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Lieutenant Junior Grade was one of the top scoring aces among Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force (IJNAF) fighter pilots.〔Dr. Yasuho Izawa, 1993, ''Gekitsui Oh To Kuusen'' (Ace and Combat), Kohjin-sha〕 He entered the Imperial Navy in 1934 and completed pilot training in December 1936. His first combat occurred over China in early 1938. He emerged as the top naval ace of the campaign, credited with 14 aerial victories. Subsequently he flew Zeros from 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, resulting in three months of the hardest air combat ever undertaken by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force against air raids mounted by U.S. and Allied air units.〔pp.127-136, Ryunosuke Kusaka,''IJN Grand Fleet''〕〔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.〕 Subsequent assignments were Truk Atoll in the Carolines and the Philippines, being commissioned an ensign in October 1944. Following the evacuation of the Philippines, Iwamoto served in home defense and trained kamikaze pilots. Like many Japanese veterans, Iwamoto was reported to have fallen into depression after the war. His diary was found after his death, with claims of 202 Allied aircraft destroyed. As a result of the Japanese use of the British naval practices, the IJNAF scoring system was based on the system the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force (RAF) adopted from World War I until World War II. This system differed from the scoring system used by the U.S. Navy Air Force and U.S. Marine Air Force during World War II. Dr. Izawa and Professor Hata estimated the figure at about 80 or more than 87 in their research work in January 1971. In December 1993 Izawa wrote that Iwamoto was ''virtually'' the top ace of the IJNAF, .〔pp.171-268, Izawa, Hata, 1971, ''Nippon Kaigun SentouKi Tai'', Kanto-sha; pp62 - 63, Izawa, 1993, ''Nippon Riku-Kaigun Ace Retsuden''(IJAF and IJNAF Aces), Kojin-sha〕 As of mid-1944, there remained only two IJNAF fighter pilots who were credited with over 100 victories. Depending on various totals cited, Tetsuzō Iwamoto or Hiroyoshi Nishizawa was Japan's best ace. Iwamoto was known as the Chūtai leader (Flying Company, Squadron of 8 to 16 fighters). Iwamoto was one of few survivors of the IJNAF from the early part of the second world war. He fought over the Indian and the Pacific Ocean from north to south, and trained his young pilots even in the last months of the war.〔 :p.470, Saburo Abe, Zero Fighter Pilots Association, 2004, "My combat against Spitfires on 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 IJNAF reserved student officer Zero fighter pilot)'', Kohjin-sha〕 ==Early life== Tetsuzo was the third son of the Iwamoto family. He was born on a border town, southern part of Karafuto 15 June 1916, 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. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tetsuzō Iwamoto」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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