"a phosphorus flare"・あくまで参考として。


照明弾をa phosphorus flareと表現している資料として、こちらの資料も見つけていたのだが、とりあえず根拠としては用いません。

Every single day this lesson in self confidence is bombarded into your mind. My best friend was my Kbar knife. I used it for everything. It was a utilitarian knife that I used to cut wire, open coconuts and opening cans. I never used it as it was intended, to stab somebody, I never got that close. The only Japanese I killed was one night when I was hiding in a foxhole. A Japanese solider was creeping along our lines when a phosphorus flare went up and lit up the whole area. In the light of the phosphorus flare I saw him before he saw me and I used my carbine. I shot him in conjunction with Sergeant Wilson who was with me at the time. We both put a couple of bullets in this Japanese soldier’s head. I noticed he was carrying a Japanese flag at his chest. I took the flag as a souvenir and still have it to this day.

It was customary for the Japanese to carry a rising sun flag to show their love of their country. I have the flag right here (see photo). There are two flags, the rising sun and the Navy version which is a rising sun with rays of the sun shooting out of it.

http://www.belmontlions.com/theultimatebattle.htm


根拠として用いない理由は、アムネスティ報告書を目の敵にしている人が「a phosphorus flareとは、白燐を使用した照明弾のことだ」とか言い出すんじゃないかなぁ、と思ったためです。

一応、沖縄戦当時、”白燐を使用した照明弾”なるものが広く使用されていたのかどうか調べてみたんですが、否定するに充分な根拠は得られませんでした。ま、それほど調べたわけじゃありませんけど。


多分、多用された照明弾は、M83A3、M301A2、M335A2あたりではなかろうか、とは思うんですけどね。

60mm mortar Illuminating round M83A3- This will eject a flare that provides 250,000 candle power of illumination for a minimum of 32 seconds. The parachute slows its descent to 10 feet per second. Range is about 1,100 years (about 2/3 of a mile).

81mm mortar Illuminating round M301A2- This has a flare that provides 500,000 candle power of illumination for a minimum of 60 seconds. The parachute slows its descent to 18 feet per second. Range is about 2,300 years (about 1.3 miles).

4.2 inch (107mm) mortar Illuminating round M335A2- This will eject a flare with a 70 inch diameter parachute that will provide 850,000 candle power of illumination for a minimum of 90 seconds. It can be fired up to about 5,700 years (about 3 miles).

http://ugca.org/07jan/night.htm


ただ、大元の兵士の回想を見る限り、別に白燐使用だとかを確認して「a phosphorus flare」と呼んでいるような箇所でもなく、あくまで一般的な照明弾を「a phosphorus flare」と呼んでいるように読めますね。照明弾の反応薬剤の種類を特定して表現しているような文脈ではありませんし。