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Air Power |
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. |
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