Allied Opinion of IJN vs. IJA Fighter Pilots

[GuerraCivil]

One thing that may give food of thought is how much combat experience Japanese pilots (IJN/IJA) actually adquired in China before the Pacific war. I came accross of this when I did read the interview of a Japanese bomber pilot who served in China in late 1930´s and early 1940´s. He told that he was never attacked by Chinese fighter or even saw one during his missions.

It may have been rather limited experience in China due to limited chances of air combat. For example it is known that IJN´s "Claude" fighters were equipped with drop tanks not only to escort bombers but also to force Chinese in air combat as Chinese usually avoided air combats near front lines. There were also repeated bans from Chinese Air command to be involved in combat with Japanese fighters (it was more important to shoot down bombers and not waste the limited number of planes in fighter vs. fighter combats).

The Chinese Air Force was hit pretty hard already by 1937, and the appearance of Soviet planes and volunteers did not turn the balance. In 1940-1941 Zero pilots managed to have very few combat opportunities against Chinese and they were probably the most one-sided air battles of all times. IIRC, Chinese lost in two combats 27 of their fighters while Zero losses were 0 (the only Zero loss in China in 1940-1941 was due to AA). This created the myth of "invicible Zero" - based on couple of combats against less trained and less experienced enemy flying inferior planes.

So I think that Chinese experience is somewhat overestimated as a practical school of Japanese fighter pilots. Of course some important tactical lessons were learned like the adoption of "loose V" formation which was a significant step ahead from traditional stiff "vic", which Japanese were using still in late 1930´s.

The Nomonhan war against Soviets in 1939 may have been actually more challenging school of combat as Japanese pilots had to fight against numerically superior enemy with technically equal equipment (I-16, I-153) compared to their own planes (Ki-27, Ki-10). It is also important to note, that among Soviet pilots there were battle-hardened veterans of Spanish Civil War (and China). It is a myth that Soviet pilots were all rookies. The best Soviet pilots were at least as good as their Japanese counterparts.

Leaving the massive (and even ridiculous) overclaiming of Nomonhan air war aside, the tactical result in fighter vs. fighter combats in Nomonhan favoured IJA pilots as IJAAF lost 63 fighters in air combat and Soviet fighter regiments lost 130 planes in combat. These figures are based on official loss records of both sides and thus give more reliable picture than the exaggerated claim records of both sides.