Not quite sure how to parse your post, Widewing.
Do you mean that historians conclude that his true score was 80 to 87? If that is seen as his true score, which Icepac seemed to use as his reference as well, is the 1 in 6 kills of an F4U or F6F claim based on the 80 to 87 historians say he got or on the 202 kills his journal claimed? I think you're saying it is nonsense as it is based on his journal in which he overclaimed*. I'll note I don't know the loss numbers for the F4U or F6F.
*I am not suggesting he intentionally overclaimed. In fact I highly doubt it as he kept the journal to himself, but it is an easy thing to mistake an aircraft rolling and diving away, streaming something behind it as having been a kill rather than simply damaged when in the thick of combat. In fact, if the 80-87 number is his true kill count then his claim of 202 would be a lot less of an overclaim than Japanese average.
I can cite a considerable number of air battles where the Japanese over-claimed anywhere from 200% to two orders of magnitude. In some cases, no Allied aircraft were lost but that didn't eliminate the claims. It is sometimes mind boggling. One instance was a battle with the 49th FG, where the Japanese claimed 8 kills. Actual losses were zero. Yet, I'm sure the credit for 8 kills was awarded. The 49th claimed 4 kills for an actual 3 kills and two damaged. The 49th had gun cameras, and the Japanese didn't. They almost never used gun cameras in combat, only in training. Thus, in the absence of an actual wreck, there is no objective evidence to support claims. The lack of objective evidence puts everything into the doubt column.
My reference to being nonsense was in regard to Iwamoto's claims of F4Us and F6Fs. The 80 to 87 count comes from differences between historians. Sakaida says "about 80". This includes all types, and most historians find that early war claims were more accurate than late war claims, largely because much of the late war records were destroyed and commands would award kills liberally for morale reasons. I suspect that Iwamoto claimed nearly everything he shot at.
