The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range
carrier-based
Carrier-based aircraft, sometimes known as carrier-capable aircraft or carrier-borne aircraft, are naval aircraft designed for operations from aircraft carriers. They must be able to launch in a short distance and be sturdy enough to withstand ...
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
formerly manufactured by
Mitsubishi Aircraft Company
Mitsubishi Aircraft CompanyGunston p. 318 (''Mitsubishi Kokuki'') was the new name given by the Mitsubishi Company (''Mitsubishi Shokai''), in 1928, to its subsidiary, Mitsubishi Internal Combustion (''Mitsubishi Nainenki''), to reflect its chang ...
, a part of
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...
, and was operated by the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , or the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen. The A6M was usually referred to by its pilots as the ''Reisen'' (, zero fighter), "0" being the last digit of the
imperial year
The , colloquially known as the or "national calendar year" is a unique calendar system in Japan. It is based on the legendary foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu in 660 BC. ''Kōki'' emphasizes the long history of Japan and the Imperial dynas ...
2600 (1940) when it entered service with the Imperial Navy. The official
Allied reporting name was "Zeke", although the name "Zero" (from Type 0) was used colloquially as well.
The Zero is considered to have been the most capable
carrier-based
Carrier-based aircraft, sometimes known as carrier-capable aircraft or carrier-borne aircraft, are naval aircraft designed for operations from aircraft carriers. They must be able to launch in a short distance and be sturdy enough to withstand ...
fighter in the world when it was introduced early in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, combining excellent maneuverability and very long range.
[Hawks, Chuck]
"The Best Fighter Planes of World War II"
chuckhawks.com. Retrieved: 18 January 2007. The
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
The was the Naval aviation, air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War.
The Japanese military acquired their first air ...
(IJNAS) also frequently used it as a land-based fighter.
In early combat operations, the Zero gained a reputation as a
dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...
er,
[Young 2013, p. 36.] achieving an outstanding kill ratio of 12 to 1,
[Thompson with Smith 2008, p. 231.] but by mid-1942 a combination of new tactics and the introduction of better equipment enabled Allied pilots to engage the Zero on generally equal terms. By 1943, the Zero was less effective against newer Allied fighters due to design limitations. It lacked hydraulic boosting for its
aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
s and rudder, rendering it extremely difficult to maneuver at high speeds. By 1944, with Allied fighters approaching the A6M levels of maneuverability and consistently exceeding its firepower, armor, and speed, the A6M had largely become outdated as a fighter aircraft. However, as design delays and production difficulties hampered the introduction of newer Japanese aircraft models, the Zero continued to serve in a front-line role until the end of the
war in the Pacific
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the Theater (warfare), theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, ...
. During the final phases, it was also adapted for use in ''
kamikaze
, officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
'' operations. Japan produced more Zeros than any other model of combat aircraft during the war.
[Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 138.]
Design and development
The
Mitsubishi A5M
The Mitsubishi A5M, formal Japanese Navy designation , experimental Navy designation Mitsubishi Navy Experimental 9-''Shi'' Carrier Fighter, company designation Mitsubishi ''Ka''-14, was a Japanese carrier-based fighter aircraft. It was the worl ...
fighter was just entering service in early 1937, when the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
(IJN) started looking for its eventual replacement. On 5 October 1937, it issued "Planning Requirements for the Prototype 12-shi Carrier-based Fighter", sending them to
Nakajima and
Mitsubishi
The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries.
Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
. Both firms started preliminary design work while awaiting more definitive requirements a few months later.
Based on the experiences of the A5M in China, the IJN sent out updated requirements in October, calling for a speed of at and a climb to in 9.5 minutes. With
drop tanks
In aviation, a drop tank (external tank, wing tank or belly tank) is used to describe auxiliary fuel tanks externally carried by aircraft. A drop tank is expendable and often capable of being jettisoned. External tanks are commonplace on modern ...
, the Navy wanted an endurance of two hours at normal power, or six to eight hours at economical cruising speed. Armament was to consist of two 20 mm
cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
s, two 7.7 mm (.303 in)
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
s and two
bomb
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...
s. A complete radio set was to be mounted in all aircraft, along with a
radio direction finder
Direction finding (DF), or radio direction finding (RDF), isin accordance with International Telecommunication Union (ITU)defined as radio location that uses the reception of radio waves to determine the direction in which a radio station ...
for long-range navigation.
[Francillon 1970, pp. 363–364.] The maneuverability was to be at least equal to that of the A5M, while the wingspan had to be less than to allow for use on aircraft carriers.
Nakajima's team considered the new requirements unachievable and pulled out of the competition in January. Mitsubishi's chief designer,
Jiro Horikoshi
was the chief engineer of many Japanese fighter designs of World War II, including the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter.
Early life
Jiro Horikoshi was born near the city of Fujioka, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, in 1903. Horikoshi graduated from the new ...
, thought that the requirements could be met, but only if the aircraft were made as light as possible. Every possible weight-saving measure was incorporated into the design. Most of the aircraft was built of a new top-secret aluminium alloy developed by
Sumitomo Metal Industries was a steel manufacturer based in Osaka, Japan until it merged with Nippon Steel in 2012 to form Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation, the third largest steel manufacturer in the world as of 2015.
Its origins as a modern company date from 189 ...
in 1936. Called "
extra super duralumin" (ESD), it was lighter, stronger and more ductile than other alloys (e.g. 24S alloy) used at the time, but was prone to corrosive attack, which made it brittle. This detrimental effect was countered with an
anti-corrosion coating applied after fabrication. No armour protection was provided for the pilot, engine or other critical points of the aircraft, and
self-sealing fuel tank
A self-sealing fuel tank is a type of fuel tank, typically used in aircraft fuel tanks or fuel bladders, that prevents them from leaking fuel and igniting after being damaged.
Typical self-sealing tanks have multiple layers of rubber and reinforc ...
s, which were becoming common among other combatants, were not used. This made the Zero lighter, more maneuverable, and the longest-ranged single-engine fighter of World War II, which made it capable of searching out an enemy hundreds of kilometres away, bringing it to battle, then returning to its base or aircraft carrier. However, that tradeoff in weight and construction also made it prone to catching fire and exploding when struck by enemy fire.
With its low-wing
cantilever
A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
layout, retractable, wide-set
conventional landing gear
Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...
and enclosed cockpit, the Zero was one of the most modern carrier-based aircraft in the world at the time of its introduction. It had a fairly high-lift, low-speed wing with very low
wing loading
In aerodynamics, wing loading is the total mass of an aircraft or flying animal divided by the area of its wing. The stalling speed of an aircraft in straight, level flight is partly determined by its wing loading. An aircraft or animal with a ...
. This, combined with its light weight, resulted in a very low
stalling speed of well below . This was the main reason for its phenomenal maneuverability, allowing it to out-turn any Allied fighter of the time. Early models were fitted with
servo tab
__NOTOC__
A servo tab is a small hinged device installed on an aircraft control surface to assist the movement of the control surfaces. Introduced by the German firm Flettner, servo tabs were formerly known as Flettner tabs. Servo tabs are not ...
s on the
aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
s after pilots complained that control forces became too heavy at speeds above . They were discontinued on later models after it was found that the lightened control forces were causing pilots to overstress the wings during vigorous maneuvers.
Name
The A6M is usually known as the "Zero" from its Japanese Navy
type designation, Type 0 carrier fighter (''Rei shiki Kanjō sentōki'', ), taken from the last digit of the
Imperial year
The , colloquially known as the or "national calendar year" is a unique calendar system in Japan. It is based on the legendary foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu in 660 BC. ''Kōki'' emphasizes the long history of Japan and the Imperial dynas ...
2600 (1940) when it entered service. In Japan, it was unofficially referred to as both ''Rei-sen'' and ''Zero-sen''; Japanese pilots most commonly called it ''Zero-sen,'' where ''sen'' is the first syllable of ''sentōki,'' Japanese for "fighter plane".
In the official designation "A6M", the "A" signified a
carrier-based
Carrier-based aircraft, sometimes known as carrier-capable aircraft or carrier-borne aircraft, are naval aircraft designed for operations from aircraft carriers. They must be able to launch in a short distance and be sturdy enough to withstand ...
fighter, "6" meant that it was the sixth such model built for the Imperial Navy, and "M" indicated Mitsubishi as the manufacturer.
The official Allied code name was "Zeke", in keeping with the practice of giving male names to Japanese fighters, female names to
bombers
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an aircraf ...
, bird names to
gliders, and tree names to
trainers
Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used f ...
. "Zeke" was part of the first batch of "hillbilly" code names assigned by Captain Frank T. McCoy of Nashville, Tennessee (assigned to the
Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit (ATAIU) at
Eagle Farm Airport
Eagle Farm Airport was a small airport located north-east of Brisbane in the suburb of Eagle Farm, Queensland, Australia.
History
An area located near Eagle Farm Racecourse was initially used as a landing field in 1922 and Eagle Farm Aerodr ...
in Australia), who wanted quick, distinctive, easy-to-remember names. The
Allied code for Japanese aircraft was introduced in 1942, and McCoy chose "Zeke" for the "Zero". Later, two variants of the fighter received their own code names. The
Nakajima A6M2-N
The Nakajima A6M2-N (Navy Type 2 Interceptor/Fighter-Bomber) was a single-crew floatplane based on the Mitsubishi A6M Zero Model 11. The Allied reporting name for the aircraft was Rufe.
Design and development
The A6M2-N floatplane was develo ...
floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
version of the Zero was called "Rufe", and the A6M3-32 variant was initially called "Hap". General
"Hap" Arnold, commander of the
USAAF
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
, objected to that name, however, so it was changed to "Hamp".
Operational history
![Mitsubishi-A6M-Zero-Peleliu-2016-Luka-Peternel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Mitsubishi-A6M-Zero-Peleliu-2016-Luka-Peternel.jpg)
The first Zeros (pre-series of 15 A6M2) went into operation with the 12th Rengo Kōkūtai in July 1940.
[Matricardi 2006, p. 88.] On 13 September 1940, the Zeros scored their first air-to-air victories when 13 A6M2s led by Lieutenant Saburo Shindo, escorting 27
G3M "Nell" medium-heavy bombers on a
raid of Chunking, attacked 34 Soviet-built
Polikarpov I-15
The Polikarpov I-15 (russian: И-15) was a Soviet biplane fighter aircraft of the 1930s. Nicknamed ''Chaika'' (''russian: Чайка'', "Seagull") because of its gulled upper wings,Gunston 1995, p. 299.Green and Swanborough 1979, p. 10. it was o ...
s and
I-16 I16 may refer to:
* Interstate 16, an interstate highway in the U.S. state of Georgia
* Polikarpov I-16, a Soviet fighter aircraft introduced in the 1930s
* Halland Regiment
* , a Japanese Type C submarine
* i16, a name for the 16-bit signed integ ...
s of the
Chinese Nationalist Air Force
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
, claimed "all 27" of the Chinese fighters shot down without loss to themselves, however Major
Louie Yim-qun
"Clifford" Louie Yim-qun (; 1914–1999), also known as Louie Yen-chung (), was a Chinese-American pilot and military officer in the Republic of China. Louie's father was from Taishan county, Guangdong, China, but Louie was born in Seattle, Washin ...
had in fact nursed his I-15 riddled with 48 bullet holes back to base, and Lieutenant
Gao Youxin
Gao , or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley.
For much of its history Gao was an impor ...
claimed to have shot down one of Lt. Shindo's Zeroes, but at most 4 Zeroes sustained some damage in the 1/2 hour-long dogfight over Chunking. By the time they were redeployed a year later, the Zeros had shot down 99 Chinese aircraft (up to 266 according to other sources).
At the time of the
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
, 521 Zeros were active in the Pacific, 328 in first-line units.
[Francillon 1979, p. 365.] The carrier-borne Model 21 was the type encountered by the Americans. Its tremendous range of over allowed it to range farther from its carrier than expected, appearing over distant battlefronts and giving Allied commanders the impression that there were several times as many Zeros as actually existed.
[Gunston 1980, p. 162.]
The Zero quickly gained a fearsome reputation.
Thanks to a combination of unsurpassed maneuverability – compared to contemporary Axis fighters – and excellent firepower, it easily disposed of Allied aircraft sent against it in the Pacific in 1941. It proved a difficult opponent even for the
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
. "The RAF pilots were trained in methods that were excellent against German and Italian equipment but suicide against the acrobatic Japs", as
Lt.Gen. Claire Lee Chennault had to notice. Although not as fast as the British fighter, the Mitsubishi fighter could out-turn the Spitfire with ease, sustain a climb at a very steep angle, and stay in the air for three times as long.
[Spick 1997, p. 165.]
Allied pilots soon developed tactics to cope with the Zero. Due to its extreme agility, engaging a Zero in a traditional, turning dogfight was likely to be fatal.
[Spick 1983, p. 118.] It was better to swoop down from above in a high-speed pass, fire a quick burst, then climb quickly back up to altitude. A short burst of fire from heavy machine guns or cannon was often enough to bring down the fragile Zero. These tactics were regularly employed by
Grumman F4F Wildcat
The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet. First used by the British in the North Atlan ...
fighters during
Guadalcanal defense through high-altitude ambush, which was possible due to an early warning system consisting of
Coastwatchers
The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section C, Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II t ...
and
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
. Such "boom-and-zoom" tactics were also successfully used in the
China Burma India Theater
China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was officia ...
(CBI) by the "
Flying Tigers
The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States Ar ...
" of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) against similarly maneuverable Japanese Army aircraft such as the
Nakajima Ki-27 "Nate" and
Nakajima Ki-43 "Oscar". AVG pilots were trained by their commander Claire Chennault to exploit the advantages of their
P-40s, which were very sturdy, heavily armed, generally faster in a dive and level flight at low altitude, with a good rate of roll.
Another important maneuver was Lieutenant Commander
John S. "Jimmy" Thach's "
Thach Weave", in which two fighters would fly about apart. If a Zero latched onto the tail of one of the fighters, the two aircraft would turn toward each other. If the Zero followed his original target through the turn, he would come into a position to be fired on by the target's wingman. This tactic was first used to good effect during the
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...
and later over the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
.
Many highly experienced Japanese aviators were lost in combat, resulting in a progressive decline in quality, which became a significant factor in Allied successes. Unexpected heavy losses of pilots at the Battles of the
Coral Sea
The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...
and Midway dealt the Japanese carrier air force a blow from which it never fully recovered.
Throughout the Battle of Midway Allied pilots expressed a high level of dissatisfaction with the F4F Wildcat. The Commanding Officer of noted:
They were astounded by the Zero's superiority:
In contrast, Allied fighters were designed with ruggedness and pilot protection in mind.
The Japanese ace
Saburō Sakai
was a Japanese naval aviator and flying ace (''"Gekitsui-O"'', ) of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Sakai had 28–64 aerial victories, including shared ones, according to official Japanese records, but his autobiography, ''Samura ...
described how the toughness of early Grumman aircraft was a factor in preventing the Zero from attaining total domination:
When the powerfully armed
Lockheed P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...
, armed with four
"light barrel" AN/M2 .50 cal. Browning machine guns and one
20 mm autocannon, and the
Grumman F6F Hellcat
The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier Grumman F4F Wildcat, F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United St ...
and
Vought F4U Corsair
The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts ...
, each with six AN/M2 .50 calibre Browning guns, appeared in the Pacific theater, the A6M, with its low-powered engine and lighter armament, was hard-pressed to remain competitive. In combat with an F6F or F4U, the only positive thing that could be said of the Zero at this stage of the war was that, in the hands of a skillful pilot, it could maneuver as well as most of its opponents.
Nonetheless, in competent hands, the Zero could still be deadly.
Due to shortages of high-powered aviation engines and problems with planned successor models, namely the superior
Mitsubishi A7M2 Reppū the Zero remained in production until 1945, with over 10,000 of all variants produced.
Allied analysis
Chinese opinions
The Japanese deployed the A6M during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
. Inevitably some machines were lost, with at least two falling more-or-less intact into Chinese hands. The first known example, an A6M2 (the 12th of the 15th pre-production aircraft, Serial V-110), fell near Fainan Island. On 18 September 1940 a team, including Western volunteers assisting the Chinese, examined the wreck. It was largely intact, and a detail report was compiled and sent to the USA. The second, an A6M2-21 (Serial V-173), made a forced landing near Tietsan airfield 17 February 1941. The pilot was shot before he could destroy his plane, the fuel system fixed, and it was taken into Chinese service with the serial P5016. The aeroplane was extensively flown & studied by a team which included
Gerhard Neumann
Gerhard Neumann (October 8, 1917 – November 2, 1997) was an American aviation engineer and executive for General Electric's aircraft engine division (which today is called GE Aviation). Born and raised in Germany, he went to China shortly be ...
, and a detailed & illustrated report was sent to Washington. Overall they were impressed with the quality of the machine, less so by the performance - although this was later put down to using 85 octane fuel rather than the 100 octane required by the Sakae engine.
American opinions
The American military discovered many of the A6M's unique attributes when they recovered a largely intact specimen of an A6M2, the
Akutan Zero
The Akutan Zero, also known as Koga's Zero (古賀のゼロ) and the Aleutian Zero, was a type 0 model 21 Mitsubishi A6M Zero Japanese fighter aircraft that crash-landed on Akutan Island, Alaska Territory, during World War II. It was found ...
, on
Akutan Island
Akutan Island ( ale, Akutanax̂; russian: Акутан) is an inhabited island in the Fox Islands group of the eastern Aleutian Islands in the Aleutians East Borough of Alaska.
Geography
The island is approximately 18 mi (30 km) in ...
in the
Aleutians
The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large vo ...
. During an air raid over
Dutch Harbor
Dutch Harbor is a harbor on Amaknak Island in Unalaska, Alaska. It was the location of the Battle of Dutch Harbor in June 1942, and was one of the few sites in the United States to be subjected to aerial bombardment by a foreign power during Worl ...
on 4 June 1942, one A6M fighter was hit by ground-based anti-aircraft fire. Losing oil, Flight Petty Officer Tadayoshi Koga attempted an emergency landing on Akutan Island about northeast of Dutch Harbor, but his Zero flipped over on soft ground in a sudden crash-landing. Koga died instantly of head injuries (his neck was broken by the tremendous impact), but his wingmen hoped he had survived and so went against Japanese doctrine to destroy disabled Zeros.
The relatively-undamaged fighter was found over a month later by an American salvage team and was shipped to
Naval Air Station North Island
Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...
, where testing flights of the repaired A6M revealed both strengths and deficiencies in design and performance.
[Wilcox 1942, p. 86.]
The experts who evaluated the captured Zero found that the plane weighed about fully loaded, some lighter than the F4F Wildcat, the standard United States Navy fighter of the time. The A6M's airframe was "built like a fine watch"; the Zero was constructed with
flush rivet
A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...
s, and even the guns were flush with the wings. The instrument panel was a "marvel of simplicity… with no superfluities to distract
he pilot. What most impressed the experts was that the Zero's fuselage and wings were constructed in one piece, unlike the American method that built them separately and joined the two parts together. The Japanese method was much slower, but resulted in a very strong structure and improved close maneuverability.
American test pilots found that the Zero's controls were "very light" at , but stiffened at faster speeds (above ) to safeguard against wing failure.
[Green and Swanborough 2001] The Zero could not keep up with Allied aircraft in high-speed maneuvers, and its low "
never exceed speed
In aviation, V-speeds are standard terms used to define airspeeds important or useful to the operation of all aircraft. These speeds are derived from data obtained by aircraft designers and manufacturers during flight testing for aircraft type- ...
" (V
NE) made it vulnerable in a dive. Testing also revealed that the Zero could not roll as quickly to the right as it could to the left, which could be exploited.
While stable on the ground despite its light weight, the aircraft was designed purely for the attack role, emphasizing long range, maneuverability, and firepower at the expense of protection of its pilot. Most lacked self-sealing tanks and armor plating.
British opinions
Captain
Eric Brown, the Chief Naval Test Pilot of the Royal Navy, recalled being impressed by the Zero during tests of captured aircraft. "I don't think I have ever flown a fighter that could match the rate of turn of the Zero. The Zero had ruled the roost totally and was the finest fighter in the world until mid-1943."
Variants
A6M1, Type 0 Prototypes
The first two A6M1 prototypes were completed in March 1939, powered by the
Mitsubishi Zuisei
The was a 14-cylinder, supercharged, air-cooled, two-row radial engine used in a variety of early World War II Japanese aircraft. It was one of the smallest 14-cyl. engines in the world and the smallest diameter Japanese engine. The Mitsubishi ...
13 engine with a two-blade propeller. It first flew on 1 April, and passed testing within a remarkably short period. By September, it had already been accepted for Navy testing as the A6M1 Type 0 Carrier Fighter, with the only notable change being a switch to a three-bladed propeller to cure a vibration problem.
A6M2a Type 0 Model 11
![Zero_11_on_China](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Zero_11_on_China.JPG)
While the Navy was testing the first two prototypes, they suggested that the third be fitted with the
Nakajima Sakae
The was a two-row, 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine used in a number of combat aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army before and during World War II.
Design and development
The engine was designed by Nakajima Air ...
12 engine instead. Mitsubishi had its own engine of this class in the form of the
Kinsei, so they were somewhat reluctant to use the Sakae. Nevertheless, when the first A6M2 was completed in January 1940, the Sakae's extra power pushed the performance of the Zero well past the original specifications.
The new version was so promising that the Navy had 15 built and shipped to China before they had completed testing. They arrived in
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...
in July 1940, and first saw combat over
Chungking
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Counc ...
in August. There they proved to be completely untouchable by the
Polikarpov I-16
The Polikarpov I-16 (russian: Поликарпов И-16) is a Soviet single-engine single-seat fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world's first low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to attain ope ...
s and
I-153
The Polikarpov I-153 ''Chaika'' (Russian ''Чайка'', "Seagull") was a late 1930s Soviet biplane fighter. Developed as an advanced version of the I-15 with a retractable undercarriage, the I-153 fought in the Soviet-Japanese combats in Mong ...
s that had been such a problem for the A5Ms when in service. In one encounter, 13 Zeros shot down 27 I-15s and I-16s in under three minutes without loss. After hearing of these reports, the Navy immediately ordered the A6M2 into production as the Type 0 Carrier Fighter, Model 11.
Reports of the Zero's performance slowly filtered back to the US. They by most US military officials, who thought it impossible for the Japanese to build such an aircraft.
A6M2b Type 0 Model 21
![Carrier shokaku](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Carrier_shokaku.jpg)
After the delivery of the 65th aircraft, a further change was worked into the production lines, which introduced folding wingtips to allow them to fit on aircraft carriers.
The resulting Model 21 would become one of the most produced versions early in the war. A feature was the improved range with wing tank and drop tank. When the lines switched to updated models, 740 Model 21s had been completed by Mitsubishi, and another 800 by Nakajima. Two other versions of the Model 21 were built in small numbers, the Nakajima-built A6M2-N "Rufe" floatplane (based on the Model 11 with a slightly modified tail), and the A6M2-K two-seat trainer of which a total of 508 were built by Hitachi and the Sasebo Naval Air Arsenal.
[Francillon 1979, p. 399.]
A6M3 Type 0 Model 32
![A6M3 Model32-common](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/A6M3_Model32-common.jpg)
In 1941, Nakajima introduced the Sakae 21 engine, which used a two-speed
supercharger
In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement.
The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...
for better altitude performance, and increased power to . A prototype Zero with the new engine was first flown on 15 July 1941.
[Nohara 1993, p. 76.]
The new Sakae was slightly heavier and somewhat longer due to the larger supercharger, which moved the
center of gravity
In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weight function, weighted relative position (vector), position of the distributed mass sums to zero. Thi ...
too far forward on the existing airframe. To correct for this, the engine mountings were cut back by to move the engine toward the cockpit. This had the side effect of reducing the size of the main fuselage fuel tank (located between the engine and the cockpit) from to . The cowling was redesigned to enlarge the cowl flaps, revise the oil cooler air intake, and move the carburetor air intake to the upper half of the cowling.
[Nohara 1993, p. 51.]
The wings were redesigned to reduce span, eliminate the folding tips, and square off the wingtips. The inboard edge of the aileron was moved outboard by one rib, and the wing fuel tanks were enlarged accordingly to . The two 20 mm wing cannon were upgraded from the
Type 99 Mark l to the Mark II,
which required a bulge in the sheet metal of the wing below each cannon. The wings also included larger ammunition boxes and thus allowing 100 rounds per cannon.
The Sakae 21 engine and other changes increased maximum speed by only compared to the Model 21, but sacrificed nearly of range.
Nevertheless, the navy accepted the type and it entered production in April 1942.
The shorter wingspan led to better roll, and the reduced drag allowed the diving speed to be increased to . On the downside, turning and range, which were the strengths of the Model 21, suffered due to smaller ailerons, decreased lift and greater fuel consumption. The shorter range proved a significant limitation during the Solomons Campaign, during which Zeros based at Rabaul had to travel nearly to their maximum range to reach Guadalcanal and return.
[''Mechanic of World Aircraft'' Vol. 5, Koujinsha, 1994, pp. 220–221.] Consequently, the Model 32 was unsuited to that campaign
[Nohara 1993, pp. 76–77.] and was used mainly for shorter range offensive missions and interception.
This variant was flown by only a small number of units, and only 343 were built.
A6M3 Type 0 Model 22
In order to correct the deficiencies of the Model 32, a new version with folding wingtips and redesigned wing was introduced. The fuel tanks were moved to the outer wings, fuel lines for a drop tank were installed under each wing and the internal fuel capacity was increased to . More importantly, it regained its capabilities for long operating ranges, similar to the previous A6M2 Model 21, which was vastly shortened by the Model 32.
However, before the new design type was accepted formally by the Navy, the A6M3 Model 22 already stood ready for service in December 1942. Approximately 560 aircraft of the new type had been produced in the meantime by Mitsubishi Jukogyo K.K.
[Nohara 1993, p. 78.]
According to a theory, the very late production Model 22 might have had wings similar to the shortened, rounded-tip wing of the Model 52. One plane of such arrangement was photographed at
Lakunai Airfield
Lakunai Airfield, later known as Rabaul Airport; was an aerodrome located near Rabaul, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. It was located at the foot of Tavurvur volcano, near Matupit Island. The airport was destroyed by the 1994 eruption that de ...
("Rabaul East") in the second half of 1943, and has been published widely in a number of Japanese books. While the engine cowling is the same of previous Model 32 and 22, the theory proposes that the plane is an early production Model 52.
The Model 32, 22, 22 kou, 52, 52 kou and 52 otsu were all powered by the Nakajima (''Sakae'') engine.
That engine kept its designation in spite of changes in the exhaust system for the Model 52.
A6M4 Type 0 Model 41/42
Mitsubishi is unable to state with certainty that it ever used the designation "A6M4" or model numbers for it. However, "A6M4" does appear in a translation of a captured Japanese memo from a Naval Air Technical Arsenal, titled Quarterly Report on Research Experiments, dated 1 October 1942.
It mentions a "cross-section of the A6M4 intercooler" then being designed. Some researchers believe "A6M4" was applied to one or two prototype planes fitted with an experimental turbo-supercharged Sakae engine designed for high altitude. Mitsubishi's involvement in the project was probably quite limited or nil; the unmodified Sakae engine was made by Nakajima.
The design and testing of the turbo-supercharger was the responsibility of the First Naval Air
echnicalArsenal (, ') at Yokosuka.
["Quarterly Report on Research Experiments", Vol. 1, 30 March 1945. ''CINCPAC-CINCPOA Bulletin'', Special Translation No. 52, No. 67–45, p. 14 D.] At least one photo of a prototype plane exists. It shows a turbo unit mounted in the forward left fuselage.
Lack of suitable alloys for use in the manufacture of a turbo-supercharger and its related ducting caused numerous ruptures, resulting in fires and poor performance. Consequently, further development of a turbo-supercharged A6M was cancelled. The lack of acceptance by the Navy suggests that it did not bestow model number 41 or 42 formally, although it appears that the arsenal did use the designation "A6M4". The prototype engines nevertheless provided useful experience for future engine designs.
A6M5 Type 0 Model 52
![A6M5 52c Kyushu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/A6M5_52c_Kyushu.jpg)
Sometimes considered as the most effective variant, the Model 52 was developed to again shorten the wings to increase speed and dispense with the folding wing mechanism. In addition, ailerons, aileron trim tab and flaps were revised. Produced first by Mitsubishi, most Model 52s were made by Nakajima. The prototype was made in June 1943 by modifying an A6M3 and was first flown in August 1943. The first Model 52 is said in the handling manual to have production number 3904, which apparently refers to the prototype.
Research by Mr. Bunzo Komine published by Mr. Kenji Miyazaki states that aircraft 3904 through 4103 had the same exhaust system and cowl flaps as on the Model 22. This is partially corroborated by two wrecks researched by Mr. Stan Gajda and Mr. L. G. Halls, production number 4007 and 4043, respectively. (The upper cowling was slightly redesigned from that of the Model 22.
)
An early production A6M5 Zero with non-separated exhaust, with an A6M3 Model 22 in the background.
A new exhaust system provided an increment of thrust by aiming the stacks aft and distributing them around the forward fuselage. The new exhaust system required "notched" cowl flaps and heat shields just aft of the stacks. (Note, however, that the handling manual translation states that the new style of exhaust commenced with number 3904. Whether this is correct, indicates retrofitting intentions, refers to the prototype but not to all subsequent planes, or is in error, is unclear.) From production number 4274, the wing fuel tanks received
carbon dioxide fire extinguishers. From number 4354, the radio became the Model 3, aerial Mark 1, and at that point it is said the antenna mast was shortened slightly. Through production number 4550, the lowest exhaust stacks were approximately the same length as those immediately above them. This caused hot exhaust to burn the forward edge of the landing gear doors and heat the tires. Therefore, from number 4551 Mitsubishi began to install shorter bottom stacks. Nakajima manufactured the Model 52 at its Koizumi plant in
Gunma Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima ...
. The A6M5 had a maximum speed of at , reaching that altitude in 7:01 minutes.
Subsequent variants included:
* A6M5a, Model (''Kō'', 52a) – Starting at Mitsubishi number 4651, an armament change substituted the belt-fed Type 99-2 Mark 4 cannon, with 125 rounds per gun, in place of the drum-fed Type 99-2 Mark 3 cannon that carried 100 rounds per gun. Hence, the bulge in the underside of the wing for each cannon's ammunition drum was deleted and the ejection port for spent cartridge cases was moved. Thicker wing skinning was installed to permit higher diving speeds.
[''Sekai no Kessaku Ki'', Vol. 9, Bunrindou, 1993, p. 22.]
* A6M5b, Model (''Otsu'', 52b) – Armament change: The 7.7 mm (.303 in) Type 97 gun ( muzzle velocity and range) in the right forward fuselage was replaced by a 13.2 mm Type 3 Browning-derived gun ( muzzle velocity and range, with a rate of fire of 800 rounds per minute) with 240 rounds. The larger weapon required an enlarged opening, creating a distinctive asymmetric appearance to the top of the cowling, and a revised gas outlet near the windscreen. In addition, each wing cannon received a fairing at the wing leading edge. A plate of armored glass thick was fitted to the windscreen. A larger propeller spinner was fitted, suggesting a change to the propeller. The type of ventral drop tank was changed, it now had fins and was suspended on a slanted pipe. The first of this variant was completed in April 1944 and it was produced until October 1944.
* A6M5c, Model (''Hei'', 52c) – Armament change: One 13.2 mm (.51 in) Type 3 machine gun was added in each wing outboard of the cannon, and the 7.7 mm gun on the left side of the cowl was deleted. Four racks for rockets or small bombs were installed outboard of the 13 mm gun in each wing. Engine change: Some sources state that the hei had a Sakae 31 engine In addition, a thick piece of armored glass was installed at the headrest and an thick plate of armor was installed behind the seat. The mounting of the central drop tank changed to a four-post design. Wing skin was thickened further. The first of this variant was completed in September 1944.
Because of the gain in weight, this variant was used mainly for intercepting
B-29s and special attack.
* A6M5-S (A6M5 Yakan Sentōki) – Armament change: To intercept B-29s and other night-flying aircraft, an air arsenal converted some Model 52s to
night fighters
A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...
. They were armed with one 20 mm Type 99 cannon behind the pilot, aimed upward, similar in intent to the Luftwaffe's
Schräge Musik
''Schräge Musik'', which may also be spelled ''Schraege Musik'', was a common name for the fitting of an upward-firing autocannon or machine gun, to an interceptor aircraft, interceptor aircraft, such as a night fighter. The term was introduce ...
installation. However, lack of radar prevented them from being very effective.
Some Model 21 and 52 aircraft were converted to "bakusen" (
fighter-bombers
A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, w ...
) by mounting a bomb rack and bomb in place of the centerline drop tank.
Up to seven Model 52 planes were ostensibly converted into A6M5-K two-seat trainers.
Mass production was contemplated by Hitachi, but not undertaken.
A6M6 Type 0 Model 53
The A6M6 was developed to use the Sakae 31a engine, featuring water-methanol engine boost and self-sealing wing tanks.
During preliminary testing, its performance was considered unsatisfactory due to the additional engine power failing to materialize and the unreliability of the fuel injection system.
Testing continued on the A6M6 but the end of war stopped further development. Only one prototype was produced.
A6M7 Type 0 Model 62/63
The A6M7 was the last variant to see service. It was designed to meet a requirement by the Navy for a dedicated
attack/
dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...
version that could operate from smaller aircraft carriers
or according to another source, replace the obsolete
Aichi D3A
The Aichi D3A Type 99 Carrier Bomber ( Allied reporting name "Val") is a World War II carrier-borne dive bomber. It was the primary dive bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and was involved in almost all IJN actions, including the at ...
.
The A6M7 had considerable design changes compared to previous attempts to make the A6M suitable for dive bombing. This included a reinforced vertical stabilizer, a special bomb rack, provision of two 350-litre drop tanks and fixed bomb/rocket swing stoppers on the underside of the wings.
It was also given a new powerplant, the Sakae-31 engine, producing 1,130 hp on take-off. The A6M7 had a similar armament layout to the A6M5c with the exception of the bomb centreline bomb rack, capable of carrying 250 kg or 500 kg bombs. Entering production in May 1945,
the A6M7 was also used for
Kamikaze
, officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
attacks.
A6M8 Type 0 Model 64
![A6M8 Type 64](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/A6M8_Type_64_.jpg)
Similar to the A6M6 but with the Sakae (now out of production) replaced by the
Mitsubishi Kinsei
The was a 14-cylinder, air-cooled, twin-row radial aircraft engine developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan in 1934 for the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Mitsubishi model designation for this engine was A8 while it was an experimental p ...
62 engine with , 60% more powerful than the A6M2's engine.
This resulted in an extensively modified cowling and nose for the aircraft. The carburetor intake was much larger, a long duct like that on the
Nakajima B6N Tenzan was added, and a large spinner — like that on the
Yokosuka D4Y Suisei
The is a two-seat carrier-based dive bomber developed by the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1942 to 1945 during World War II. Development of the aircraft began in 1938. The first D4Y1 was com ...
with the Kinsei 62 — was mounted. The armament consisted of two 13.2 mm (.52 in) Type 3 machine guns and two 20 mm (.80 in) Type 99 cannons in the wings. In addition, the Model 64 was modified to carry two drop tanks on either wing in order to permit the mounting of a bomb on the underside of the fuselage. Two prototypes were completed in April 1945 but the chaotic situation of Japanese industry and the end of the war obstructed the start of the ambitious program of production for 6,300 A6M8s, only the two prototypes being completed and flown.
[Francillon 1970, pp. 374–75.]
Production
Not included:
* A second A6M1 was completed on 17 March 1939, but was written off without explanation after completing the company's flight test program in July 1940.
Trainer
Total production
*According to USSBS Report: 10,934
**includes: 10,094 A6M, 323 A6M2-N and 517 A6M-K builds.
*According to Francillon: 11,291
**includes: 10,449 A6M, 327 A6M2-N, 508 A6M2-K and 7 A6M5-K builds.
Operators
;
*
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
The was the Naval aviation, air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War.
The Japanese military acquired their first air ...
Surviving aircraft
![Mitsubishi A62M Zero USAF](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Mitsubishi_A62M_Zero_USAF.jpg)
Like many surviving World War II Japanese aircraft, most surviving Zeros are made up of parts from multiple airframes. As a result, some are referred to by conflicting manufacturer serial numbers. Other planes, such as those recovered after decades in a wrecked condition, have been reconstructed to the extent that the majority of their structure is made up of modern parts. All of this means the identities of surviving aircraft can be difficult to confirm.
Most flying Zeros have had their engines replaced with
similar American units. Only one, the
's A6M5, has the original Sakae engine.
The rarity of flyable Zeros accounts for the use of single-seat
North American T-6 Texan
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...
s, with heavily modified fuselages and painted in Japanese markings, as substitutes for Zeros in the films ''
Tora! Tora! Tora!
''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' ( ja, トラ・トラ・トラ!) is a 1970 epic film, epic war film that dramatizes the Empire of Japan, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The film was produced by Elmo Williams and directed by Richard Fleischer, T ...
'', ''
The Final Countdown'', and many other television and film depictions of the aircraft, such as ''
Baa Baa Black Sheep
"Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" is an English nursery rhyme, the earliest printed version of which dates from around 1744. The words have not changed very much in two and a half centuries. It is sung to a variant of the 1761 French melody '' Ah! vous di ...
'' (renamed ''Black Sheep Squadron''). One Model 52 was used during the production of ''
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
''.
Australia
* 840 – On display at the
Australian Aviation Heritage Centre
The Darwin Aviation Museum, previously known as the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre, displays aircraft and aircraft engines of relevance to the Northern Territory and aviation in Australia generally. It is located in Darwin suburb of Winne ...
in
Winnellie, Northern Territory
Winnellie is a northern suburb of Darwin, Northern Territory, in the Northern Territory of Australia.
History
Winnellie is an industrial suburb to the south of Darwin International Airport
Darwin International Airport is the busiest a ...
. Wreckage of the forward fuselage, inboard wings, engine, and propeller.
* 5784 – On display at the
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...
in
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the List of citi ...
. A restored A6M2-21 "V-173" was retrieved as a wreck after the war and later found to have been flown by
Saburō Sakai
was a Japanese naval aviator and flying ace (''"Gekitsui-O"'', ) of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Sakai had 28–64 aerial victories, including shared ones, according to official Japanese records, but his autobiography, ''Samura ...
at
Lae
Lae () is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highl ...
.
China
* Unknown serial number –
Beijing Military Museum[Smith 2015, p. 141.]
Germany
* Replica – On display at the
Technik Museum Speyer
The Technik Museum Speyer is a technology museum in Speyer (Rhineland-Palatinate), Germany. 208
History
The museum was opened in 1991 as a sister museum of the Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim and is run by a registered alliance called "Auto & Te ...
in
Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate. Replica of the fuselage section on display at IWM London.
Indonesia
![Mitsubishi-A6-M5-Zero-Zen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Mitsubishi-A6-M5-Zero-Zen.jpg)
* Unknown serial number – The
Dirgantara Mandala Museum
Dirgantara Mandala Museum, officially known as the Central Museum of Indonesian Air Force "Dirgantara Mandala" is a central museum of the Indonesian Air Force. The museum displays historical exhibits related to the history of the Indonesian Air Fo ...
in
Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...
has an A6M in its collection.
Japan
* 1493 – On display at the
in
Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi
is a town located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 26,542 in 10618 households, and a population density of 170 persons per km2. The total area of the town is .
Geography
Fujikawaguchiko is located in sou ...
.
* 4168/4240/4241 – On display at the
Yūshūkan
The ("Place to commune with a noble soul") is a Japanese military and war museum located within Yasukuni Shrine in Chiyoda, Tokyo. As a museum maintained by the shrine, which is dedicated to the souls of soldiers who died fighting on behalf of th ...
in
.
* 4685 – On display at
Hamamatsu Air Base
is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force base located north of the city of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, in central Japan.
History
Hamamatsu Air Base was established in 1925 as an Imperial Japanese Army Air Force base to be home to the newly form ...
in
Hamamatsu, Shizuoka
is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. the city had an estimated population of 791,707 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, and a population density of . The total area of the site was .
Overview
H ...
.
* 4708 – On display at the
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Museum in
Komaki, Aichi
is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 148,872 in 68,174 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city was . Komaki is commonly associated with the former Komaki Airport, whic ...
.
* 31870 – A two-seater on display at the
National Museum of Nature and Science
The is in the northeast corner of Ueno Park in Tokyo. The museum has exhibitions on pre-Meiji period, Meiji science in Japan. It is the venue of the taxidermied bodies of the legendary dogs Hachikō and Taro and Jiro. A life-size blue whale mode ...
in
Taito, Tokyo.
* 62343 – On display at the
Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots
The airbase at Chiran, Minamikyūshū, on the Satsuma Peninsula of Kagoshima, Japan, served as the departure point for hundreds of Special Attack or kamikaze sorties launched in the final months of World War II. A peace museum dedicated to the ...
in
Chiran, Kagoshima
was a List of towns in Japan, town located in Kawanabe District, Kagoshima, Kawanabe District, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Chiran is famous for producing Japanese tea.
As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 13,667 and the populatio ...
.
* 82729 – On display at the
Yamato Museum
The is the nickname of the in Kure, Hiroshima, Japan.
History
The museum opened on April 23, 2005. It is nicknamed the Yamato Museum due to the display in the lobby of a 1/10 scale model of the battleship ''Yamato'', the flagship of the J ...
in
Kure, Hiroshima
is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan ...
.
* 91518 – On display at the Kawaguchiko Motor Museum in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi.
* 92717 – On display at the Kawaguchiko Motor Museum in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi.
* Replica – On display at
MCAS Iwakuni
is a United States Marine Corps air station located in the Nishiki river delta, southeast of Iwakuni Station in the city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.
History
The Japanese government bought a large portion of what is today MCAS ...
in
Iwakuni, Yamaguchi
is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.
History
Iwakuni was formerly the castle town of the Iwakuni han, which was formed by Lord Hiroie Kikkawa after he was banished there for supporting the defeated shōgun. The Kikkawa clan rule ...
.
* Replica – Used as movie prop for 2013 film
''The Eternal Zero''. On display at Usa City Peace Museum,
Usa, Ōita
is a city located in Ōita Prefecture, Japan at the tip of Kunisaki Peninsula in northern Kyushu.
Notable for the Usa Jingū, the head shrine of all 40,000 Hachiman shrines across Japan, the city annually attracts as many as 1.8 million worshi ...
Prefecture.
New Zealand
* 3835/3844 – On display at the
Auckland War Memorial Museum
The Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Aucklan ...
in
Auckland, Auckland Region. It was taken to New Zealand from Bougainville in October 1945 on board the ferry ''
Wahine'' which was being used to repatriate troops. The Zero had been caught on the ground on Bougainville, damaged in the bombing during the
Allied Bougainville campaign in November 1943. The plane had been hidden by the Japanese who had restored it with the goal of flying it off the island. The plane was retrieved by
RNZAF
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...
intelligence officers in September 1945 at the Japanese airfield at
Buin, in southern Bougainville.
United Kingdom
* 196 – On display at the
Imperial War Museum London in
London, Greater London. Forward fuselage displayed.
* 3685 – On display at the
Imperial War Museum Duxford
Imperial War Museum Duxford is a branch of the Imperial War Museum near Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England. Britain's largest aviation museum, Duxford houses the museum's large exhibits, including nearly 200 aircraft, military vehicles, artill ...
in
Duxford, Cambridgeshire
Duxford is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, about south of Cambridge. It is part of the Hundred Parishes area.
History
The village formed on the banks of the River Cam, a little below its emergence from the hills of north Essex. One of the ...
. 3685 was salvaged from
Taroa Island
Taroa is an island in the east of Maloelap Atoll in the Marshall Islands. During World War II, it was the site of a major Japanese airfield (Taroa Airfield). The airfield was destroyed towards the end of World War II, and wreckage and remnants of ...
in 1991 and acquired by the museum in 2000, before being put on display in 2010. Fuselage displayed in unrestored condition.
United States
* 1303 – In storage at the
Flying Heritage Collection
The Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the display and preservation of rare military aircraft, tanks and other military equipment. The plan is for the museum to reopen in 2023.
On rotation in t ...
in
Everett, Washington
Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...
.
*
* 3618 – In storage at
Fantasy of Flight
Fantasy of Flight is an aviation museum in Polk City, Florida.
It opened in November 1995, to house Kermit Weeks' collection of aircraft that, until Hurricane Andrew damaged many in 1992, were housed at the Weeks Air Museum in Tamiami, Florida ...
in
Polk City, Florida
Polk City is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,562 at the 2010 census. As of 2018, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 2,422. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistica ...
.
* 4043 – In storage at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida. Along with several other Zeros, this aircraft was recovered by the Australian War Memorial Museum in the early 1970s from Rabaul in the South Pacific. The markings suggest that it was in service after June 1943 and further investigation suggests that it has cockpit features associated with the Nakajima-built Model 52b. If this is correct, it is most likely one of the 123 aircraft lost by the Japanese during the assault of Rabaul. The aircraft was shipped in pieces to the attraction and it was eventually made up for display as a crashed aircraft. Much of the aircraft is usable for patterns and some of its parts can be restored to one day make this a basis for a flyable aircraft.
* 4340 – On display at the
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
* 4400 – In storage at the Flying Heritage Collection in Everett, Washington.
* 5356/5451 – On display at the Pacific Aviation Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. This aircraft was formerly flown by the
Commemorative Air Force
The Commemorative Air Force (CAF), formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, is an American non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas, that preserves and shows historical aircraft at airshows, primarily in the U.S. and Canada.
The CAF h ...
after being restored by Robert Diemert.
* 5357 – Owned by the
in
Chino, California
Chino ( ; Spanish for "Curly") is a city in the western end of San Bernardino County, California, United States, with Los Angeles County to its west and Orange County to its south in the Southern California region. Chino is adjacent to Chino ...
. This aircraft, 61-120, is the only airworthy example powered with an original Sakae radial engine.
* 5450 – On display at the
National Naval Aviation Museum
The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.
Founded in 1962 and moved to its curr ...
at
NAS Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...
in
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...
.
* 23186 – On display at the
San Diego Air and Space Museum
San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM, formerly the San Diego Aerospace Museum) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California, United States. The museum is located in Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building, ...
in
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
. This aircraft is on loan from the National Air and Space Museum. The museum previously had another Zero in its collection, msn 4323, but it was destroyed in a fire on 22 February 1978.
* 51553 – On display at the
National Museum of the United States Air Force
The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the ...
at
Wright-Patterson AFB
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene and Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wri ...
in
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
. It was restored by Century Aviation.
* Replica – Owned by Warren Pietsch at the
Texas Flying Legends Museum
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...
in
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. This aircraft, known as the "Blayd" Zero, is a reconstruction based on templating original Zero components recovered from the South Pacific. To be considered a "restoration" and not a reproduction, the builders used a small fraction of parts from the original Zero landing gear in the reconstruction. It was built as an A6M2 Model 21.
["Last Samurai A6M2 Model 21 Zero."](_blank)
''Texas Flying Legends Museum''. Retrieved: 8 December 2013. This aircraft was damaged in a ground accident on 15 March 2016, when a Goodyear FG-1D Corsair taxiing behind it overran the tail of the Zero, with the Corsair's propeller shredding roughly the last third of the Zero's fuselage and its control surfaces.
* Replica (3869) – Owned by the Southern California Wing of the
Commemorative Air Force
The Commemorative Air Force (CAF), formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, is an American non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas, that preserves and shows historical aircraft at airshows, primarily in the U.S. and Canada.
The CAF h ...
in
Camarillo, California
Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan an ...
. This aircraft is an A6M3 that was recovered from Babo Airfield, Indonesia, in 1991. It was partially restored from several A6M3s in Russia, then brought to the United States for restoration. The aircraft was re-registered in 1998 and displayed at the
Museum of Flying in
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
. It uses a
Pratt & Whitney R-1830-75 engine.
* Replica (3852) – Owned by the Flying Heritage Collection in Everett, Washington. This aircraft was recovered from
Babo Airfield
Babo Airfield is a disused airfield located on the southern shore of Maccluer Gulf at Babo in Indonesia. The airfield is located in an isolated low-lying swamp area.
History
The airfield was built by the Dutch in the late 1920s or 1930s. It was ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, and restored – first in Russia, then in California, and finally in Washington state – before being delivered to the Flying Heritage Collection. It has a P&W engine installed.
* Replica (3858) – Fagen Fighters WWII Museum, Granite Falls, Minnesota. Formerly owned by businessman Masahide Ishizuka in
Kanoya, Kagoshima
is a city in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. It is located in the southeastern Kyushu region in the central part of Ōsumi Peninsula.
Kanoya is the most populous city in Japan without any connection to railway services, after the abolition of the ...
.
Pratt & Whitney R-1830
The Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp is an American air-cooled radial aircraft engine. It displaces and its bore and stroke are both . The design traces its history to 1929 experiments at Pratt & Whitney on twin-row designs. Production began ...
engine.
*Replica – Under airworthy rebuild by Legend Flyers in
Everett, Washington
Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...
for the
Military Aviation Museum
The Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is home to one of the world's largest collections of warbirds in flying condition. It includes examples from Germany, France, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, from ...
. This aircraft uses a small amount of parts from 3148.
Specifications (A6M2 (Type 0 Model 21))
Notable appearances in media
See also
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
* Angelucci, Enzo and Peter M. Bowers. ''The American Fighter''. Sparkford, UK: Haynes Publishing, 1987. .
* Fernandez, Ronald. ''Excess Profits: The Rise of United Technologies''. Boston: Addison-Wesley, 1983. .
* Ford, Douglas. "Informing Airmen? The U.S. Army Air Forces' Intelligence on Japanese Fighter Tactics in the Pacific Theatre, 1941–5," ''International History Review'' 34 (Dec. 2012), 725–52.
* Francillon, R.J. ''Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War''. London: Putnam, 1970, .
* Glancey, Jonathan. ''Spitfire: The Illustrated Biography''. London: Atlantic Books, 2006. .
* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. ''The Great Book of Fighters''. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing, 2001. .
* Gunston, Bill. ''Aircraft of World War 2''. London: Octopus Books Limited, 1980. .
* Holmes, Tony, ed. ''Dogfight, The Greatest Air Duels of World War II''. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2011. .
*
* Jablonski, Edward. ''Airwar.'' New York: Doubleday & Co., 1979. .
* James, Derek N. Gloster Aircraft since 1917. London: Putnam and Company Ltd., 1987. .
* Lundstrom, John B
''The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign''.Annapolis, Maryland:
Naval Institute Press
The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds se ...
, 1994. .
* Matricardi, Paolo. ''Aerei Militari. Caccia e Ricognitori'' (in Italian). Milan: Mondadori Electa, 2006.
* Mikesh, Robert C. ''Warbird History: Zero, Combat & Development History of Japan's Legendary Mitsubishi A6M Zero Fighter''. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International, 1994. .
* Mikesh, Robert C. ''Zero Fighter''. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1981; copyright Zokeisha Publications, Tokyo. .
*
Okumiya, Masatake and
Jiro Horikoshi
was the chief engineer of many Japanese fighter designs of World War II, including the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter.
Early life
Jiro Horikoshi was born near the city of Fujioka, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, in 1903. Horikoshi graduated from the new ...
, with
Martin Caidin
Martin Caidin (September 14, 1927 – March 24, 1997) was an American author, screenwriter, and an authority on aeronautics and aviation.
Caidin began writing fiction in 1957. In his career he authored more than 50 fiction and nonfiction books ...
. ''Zero!'' New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1956.
* Nijboer, Donald. ''Seafire Vs A6M Zero: Pacific Theatre''. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2009. .
* Nohara, Shigeru. ''Aero Detail 7: Mitsubishi A6M Zero Fighter''. Tokyo: Dai-Nippon Kaiga Co. Ltd, 1993. .
* Parshall, Jonathan and Anthony Tully. ''Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway''. Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books Inc., 2007. (paperback).
* "Plane Facts: Zero-sen ancestry". ''
Air International
''AIR International'' is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd.
History and profile
The magazine was fir ...
'', October 1973, Vol 3 No 4. pp. 199–200.
* Smith, Peter C.''Mitsubishi Zero: Japan's Legendary Fighter''. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Pen & Sword Books, 2015. .
*
* Spick, Mike. ''Allied Fighter Aces of World War II''. London: Greenhill Books, 1997. .
* Stille, Mark. ''Guadalcanal 1942–43: Japan's bid to knock out Henderson Field and the Cactus Air Force (Air Campaign).'' Osprey Publishing, 2019. .
* Thompson, J. Steve with Peter C. Smith. ''Air Combat Manoeuvres: The Technique and History of Air Fighting for Flight Simulation''. Hersham, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Publishing, 2008. .
* Thruelsen, Richard. ''The Grumman Story''. Praeger Press, 1976. .
* Tillman, Barrett. ''Hellcat: The F6F in World War II''. Naval Institute Press, 1979. .
* United States Strategic Bombing Survey Aircraft Division
''Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.''Corporation Report I, Washington, D.C. 1947.
* United States Strategic Bombing Survey Aircraft Division
''Nakajima Aircraft Company, Ltd.''Corporation Report II, Washington, D.C. 1947.
* United States Strategic Bombing Survey Aircraft Division
''Hitachi Aircraft Company, Ltd.''Corporation Report VII, Washington, D.C. 1947.
* United States Strategic Bombing Survey Aircraft Division
''Army Air Arsenal and Navy Air Depots''Corporation Report XIX, Washington, D.C. 1947.
* Wilcox, Richard
"The Zero: The first famed Japanese fighter captured intact reveals its secrets to U.S. Navy aerial experts" ''Life'', 4 November 1942.
* Willmott, H.P. ''Zero A6M''. London: Bison Books, 1980. .
* Yoshimura, Akira, translated by Retsu Kaiho and Michael Gregson. ''Zero Fighter''. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 1996. .
* Young, Edward M. ''F4F Wildcat vs A6M Zero-sen''. Oxford, UK: Osprey, 2013. .
Further reading
* Bueschel, Richard M. ''Mitsubishi A6M1/2/-2N Zero-Sen in Imperial Japanese Naval Air Service''. Canterbury, Kent, UK: Osprey Publications Ltd., 1970. .
* Francillon, René J. ''The Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero-Sen (Aircraft in Profile number 129)''. Leatherhead, Surrey, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1966.
* Francillon, René J. The Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero-Sen ("Hamp") (Aircraft in Profile number 190). Leatherhead, Surrey, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1967.
* Jackson, Robert. ''Combat Legend: Mitsubishi Zero''. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 2003. .
* Juszczak, Artur. ''Mitsubishi A6M Zero''. Tarnobrzeg, Poland/Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model Publications, 2001. .
* Kinzey, Bert. ''Attack on Pearl Harbor: Japan awakens a Sleeping Giant''. Blacksburg, Virginia, USA: Military Aviation Archives, 2010. .
* Marchand, Patrick and Junko Takamori. (Illustrator). ''A6M Zero (Les Ailes de Gloire 2)'' (in French). Le Muy, France: Editions d’Along, 2000. .
* Mikesh, Robert C. and Rikyu Watanabe (Illustrator). ''Zero Fighter''. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1981. .
* Nohara, Shigeru. ''A6M Zero in Action (Aircraft #59)''. Carrollton, Texas, USA: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1983. .
* Nohara, Shigeru. ''Mitsubishi A6M Zero Fighter (Aero Detail 7)'' (in Japanese with English captions). Tokyo, Japan: Dai Nippon Kaiga Company Ltd., 1993. .
*
Okumiya, Masatake and
Jiro Horikoshi
was the chief engineer of many Japanese fighter designs of World War II, including the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter.
Early life
Jiro Horikoshi was born near the city of Fujioka, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, in 1903. Horikoshi graduated from the new ...
(with
Martin Caidin
Martin Caidin (September 14, 1927 – March 24, 1997) was an American author, screenwriter, and an authority on aeronautics and aviation.
Caidin began writing fiction in 1957. In his career he authored more than 50 fiction and nonfiction books ...
, ed.). ''Zero! The Story of Japan's Air War in the Pacific: 1941–45''. New York: Ballantine Books, 1956. No ISBN.
* "Plane Facts: Zero-sen ancestry". ''
Air International
''AIR International'' is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd.
History and profile
The magazine was fir ...
'', Vol. 3, No. 4, October 1973, pp. 199–200.
* Richards, M.C. and Donald S. Smith. ''Mitsubishi A6M5 to A6M8 'Zero-Sen' ('Zeke 52')(Aircraft in Profile number 236)''. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1972.
* Sakaida, Henry. ''Imperial Japanese Navy Aces, 1937–45''. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 1998. .
* Sakaida, Henry. ''The Siege of Rabaul''. St. Paul, Minnesota: Phalanx Publishing, 1996. .
* Sheftall, M.G. ''Blossoms in the Wind: Human Legacies of the Kamikaze''. New York: NAL Caliber, 2005. .
* Wilson, Stewart. ''Zero, Hurricane & P-38, The Story of Three Classic Fighters of WW2 (Legends of the Air 4)''. Fyshwick, Australia: Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd., 1996. .
External links
*
Tour A6M5 Zero cockpitMitsubishi A6M Zero Japanese fighter aircraft—design, construction, historyWW2DB: A6M Zero*
ttp://www.combinedfleet.com/ijna/a6m-k.htm Mitsubishi A6M2-K and A6M5-K, Joao Paulo Julião Matsuurabr>
Nakajima A6M2-N, Joao Paulo Julião Matsuura;Video links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:A6m Zero
Mitsubishi A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 19 ...
1930s Japanese fighter aircraft
Mitsubishi aircraft
Attack on Pearl Harbor
World War II Japanese fighter aircraft
Articles containing video clips
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1939
Retractable conventional landing gear