A Brief History of Hiroyoshi Nishizawa Japanese Fighter Ace
03.11.2025
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The highest-scoring Japanese ace in history, Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, is killed when the Nakajima Ki-49 transport aircraft in which he is riding as a passenger is shot down by a U. S. Navy F6 F Hellcat fighter over Calapan, Mindoro Island, in the Philippine Islands.
Born on 27 January 1920, Lieutenant Junior Grade Hiroyoshi Nishizawa was a Japanese naval aviator and an ace of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during World War II. Nishizawa was known to his colleagues as 'the Devil' for his breathtaking, brilliant and unpredictable aerobatics and superb control of his aircraft while in combat.
In June 1936, a poster caught his eye: - an appeal for volunteers to join the flight reserve enlistee training program. Nishizawa applied and qualified as a student pilot in the Japanese Navy Air Force (JNAF). He completed his flight training course in March 1939, graduating 16th out of a class of 71. Before the war, he served with the Oita, Omura and Suzuka Kokutai (air groups/wings). In October 1941, he was transferred to the Chitose Kokutai, with the rank of petty officer 1st class.
On 1 April 1942, Nishizawa's squadron was transferred to Lae, New Guinea and assigned to the Tainan Air Group. They often clashed with United States Army Air Forces and Royal Australian Air Force fighters operating from Port Moresby. Nishizawa's first confirmable solo kill, of a USAAF P-39 Airacobra, was on April 11. He claimed six more kills in a 72-hour period from 1-3 May, making him a confirmed fighter ace.
It is possible that he was the most successful Japanese fighter ace of the war, reportedly telling his last CO that he had achieved a tally of 86 or 87 aerial victories; post war he was linked with scores of 147 or 103, but both of these scores have been considered inaccurate.
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