Hiroyoshi Nishizawa
| Hiroyoshi Nishizawa | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 西澤 広義 |
| Nickname(s) | Demon of Rabaul |
| Born |
27 January 1920 Nagano Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | 26 October 1944 (aged 24) Mindoro, Philippines |
| Allegiance |
 Empire of Japan
|
| Service/branch |
 Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJN) |
| Years of service | 1936–1944 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Junior Grade (posthumous) |
| Unit | Tainan Air Group |
| Battles/wars | |
Lieutenant Junior Grade Hiroyoshi Nishizawa (西澤 広義 Nishizawa Hiroyoshi?, January 27, 1920 – October 26, 1944) was an ace of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during World War II.
It is possible that Nishizawa was the most successful Japanese fighter ace of the war; he personally claimed to have had 102 aerial victories at the time of his death. Some uncertainty is due to the Japanese habit of recording victories for pilots' units, rather than the individual, after 1941, as well as the often wildly exaggerated claims of aerial kills that were frequently accepted. Some sources credit Nishizawa with over 120 to 150 victories.
Hiroyoshi Nishizawa was born 27 January 1920 in a mountain village in the Nagano Prefecture, the fifth son of Mikiji and Miyoshi Nishizawa. His father was the manager of a sake brewery. Hiroyoshi graduated from higher elementary school and then began to work in a textile factory.
In June 1936, a poster caught his eye, an appeal for volunteers to join the Yokaren (flight reserve enlistee training program). Nishizawa applied and qualified as a student pilot in Class Otsu No. 7 of 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 Kōkūtai (air groups/wings). In October 1941, he was transferred to the Chitose Kōkūtai, with the rank of petty officer 1st class.
After the outbreak of war with the Allies, Nishizawa's squadron (chutai) from the Chitose Air Group, then flying the obsolete Mitsubishi A5M, moved to Vunakanau airfield on the newly taken island of New Britain. The squadron received its first Mitsubishi Zeros (A6M2, Model 21) the same week.
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