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Mitsubishi A6M7 Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a lightweight fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) from 1940 to 1945. It was by far the most famous and widely used aircraft in Japanese aviation history. The origin of its official designation was “A” signifying a fighter and “6” signifying the sixth model built by Mitsubishi “M.”
It is universally known as the “Zero” from its Japanese Navy designation, Type “0” Carrier Fighter, taken from the last digit of the Imperial year 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 their planes “Zero-sen.” The official Allied code name was “Zeke” in keeping with the practice of giving boys’ names to Japanese fighters, girls’ names to bombers, bird names to gliders, and tree names to trainers.
It was a modern monoplane for the time, capable of speeds over 300 mph, yet its low landing speed also made it suitable for carrier operations. Everything about its design and construction emphasized lightness, simplicity, and utility. The first Zero was flown in April 1939 and went into regular service with the Japanese Navy in July 1940. A total of 10,450 examples were produced from 1939 to 1945, more than any other type of Japanese military aircraft. The Zero played an important role in almost every Japanese naval action, from Pearl Harbor all the way through to the Japanese surrender in August 1945. Even though it was considered obsolete after 1943, the aircraft continued in production until the last days of the war.
Since most of Japan’s carrier fleet had been sunk by 1944, the Japanese Navy ordered new Zeros designed with more reliable bomb racks to fulfill the mission of dive bombing and to operate from smaller carriers. The Model 63 with a special bomb rack, reinforced tailplane, and 350-liter wing drop tanks was put into production in May 1945. However, with no aircraft carriers available at this time, most surviving Zeros were converted into Kamikaze or suicide attack planes. In the last months of the war, the A6M7 was the final line of defense of the home islands, assuming the additional role of night fighter.
This Zero, built in 1945, was transported from the Yokohama Naval Air Station in Japan at the end of hostilities aboard the carrier USS Wasp (CV-18), and stored at the U.S. Naval Air Station at Willow Grove, PA. In 1962, it was acquired by the National Air and Space Museum, and then in turn, sent to the Bradley Air Museum in Connecticut for restoration, but storm damage to the museum prevented this from happening. The aircraft was then loaned to the San Diego Air and Space Museum, where it arrived dismantled and in boxes in March of 1981. Museum volunteers spent over 12,000 hours restoring the plane, which has been on display in the WWII gallery since April of 1984. It is currently on permanent loan from the National Air and Space Museum. Prior to my visit, I had little to no idea that this model of the Zero even existed!
Mitsubishi A6M7 Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a lightweight fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) from 1940 to 1945. It was by far the most famous and widely used aircraft in Japanese aviation history. The origin of its official designation was “A” signifying a fighter and “6” signifying the sixth model built by Mitsubishi “M.”
It is universally known as the “Zero” from its Japanese Navy designation, Type “0” Carrier Fighter, taken from the last digit of the Imperial year 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 their planes “Zero-sen.” The official Allied code name was “Zeke” in keeping with the practice of giving boys’ names to Japanese fighters, girls’ names to bombers, bird names to gliders, and tree names to trainers.
It was a modern monoplane for the time, capable of speeds over 300 mph, yet its low landing speed also made it suitable for carrier operations. Everything about its design and construction emphasized lightness, simplicity, and utility. The first Zero was flown in April 1939 and went into regular service with the Japanese Navy in July 1940. A total of 10,450 examples were produced from 1939 to 1945, more than any other type of Japanese military aircraft. The Zero played an important role in almost every Japanese naval action, from Pearl Harbor all the way through to the Japanese surrender in August 1945. Even though it was considered obsolete after 1943, the aircraft continued in production until the last days of the war.
Since most of Japan’s carrier fleet had been sunk by 1944, the Japanese Navy ordered new Zeros designed with more reliable bomb racks to fulfill the mission of dive bombing and to operate from smaller carriers. The Model 63 with a special bomb rack, reinforced tailplane, and 350-liter wing drop tanks was put into production in May 1945. However, with no aircraft carriers available at this time, most surviving Zeros were converted into Kamikaze or suicide attack planes. In the last months of the war, the A6M7 was the final line of defense of the home islands, assuming the additional role of night fighter.
This Zero, built in 1945, was transported from the Yokohama Naval Air Station in Japan at the end of hostilities aboard the carrier USS Wasp (CV-18), and stored at the U.S. Naval Air Station at Willow Grove, PA. In 1962, it was acquired by the National Air and Space Museum, and then in turn, sent to the Bradley Air Museum in Connecticut for restoration, but storm damage to the museum prevented this from happening. The aircraft was then loaned to the San Diego Air and Space Museum, where it arrived dismantled and in boxes in March of 1981. Museum volunteers spent over 12,000 hours restoring the plane, which has been on display in the WWII gallery since April of 1984. It is currently on permanent loan from the National Air and Space Museum. Prior to my visit, I had little to no idea that this model of the Zero even existed!