helmut the horrible
Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" (1)
Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen was a long range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was usually referred to by the Allies as the "Zero", from the
Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter' designation. The official Allied reporting codename was Zeke.
When it was introduced early in World War II, the Zero was the best carrier-based fighter in the world, combining excellent maneuverability and very long range. In early combat operations, the Zero gained a legendary reputation as a "dogfighter", achieving the outstanding kill ratio of 12 to 1, but by 1942 a combination of new tactics and the introduction of better American planes enabled the US and Allied pilots to engage the Zero on more equal terms.
The Japanese also frequently used the type as a land-based fighter. By 1943, inherent design weaknesses and the increasing lack of more powerful aircraft engines meant that the Zero became less effective against newer enemy fighters that possessed greater firepower, armor, and speed, and approached the Zero's maneuverability. Outdated by 1944, it was never totally supplanted by the newer Japanese aircraft types. During the final years of the War in the Pacific, the Zero was used in kamikaze operations. In the course of the war, 10,939 Zeros were built, more than any other Japanese aircraft. Yet, very few remain in the world.
Personal note: when I carried out an electrical engineering project as a supplier to Mitsubishi Electric in the 1990s, representatives of that company pretended not to know anything about this famous plane.
Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" (1)
Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen was a long range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was usually referred to by the Allies as the "Zero", from the
Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter' designation. The official Allied reporting codename was Zeke.
When it was introduced early in World War II, the Zero was the best carrier-based fighter in the world, combining excellent maneuverability and very long range. In early combat operations, the Zero gained a legendary reputation as a "dogfighter", achieving the outstanding kill ratio of 12 to 1, but by 1942 a combination of new tactics and the introduction of better American planes enabled the US and Allied pilots to engage the Zero on more equal terms.
The Japanese also frequently used the type as a land-based fighter. By 1943, inherent design weaknesses and the increasing lack of more powerful aircraft engines meant that the Zero became less effective against newer enemy fighters that possessed greater firepower, armor, and speed, and approached the Zero's maneuverability. Outdated by 1944, it was never totally supplanted by the newer Japanese aircraft types. During the final years of the War in the Pacific, the Zero was used in kamikaze operations. In the course of the war, 10,939 Zeros were built, more than any other Japanese aircraft. Yet, very few remain in the world.
Personal note: when I carried out an electrical engineering project as a supplier to Mitsubishi Electric in the 1990s, representatives of that company pretended not to know anything about this famous plane.