Replies

Lee J. Collins Sr., a retired senior chief operations specialist for the Navy and a veteran of Operation Desert Storm, serves as director of visitor operations for the Battleship Missouri Memorial. Among other tasks, he is charged with managing daily visitor operations and the overall visitor experience. No one leaves the Missouri without being touched by stories of valor and heroism, Collins says. One in particular stands out in his mind.

Margaret Yamane, in a kimono, on the deck of the USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor during a ceremony to honor the late William Callaghan who 56 years ago ordered a kamikaze pilot be given a proper burial at sea.

The president of the Japanese Democratic Party was in Hawaii on a fact-finding mission following the Ehime Maru tragedy in February, and visited the ship with two senior Japanese government officials. Recalls Collins: "I met them at the gate with Masaji, one of our Japanese tour guide supervisors, and presented them with Missouri admiral hats normally provided to dignitaries. They were polite but did not put the hats on as there were numerous Japanese visitors also there who knew them, and the investigation of the Ehime Maru sinking was not yet done."

Collins and Masaji escorted the three men on a tour of the ship. The Japanese officials listened respectfully as Masaji described the Missouri's accomplishments. When the group proceeded aft to the fantail, Masaji shared the story of a kamikaze pilot who had struck the ship off Okinawa on April 11, 1945. Miraculously, no one on board was killed, but the pilot perished. Missouri Capt. William Callaghan decided the young man was to be buried at sea with honors the next day.

USS Missouri (BB-63)
Anchored in Tokyo Bay, Japan, 2 September 1945, the day that Japanese surrender ceremonies were held on her deck.

The crew was concerned. Bury the enemy with honors? That didn't seem right. But, says Collins, Capt. Callaghan was firm, explaining that they would be paying tribute to "a fellow warrior who had displayed courage and devotion, and who had paid the ultimate sacrifice with his life, fighting for his country." The captain noted the ceremony was not intended to glorify Japan, kamikazes, Japanese pilots or even World War II, but to recognize an individual honorable warrior. Three of the Missouri's sailors stayed up through the night sewing a Japanese flag so that this warrior could be buried with the proper respect.

"The Japanese emissaries were openly weeping by now," remembers Collins, "and they lifted their Missouri ball caps, snapped them open and placed them securely on their heads with pride.

Navy carrier planes fly in formation over the U.S. and British fleets in Tokyo Bay during surrender ceremonies. USS Missouri (BB-63), where the ceremonies took place, is at left. USS Detroit (CL-8) is in the right distance. Aircraft include TBM, F6F, SB2C and F4U types.

"I guess what I enjoy most is the education we provide our international visitors and our children. The USS Missouri is one of the world's most important pieces of history. She is not only an American icon, but an international icon, representing duty, honor, courage, commitment and willingness to pay the ultimate sacrifices for freedom."

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi

Short History

To enlarge the Navy’s fleet by 60 ships, money was allotted to build four fast Iowa Class Battleships of which the Missouri, (BB-63) was one.

Affectionately Nicknamed the “Mighty Mo.” It would be the last battleship ever built by the United States.

Nearly 11 months before Pearl Harbor was bombed, the Missouri’s keel was laid at the New York Navy Yard on January 6, 1941 and completed 3 years later.

On January 29, 1944, more than 20,000 spectators watched as she was christened by Miss Margaret Truman, the 19 year old daughter of then United States Senator Harry S. Truman from Missouri. Senator Truman, when delivering his opening remarks at the Christening Ceremony, said, “The USS Missouri will show … the world her innate seaworthiness, her valiant fighting spirit and the invincible power of the United States Navy.”

The Missouri joined the Pacific Fleet in January 1945.

IWO JIMA

This invasion began on February 19, 1945. The Missouri was assigned the task of safeguarding US aircraft carriers by providing them with anti-aircraft protection. She also aided in refueling the nearby destroyers.

The Mighty Mo was 65 miles from Iwo Jima when the attack began. With her 5 inch guns blazing, Mo shot down her first Japanese plane. The Missouri heavily bombarded the southeastern end of Iwo Jima. The battle of Iwo Jima was one of the bloodiest battles of the war.

The U.S. Forces lost over 6,000 men and approximately 19,000 were wounded in action. The Japanese lost nearly 21,000 of their troops.

OKINAWA

On March 24, 1945 the invasion of Okinawa began. The Missouri, in the company of two other Iowa Class battleships, the New Jersey and Wisconsin, opened fire on the island, offering support to the 60,000 American troops that had landed there. On that first day she fired 180 rounds from her 16 inch guns, striking buildings, army barracks, observation posts and an ammunition dump.

JAPAN SURRENDERS

On August 5, 1945 the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan and on August 9, Nagasaki. On August 15, 1945, three years, eight months and seven days from that fateful day at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese surrendered and the war in the Pacific was over.

Photograph of U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay, signed Sept. 2, 1945--the day of Japan's surrender--by Generals MacArthur and Wainwright and Admirals Nimitz, Halsey, Spruance and Lockwood.

The Instrument of Surrender was signed on September 2, 1945 on the 01 deck level of the Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay, near the city of Yokohama, Japan. Japan’s delegation consisted of 11 men who had traveled in secrecy from Tokyo. General Douglas MacArthur signed in his capacity as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.

Joining him as signatory was Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz along with representatives of China, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, Netherlands and New Zealand. The Japanese Foreign Minister, Mamoru Shigemitsu, signed on behalf of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese Government General Yoshijiro Umezu, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, signed on behalf of the Japanese Armed Forces.

Surrender of Japan, Tokyo Bay, 2 September 1945
View of the surrender ceremonies, looking forward from USS Missouri's superstructure, as Admiral Conrad E.L. Helfrich signs the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of The Netherlands. General of the Army Douglas MacArthur is standing beside him.

Hundreds of American sailors lined every inch of the Missouri when General MacArthur delivered an eloquent speech calling for “freedom, tolerance and justice.”

THE KOREAN WAR

On June 25, 1950, the North Koreans in a surprise attack, invaded democratic South Korea. The Missouri was ordered to depart for the Pacific as soon as possible and left for Korea on August 19, 1950.

USS Missouri (BB-63)
Fires a salvo of 16-inch shells from turret # 2 while bombarding Chongjin, North Korea, in an effort to cut enemy communications, October 1950.
Chongjin is only 39 miles from North Korea's northern border.

For a six month period from September 15, 1950 through March 29, 1951,the Missouri played a vital part in the success of the Korean War. She relentlessly bombarded military targets along the coast of both North and South Korea. Her shore bombardments, mostly on Korea’s east coast, battered cities such as Tanchon, Chongjin, Chaho, Songjin and Wonsan.

DECOMMISSIONED

The Missouri was moved to the Pacific Reserve Fleet in Bremerton, Washington on February 26, 1955. During her years of retirement, visitors could visit the Surrender Deck of the Mighty Mo. The Missouri also enjoyed a short but successful career portraying numerous warships in movies such as MacArthur, The Winds of War, and War and Remembrance.

RECOMMISSIONED

In early 1984, the Missouri and her three sister battleships were recalled from retirement to serve the nation once more. On May 6, 1986 she had her formal re-commissioning ceremony on May 10 and her return to active duty.

THE PERSIAN GULF

The Mighty Mo fired its weapons in anger for the last time at targets in Ra's al Khafji, Saudi Arabia, occupied by the Iraqis. The ship fired 209 rounds from its 16-inch guns, which are capable of sending a 2,000-pound shell 23 miles.

During the summer of 1990, Iraq invaded the tiny country of Kuwait. Under General Norman Schwarzkopf’s command, the U.S. and Allied military assembled thousands of vessels, aircraft, tanks and equipment for immediate duty. At 1:40 a.m. on January 17, the Missouri launches the first of 28 Tomahawk missiles toward Baghdad.

FINAL JOURNEY HOME

U.S.S. Missouri at Astoria, Oregon
(Enroute Pearl Harbor)

After the Gulf War, the Missouri spent four years from 1992 to 1995 at the Pacific Reserve Fleet in Bremerton, Washington before she was moved to another Bremerton pier and opened to the public for visitation. Then following an intense competition from four cities to have the Missouri permanently berthed at one of these locations, Secretary of Navy John Dalton, on August 21, 1996, selected the USS Missouri Memorial Association to receive the Missouri at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This announcement was made 51 years from September 2, 1945, the date Japan ended World War II at the surrender ceremony held aboard the Missouri.

The USS Missouri docked at Pearl Harbor Hawaii. September 2002

The Missouri left Bremerton on May 23, 1998 and went on a 300 mile trip to Astoria, Oregon. The Missouri left Astoria for Pearl Harbor and ended in Pearl Harbor on June 22, 1998.

Additional Sources:

starbulletin.com/2001/06/17/travel
www.oldglorytraditions.com
www.navsource.org
www.history.navy.mil
members.shaw.ca/ryan.herzog
www.zwpatch.com
www.northwestships.com
www.spclevents.com/ships/missouri
www.waffenhq.de/schiffe
navysite.de/bb
www.museumofworldwarii.com

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on May 05:
1352 Ruprecht Roman catholic German king
1635 Philippe Quinault French playwright (L'amant indiscret)
1749 Jean-Frederic Edelmann composer
1800 Louis Hachette French publisher (Librairie Hachette)
1813 Søren Kierkegaard Denmark, philosopher (founded Existentialism)
1817 George Washington Julian MC (Union), died in 1899
1818 Karl Marx philosopher (Communist Manifesto, Das Kapital)
1823 James Allen Hardie Brevet Major General (Union Army), died in 1876
1832 H H Bancroft historian, publisher (History of the Pacific States)
1833 Ferdinand von Richthofen German geographer/explorer
1835 Leopold II Belgian crown prince, baptized
1846 Henryk Sienkiewicz Poland, author (Quo Vadis, Nobel 1905)
1849 Hambletonian Chester NY, greatest standardbred horse
1867 Nellie Bly [Elizabeth Cochran Seaman] journalist
1879 Symon Petlyura leader Ukraine (pogroms)
1883 Charles Bender only American Indian in baseball's Hall of Fame
1884 Wang Tjing-Wei premier China (1932-35)
1887 Lord Geoffrey Fisher of Lambeth archbishop of Canterbury
1894 Kit Guard Denmark, actor (El Diablo Rides, Kid Courageous)
1899 Freeman Gosden Richmond VA, radio actor (Amos-Amos 'n' Andy)
1900 Mervyn A Ellison British astronomer (spectrohelioscope)
1900 Spencer Tracy actor (Captians Courageous, Pat and Mike, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner....)
1903 James Beard US, culinary expert/author (Delights & Prejudices)
1907 Benny Baker St Joseph MO, actor (18 Again, Sting II, Thunderbirds)
1908 Jacques Massu French general (Algeria)
1908 Rex [Reginald Carey] Harrison Huyton Lancashire England, actor (My Fair Lady, Doctor Dolittle, Cleopatra)
1910 William I Martin US pilot/Vice-Admiral (WWII)
1911 Phillip Edmund Clinton Manson-Bahr specialist in tropical medicine
1912 Alice Faye [Ann Jeanne Leppert] New York NY, actress (Barricade, King Kong, State Fair)
1913 Tyrone Power Cleveland OH, actor (Mark of Zorro, Alexander's Ragtime Band)
1922 Phil Gordon Meridian MS, actor/singer (Jasper-Bev Hillbillies)
1926 Ann B Davis Schenectady NY, actress (Bob Cummings Show, Brady Bunch)
1927 Pat Carroll Shreveport LA, comedienne/actress (Make Room for Daddy)
1930 Michael James Adams USAF pilot (X-15)
1938 Johnnie Taylor US gospel singer (I Believe in You)
1940 Eric Burdon Walker-on-Tyne England, rock singer (Animals-House of Rising Sun, War)
1942 Tammy Wynette Redbay AL, country singer (Stand by your Man)
1943 Michael Palin Sheffield Yorkshire England, comedian (Monty Python, Fish Called Wanda)
1944 John Rhys-Davies Salisbury Wiltshire England, actor (Sir Edward-The Quest, Sliders, Lord of the Rings)
1953 Billy Burnette Memphis TN, rock guitarist (Fleetwood Mac)
1954 Peter Erskine jazz drummer (Weather Report)
1955 Robert Feld Nashville TN, National Scrabble Champion (1990)
1964 Heike Henkel German Federal Republic, world record indoor high jumper (1992)
1972 Janelle Lynn Canady Miss Alaska USA (1996)
1973 Tina Yothers Whittier CA, actresss (Jennifer-Family Ties)
1975 Christine Buschur Eagle River AK, Miss America-Alaska (1997)

Deaths which occurred on May 05:
0311 Gaius VM Galerius emperor of Rome, dies at about 50
1028 Alfonso V King of León/Galicia (999-1028), dies in battle
1194 Kazimierz II the Justified, grand duke of Poland (1177-94), dies
1309 Charles II the Lame, King of Naples (1285-1309), dies
1504 Anton of Burgundy the Great Bastard, knight, dies at about 82
1525 Frederik III the Wise, ruler of Saxon (1486-1525), dies at 62
1553 Erasmus Alberus German theologist (Barfüsser Mönche), dies at about 52
1613 Johann Steuerlein composer, dies at 66
1705 Leopold I von Hapsburg Emperor of Holy Roman Empire, dies at 64
1786 Pedro III King of Portugal, dies
1821 Napoleon I Bonaparte emperor France (1799-1815), dies in St Helena
1859 Peter G L Dirichlet German mathematician, dies at 53
1864 Alexander Hays US Union-general-major, dies in battle at 44
1864 John Marshall Jones Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle at 43
1864 Leroy A Stafford US Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle at 42
1886 Joseph Albert German photographer (Albertotype), dies at 61
1956 Charles R Gallas lexicographer (French Dictionary), dies at 88
1969 Ben Alexander actor (Frank Smith-Dragnet), dies at 57
1976 Thomas Burnett Swann sci-fi author (Day of Minotaur), dies at 47
1983 John Williams actor (Family Affair, Dial M for Murder), dies at 80
1993 Irving Howe US writer/critic (Dissent), dies at 72
1995 James Pack naval officer museum curator, dies at 81
1995 Lionel Alexander Bethune [Alastair] Pilkington engineer, dies at 75
1995 Mikhail Moseyevich Botvinnik world chess champion, dies

Reported: MISSING in ACTION
1966 DAWES JOHN J.---MADERA CA.
1966 HEILIG JOHN---MIAMI FL.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1966 THOMAS KENNETH DEANE JR---MT VERNON IL.
[REMAINS RECOVERED 08/14/85]
1967 HUGHES JAMES L.---WATERLOO IA.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL IN 96/98]
1967 LARSON GORDON A.---WINONA MN.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1967 SHIVELY JAMES R.---SPOKANE WA.
[02/18/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1968 MITCHELL HARRY E.---MARION IN.
[09/79 POSSIBLY SEEN IN USA]
1968 NORRINGTON GILES R.---SPRINGFILED OH.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1968 TANGEMAN RICHARD G.---NEW YORK NY.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
0553 2nd Council of Constantinople (5th ecumenical council) opens
1382 Battle of Beverhoutsveld - population beats drunken army
1430 Jews are expelled from Speyer Germany
1494 Christopher Columbus 1st sights Jamaica on his 2nd voyage to the New World
1640 English Short Parliament unites
1646 King Charles I surrenders at Scotland
1762 Russia & Prussia sign peace treaty
1764 Smolny-institution forms in St Petersburg for noble girls
1780 2nd oldest learned society in US (American Academy of Arts & Sciences) forms (Boston)
1809 Citizenship is denied to Jews of Canton of Aargau Switzerland
1809 Mary Kies is 1st woman issued a US patent (weaving straw)
1814 British attack Fort Ontario, Oswego NY
1816 American Bible Society organized (New York)
1842 City-wide fire burns for over 100 hours (Hamburg Germany)
1847 American Medical Association organized (Philadelphia)
1854 English pirate Plumridge robs along pro-English Finnish coast
1861 Alexandria VA - CS troops abandon city
1867 Battle of Pueblo; Mexicans defeat Maximilian's forces (Cinco de Mayo)
1862 Peninsular Campaign-Battle of Williamsburg VA
1863 Battle of Tupelo MS
1863 Joe Coburn KOs Mike McCoole for US boxing title in 63rd round
1864 Atlanta Campaign-5 days fighting begins at Rocky Face Ridge
1864 Battle between Confederate & Union ships at mouth of Roanoke
1864 Battle of Wilderness VA (Germanna Ford, Wilderness Tavern)
1865 1st US train robbery (North Bend OH)
1874 Dutch 2nd Chamber passes child labor law
1881 Anit-Jewish rioting in Kiev Ukraine
1891 Carnegie Hall opens in NYC with Tchaikovsky as guest conductor
1893 Panic of 1893: Great crash on New York Stock Exchange
1904 Cy Young of Boston pitches perfect game against Philadelphia A's (3-0)
1908 34th Kentucky Derby: Arthur Pickens on Stone Street wins in 2:15.2
1908 Great White Fleet arrives in San Fransisco
1912 Soviet Communist Party newspaper Pravda begins publishing
1915 German U-20 sinks Earl of Lathom
1916 US marines invade Dominican Republic, stay until 1924
1917 42nd Preakness: E Haynes aboard Kalitan wins in 1:54.4
1917 St Louis Brown Ernie Koob no-hits Chicago White Sox, 1-0
1920 Polish troops occupy Kiev
1920 US President Wilson makes Communist Labor Party illegal
1922 Construction begins on Yankee Stadium (Bronx)
1925 John T Scopes arrested for teaching evolution in Tennessee
1925 Ty Cobb goes 6 for 6, (16 total bases)
1925 Yankee Everett Scott is benched, ending his 1,307-game playing streak
1926 Sinclair Lewis refuses his Pulitzer Prize for "Arrowsmith"
1927 Dmitri Shostakovich's 1st Symphony, premieres in Berlin
1930 1st woman to fly solo from England to Australia takes-off (Amy Johnson)
1932 Japan & China sign a peace treaty
1934 60th Kentucky Derby: Mack Garner aboard Cavalcade wins in 2:04
1935 Jessie Owens of the US, sets then long jump record at 26' 8¼"
1936 Edward Ravenscroft patents screw-on bottle cap with a pour lip
1936 Italian troops occupy Addis Ababa
1938 Phillies Harold Kelleher faces 16 batters in 6th, as Cubs score 12 runs, both marks are National League records off one hurler in a single inning
1939 Flash floods kill 75 in Northeast Kentucky
1940 Norwegian Government in exile forms in London
1941 2 Fokker's employees flee Nazi occupied Netherlands to England
1942 US begins rationing sugar during WWII
1943 Postmaster General Frank C Walker invents Postal Zone System
1944 Gandhi freed from prison
1944 Russian offensive against Sebastopol Krim
1945 Denmark liberated from Nazi control
1945 Mauthausen Concentration camp liberated
1945 Premier Gerbrandy on Radio Orange tells Dutch they are liberated
1945 Uprising against SS-occupying troops in Prague
1947 Mississippi Valley flooding kills 16 & causes $850 million in damage
1948 1st air squadron of jets aboard a carrier
1949 Council of Europe established
1951 77th Kentucky Derby: Conn McCreary aboard Count Turf wins in 2:02.6
1952 Pulitzer prize awarded to Herman Wouk (Caine Mutiny)
1954 Military coup by General Alfredo Stroessner in Paraguay
1955 "Damn Yankees" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 1022 performances
1955 Indies parliament accept hindu-divorce
1955 West Germany granted full sovereignty by 3 occupying powers
1956 82nd Kentucky Derby: David Erb aboard Needles wins in 2:03.4
1956 World championships of judo are 1st held, in Tokyo
1958 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak

1961 Alan Shepard becomes 1st American in space (aboard Freedom 7)

1962 "West Side Story" soundtrack album goes to #1 & stays #1 for 54 weeks which is more than 20 weeks longer than any other album
1962 88th Kentucky Derby: Bill Hartack aboard Decidedly wins in 2:00.4
1965 1st large-scale US Army ground units arrive in South Vietnam
1966 Willie Mays hit his 512th homerun
1971 Race riot in Brownsville section of Brooklyn (NYC)
1973 99th Kentucky Derby: Ron Turcotte aboard Secretariat wins in 1:59.4
1975 A's release pinch runner Herb Washington (played 104 games without batting, pitching, or fielding - He stole 30 bases, & scored 33 runs)
1978 Cincinnati Red Pete Rose becomes the 14th player to get 3,000 hits
1979 105th Kentucky Derby: Ron Franklin on Spectacular Bid wins in 2:02.4
1979 Voyager 1 passes Jupiter
1980 Siege at Iranian Embassy in London ends; British commandos & police stormed the building
1984 110th Kentucky Derby: Laffit Pincay Jr aboard Swale wins in 2:02.4
1987 Congress begins Iran-Contra hearings
1988 Eugene A Marino installed as 1st black US archbishop
1990 116th Kentucky Derby: Craig Perret aboard Unbridled wins in 2:02
1994 North-Yemen air force bombs Aden South Yemen
1995 Last basketball game at Boston Gardens (Magic beats Celtics)
1997 "Married With Children" final episode on Fox TV
2000 conjunction of Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn & Moon

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Denmark-1945, Ethiopia-1941, Netherlands-1945 : Liberation Day
Ethiopia : Victory Day
Japan : Tango-no-sekku [Boys' Festival]/Children's Day
México : Cinco de Mayo/Battle of Pueblo (1862)
South Korea : Dano Festival/Children's Day (1975)
Thailand : Coronation Day
Zambia : Labour Day (Monday)
National Turn Off Your TV Week (Day 3)
National Walking Week (Day 3)
National Postcard Week (Day 4)
National Raisin Week (Day 4)
National Bike Month

Religious Observances
old Roman Catholic : Feast of St Pius V, pope (1566-72)

Religious History
1815 Birth of New England musical artist Ithamar Conkey. In addition to being a well-known church organist and bass soloist, Conkey also penned the hymn tune RATHBUN, to which we sing today, "In the Cross of Christ I Glory."
1899 The Religious Tract Society, founded in 1799, celebrated its 100th anniversary in Exeter Hall, London. The Society had by then published and distributed Christian literature in over 270 languages and dialects.
1925 High school biology teacher John T. Scopes, 24, was arrested for teaching the theory of evolution in his Dayton, Tennessee classroom.
1950 American missionary and martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal: 'The conflict of science and religion is fought between the errors of both camps.'
1988 Eugene Antonio Marino, 53, was installed as the archbishop of Atlanta, becoming the first black Roman Catholic archbishop in the U.S.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"A plucked goose doesn`t lay golden eggs."

Actual Newspaper Headlines...
Stud Tires Out

Why did the Chicken cross the Road...
EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road or did the road move beneath the chicken?

Stocks To Watch In 2004 Watch for these consolidations in 2004 and make yourself a bundle...
Federal Express is expected to join its major competitor, UPS, and consolidate as...FedUP

Guide to REAL driving...
The faster you drive through a red light, the smaller the chance you have of getting hit.

Air Power
Mitsubishi A6M Zero-Sen

The Mitsubishi A6M Zero-Sen legendary status mirrored the fortunes of the rising sun, in which four years, the sun would finally set. For the Japanese and its former enemies, the A6M was the symbol of Japanese air power. The A6M fighter marked the beginning of a new epoch in naval aviation and was the first shipboard fighter capable of surpassing land-based aircraft.1 With its tight turning radius, it was an extremely deadly weapon in a dogfight, and was famous for its ability to outmaneuver, Brewster F2A Buffaloes, Curtiss P-40s and Grumman F4F Wildcats. As early as 1937, Claire Chennault, the author of 'The Role of Defensive Pursuit,' warned the USAAF about the dangers of Japanese air power. Apparently his warnings were ignored, as the superiority of the A6M was a complete surprise to the American forces.2 As leader of the Flying Tigers, Chennault constantly stressed to his pilots, 'Never try to turn with a Zero. Always get above the enemy and try to hit him with the first pass.'3 Because of the A6Ms exceptional range and performance, it was to bear the brunt of the action, of almost every military engagement in the Pacific, until the end of the war. 4

The Navy submitted specifications for a new Navy Fighter on 19 May, 1937, to supersede the Mitsubishi A5M, Navy Type 96 Carrier Fighter, which had just become operational. The requirements called for were:

1. Maximum speed of 270 kt @ 4,000 m.
2. Climbing speed of 3,000 m in 9 min 30 sec.
3. Endurance of 1.5 to 2 hours at normal rated power.
4. Endurance of 6 to 8 hours at economical speed with drop tanks.
5. Armament of two 20 mm cannon and two 7.7 mm machine guns.
6. Provisions for two 60 kg bombs.
7. Provision for full radio and direction finder.
8. Takeoff run less than 70 m with a 27 knot headwind.
9. Maneuverability at least equal to the A5M.

The Navy ordered two prototypes and plans were submitted by Nakajima and Mitsubishi. Nakajima elected to drop their proposal for a fighter design and Mitsubishi submitted their design led by designer Jiro Horikoshi. The Mitsubishi prototype was the A6M1, retractable gear, all metal, low-wing monoplane, powered with a 780 hp Mitsubishi Zuisei 13 engine. During flight testing, the two-bladed prop variable-pitch propeller was replaced with a three-bladed variable pitch propeller. Apart from maximum speed, all requirements were met or exceeded.5 The Navy had authorized the production of an initial batch of A6M2s and military trials progressed rapidly. While flight testing the A6M1, a new power plant passed its Navy acceptance tests, and the 925 hp Nakajima NK1C Sakae 12, which was slightly larger than the Zuisei, was installed in the third A6M2 prototype. The initial trials were completed in July 1940 and the navy assigned fifteen A6M2s to combat trials in China. In China the A6M2s, reinforced with a number of production aircraft, destroyed 99 Chinese aircraft with a loss of only two of their own. The aircraft was accepted for production on July 1940 as Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter Model 11 and in September 1941 were prepared for the impending war with the Allies.6 Modifications were introduced during production and A6M2 rear spar was reinforced and manually folding wingtips were incorporated to allow clearance on the carriers deck elevators. The modified aircraft was designated Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter Model 21. 7 The A6M2 Model 21 was the version utilized at Pearl Harbor and throughout the Pacific, during the early stages of the war. With its maximum speed of 288 kt @ 4,550 m and ability to climb to 6,000 m in 7 minutes 27 seconds, it possessed an ascendancy over any other fighter type in the Pacific. When the war began on December 7, 1941, the Japanese Navy had 328 A6M2s in first line units.8

The A6M possessed many shortcomings, which were only to be revealed six months later when a virtually intact specimen was obtained. On June 3, 1942, Flight Petty Officer Tadayoshi Koga left the flight deck of the carrier Ryujo in his Mitsubishi A6M2 Model 21 fighter as part of a task force assigned to attack Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands. His A6M2, which had been built in February, was on its first operational mission. On his way back to the Ryujo, Koga found that two bullets had punctured his fuel supply and he informed his flight commander that he intended to land on Akutan Island, designated as an emergency landing field. Koga did not make the landing field and instead made a forced landing in a marsh where the aircraft flipped over, in which he was killed, from a broken neck. Five weeks later, a US Navy PBY Catalina, making a routine patrol, discovered the Japanese fighter upside down in the marsh. This single fighter was probably one of the greatest prizes of the Pacific war. Hardly damaged, it was shipped back to the USA where it was exhaustively tested. Information gathered during testing of the A6M2 prompted the American aircraft manufacturer Grumman, to lighten the Grumman F4F Hellcat,9 and install a larger engine on the Grumman F6F Hellcat.10

Some Zeros were the first aircraft used intentionally as suicide attack planes. Modified Zeros assigned to Air Group 201 in the Philippines became the first Japanese aircraft used on planned suicide missions against American surface vessels. Air Group 201, assisted by volunteer pilots from Air Group 601 and other Navy units in the area, became the first Kamikaze (Divine Wind) suicide squadron in the Japanese Naval Air Force. The outstanding successes gained by this form of attack led to the formation of other Kamikaze units, and the bomb-carrying Zeros became the prime suicide attack bombers of the Navy.

More Zero-Sens were produced than any other wartime Japanese aircraft. Mitsubishi alone produced 3,879 aircraft of this type, Nakajima built 6,215 which, together with the 844 trainer and floatplane variants produced by Sasebo, Hitachi and Nakajima, brought the grand total of A6M series aircraft to 10,938. The Zero-Sen possessed complete mastery in the air over the Pacific until the Battle of Midway in June 1942, the actual turning point of the Pacific War although recognized by only a few at the time. The value of the fighter steadily declined and its lowest point was reached when it was selected to lead the Navy's Air Force in mass suicide, and the Japanese nation followed. The installation of the Kinsei engine brought Zero-Sen closer to Allied standards attained at that stage in the war, but the moment for decision had passed and, with it, victory for the Allies had become a foregone conclusion. The fighter that started the Pacific war was no longer able to fight it--nor was the nation that conceived it.

Type:
Single-seat carrier-based fighter
Float seaplane.
Origin: Mitsubishi
Models: A6M1 to A6M8 and Nakajima A6M2-N
First Flight:
A6M1: April 1, 1939
A6M2-N: December 1941
A6M5: August 1943
A6M2-K: January 1942
Service Delivery:
A6M1: late July 1940
Final Delivery: N/A

POWERPLANT:
A6M1:
Model: Mitsubishi MK2 Zuisei 13
Type: 14 Cylinder two row radial
Number: One       Horsepower: 780 hp

A6M2:
Model: Nakajima NK1C Sakae 12
Type: 14 Cylinder two row radial
Number: One       Horsepower: 925 hp

A6M3 & A6M5*:
Model: Nakajima NK1C Sakae 21
Type: 14 Cylinder two row radial
Number: One       Horsepower: 1,130 hp
*M5 fitted with individual exhaust stacks.

A6M6c:
Model: Nakajima NK1C Sakae 31
Type: 14 Cylinder two row radial
Number: One       Horsepower: 1,130 hp
Fitted with water/methanol boost to
1,210hp for emergency use.

A6M8c:
Model: Mitsubish Kinsei 62
Type: 14 Cylinder two row radial
Number: One       Horsepower: 1,560 hp

DIMENSIONS:
Wing span:
A6M1 & A6M2: 39 ft 4½ in. (12m)
Others: 36 ft 1 in (11m)
Length:
Landplanes: 29 ft 9 in (9.06m)
Float Plane: 33 ft 2¾ in (10.13m)
Height:
A6M1 & A6M2: 9 ft 7 in (2.92m)
Later models: 9 ft 8 in (2.98m)
A6M2-N: 14 ft 1¼ in (4.3m)
Wing Surface Area: N/A

WEIGHTS:
Empty:
A6M2: 3,704 lb (1680 kg)
A6M3: 3,984 lb (1807 kg)
A6M5: 3,920 lb (1778 kg)
A6M6c: 4,175 lb (1894 kg)
A6M8c: 4,740 lb (2150 kg)
A6M2-N: 3,968 lb (1800 kg)
Maximum:
A6M2: 5,313 lb (2410 kg)
A6M3: 5,828 lb (2644 kg)
A6M5 & A6M6C: 6,050 lb (2733 kg)
A6M8c: 6,944 lb (3149 kg)
A6M2-N: 5,423 lb (2460 kg)

PERFORMANCE:
Maximum Speed:
A6M2: 316 mph (509 kph)
A6M3: 336 mph (541 kph)
A6M5c & 6c: 354 mph (570 kph)
A6M8: 360 mph (5580 kph)
A6M2-N: 273 mph (440 kph)
Initial climb:
A6M1, 2, & 3: 4,500 ft. (1370m)/Minute
A6M5 & 6c: 3,150 ft. (960m)/Minute
Service Ceiling:
A6M1 & 2: 33,790 ft. (10,300m)
A6M3: 36,250 ft. (11,050m)
A6M5 & 6C: 37,500 ft. (11,500m)
A6M8c: 39,370 ft. (12,000m)
A6M2-N: 32,800 ft. (10,000m)
Range with drop tank:
A6M2: 1,940 miles (3,110km)
A6M5: 1,200 miles (1,920km)

ARMAMENT:
A6M1, 2, 3, and 2-N:
Two 20mm Type 99 Cannon fixed in outer wings.
- Ammo: 60 rounds per gun.
Two 7.7mm Type 97 machine guns above front fuselage.
- Ammo: 500 rounds per gun.
Wing racks for two 66 lb (30 kg) bombs.
A6M5a:
Two 20mm Type 99 Mk. 4 Cannon fixed in outer wings.
- Ammo: 85 rounds per gun.
Two 7.7mm Type 97 machine guns above front fuselage.
- Ammo: N/A (probably 500 rpg).
Wing racks for two 132 lb (60 kg) bombs.
A6M5b:
Two 20mm Type 99 Mk. 4 Cannon fixed in outer wings.
- Ammo: 85 rounds per gun.
One 7.7mm Type 97 machine gun above front fuselage.
One 12.7mm machine gun above front fuselage.
- Ammo: N/A.
Wing racks for two 132 lb (60 kg) bombs.
A6M5c and all later versions:
Two 20mm Type 99 Mk. 4 Cannon fixed in outer wings.
- Ammo: N/A.
Two 13.2mm machine guns fixed in outer wings.
- Ammo: N/A.
One 13.2mm machine gun above front fuselage (Optional).
- Ammo: N/A.
Wing racks for two 132 lb (60 kg) bombs.

COMMENTS:
Approximately 10,450 Zero-Sen's were built with Mitsubishi building 3,880 and Nakajima building 6,570. 515 two-seat trainers (A6M2-K and A6M5-K) were also built with 279 built by Hitachi and 236 built by the 21st Naval Air Arsenal at Omura. Vast numbers of early model Zero-Sen's were expended in kamikaze attacks.

Variant List:
A6M1 Prototype with Mitsubishi MK2 Zuisei Radial Engine (780-hp). First flown on April 1, 1939. While an excellent performer, it failed to meet the top speed requirement set down in the Navies specifications.

A6M2 A follow-up prototype to the A6M1 equipped with the Nakajima NK1C Sakae Engine (925-hp), flying for the first time in January 1940. This new configuration was so successful that in July 1940, Mitsubishi was awarded a contract to build 15 pre-production versions for evaluation in China. These trials led to the type being ordered into production at the end of July 1940, designated the Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter Model 11 (A6M2 Model 11. There were three sub-variants built; The A6M2 Model 21 eqipped with manually folded wingtips and the A6M2-K two-set trainer. The A6M2-N was a floatplane variant built by Nakajima (327 being built).

A6M3 Model 22 is equipped with the Nakajima NK1F Sakae 21 Engine. The A6M3 had clipped wings instead of folding tips

A6M5 Model 52 was the major production version, introduced in 1943. Primarily designed to counter the increasingly capable Allied fighters and had several sub-variants incluuding the A6M5a, A6m5b and A6m5c which carried various armament configurations. The A6M5d-S was designed as a night fighter with a 20mm cannon mounted obliquely behind the cockpit, in the rear fuselage. The A6M5-K was a two-seat trainer

A6M6c Model 53c was a re-engined version of the A6M5c put into production in late 1944.A6M7 Model 63 was developed as a fighter/bomber with a rack that could accomodate a single 250-kg (551-lb) bomb. This variant was built from mid-1945 onward.

A6M8c Model 64c was the final variant but only two examples were built. The war ended before this variant could reach production.

All information and photos Copyright of Warbird Resource Group and other respective sites/owners