fighter Command that escorted B-29s of the 73rd Bomb Wing at 1108-1121 hours during which they lost Christoe and three other P-51s.