Type 0: Mitsubishi A6M Zero - Sen

The A6M Zero took the skies on 01.04.1939 and remained in the service of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air until the end of the WW II in 1945. The Allies called it the “Zero”, a short form of Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter, and it was the best carrier-based fighter the world had ever seen. The A6M had superb maneuverability, superior agility, had a range of 3107 km and was the first shipboard fighter that was capable of surpassing a land-based aircraft. It soon earned a reputation as a supreme dogfighter particularly against F2A Buffaloes, Curtiss P-40s and Grumman F4F Wildcats. In 1937, when the Zero was still in the prototype stage, leader of the Flying Tigers, the 1st American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force, Claire Lee Chennault warned the USA Air Force of the increasing danger of Japanese fighter aircraft development. However, his warnings were ignored, and when the Zero took to the skies the Americans were caught unprepared. The Zero was the most produced Japanese fighter aircraft, and possessed a kill ratio of 12:1.Thanks to Mitsubishi’s lead designer, Jiro Horikoshi, all the extreme specifications laid out by the Imperial Japanese Navy were either met, or exceeded beyond their expectations. Horikoshi employed weight-saving methods to ensure that the aircraft was made as light as possible to meet the requirements imposed. The following are the Zero’s final specifications;
Structure:

T-7178 Al, a top secret aluminium alloy developed by the Japanese specifically for the aircraft
Low- wing, cantilever monoplane layout, using a cantilever to support the plane’s wings made the construction lighter, and reduced drag as compared to using struts and cables.
Retractable wide-set landing gear.
Enclosed cockpit

Engine:   
Nakajima NK1C Sakae 12 rated at 709 kW

14-cylinder, Air-cooled

Radial Engine (high power, low maximum rpm making reduction gearing of propellers unnecessary & piston arrangement – same plane allows even cooling of all pistons by air, thus reducing weight on water-cooling system)

Flight parameter:   
Max. Speed – 533 km/h or 287 knot

Rate of Climb – 15.7 m/s

Range – 3107 km

Armament:    
2x 7.7mm Type 97 machine guns in engine cowling, 500 rounds/gun

2x 20mm Type 99 Cannons in wings, 60 rounds/gun

2x 60kg bombs
1x 250kg bombs (kamikaze attacks)

Nearing the end of the war, the Zero was used in Kamikaze (Divine Wind) attacks against American naval ships, its outstanding success in using this tactic resulted in the formation of Air Group 201, the first Kamikaze suicide squadron in the Japanese Naval Air Force.

" Never try to turn with a Zero. Always get above the enemy and try to hit him with the first pass. "

- Claire Lee Chennault, Flying Tigers

USS Missouri about to be hit by a Zero in a Kamikaze Operation.