(Here you go, one day early)
Name: A6M Zero
Armament:
2x 20mm cannons,
2x 7.7 mm machine guns,
2x 30kg(70 lb.) bombs.
Primary Users: Japan, China.
Served in: WWII, 1940-1945
A6M, Japan’s Frontline Fighter of WWII
The U.S. was shocked at the introduction of this fighter. It was more maneuverable than the Flying Tigers (P-40s), F2A Buffalos, and the F4F Wildcats. The U.S. forces were at the mercy of the Japanese until the introduction of the P-51 and the F6F. Join me as I recount a battle against an A6M Zero.
(Story from History Channel’s show Dogfights) The air war in the pacific is raging. A dogfight is about to happen. An A6M Zero flown by a japanese ace sees an American aircraft. He presumes it is the F4F Wildcat, which the Zero can out climb. He uses a technique that has gotten him many of his kills before. In this tactic, he uses the Zero’s rate of climb to his advantage, climbing almost straight up. When a wildcat follows, he will stall first. The zero will then nose over, and get an easy kill on the stalling American aircraft. This time however, it is the similar looking F6F Hellcat. It easily keeps pace with the Zero. After nosing over, the zero pilot is surprised, as no aircraft is in sight. He is suddenly even more shocked for a brief moment, as the lightly armored Zero is shot in it’s fuel tanks by the F6F.
The Zero was an iconic Japanese aircraft. To close, I leave you with a comparison of the F4F and the Zero.
Zero | F4F | |
Faster than the F4F. | Speed | |
Climbed better than the F4F. | Rate of Climb | |
Protection | Protected better than the Zero. |
See you all next time on Plane in Feature.
