Without a doubt. the Reisen or Zero Fighter is the most famous aircraft ever produced by Japanese industry. At the time of its debut in 1939, it was arguably the best fighter aircraft -- either carrier - or land based -- in the world. Above all, it possessed unsurpassed maneuverability and range, while its firepower and speed were at least equal of its contemporaries. Development of the Zero began in May of 1937. Mitsubishi's team was led by Chief Engineer Jiro Horikoshi, the man responsible for the Navy Type 96 Carrier Fighter (A5M Claude), itself a very successful plane. Horikoshi's design for the new fighter was packed with features which were innovations at the time:
- retractable landing gear
- fully enclosed cockpit
- variable-pitch propeller
- segmented fuselage construction
- streamlined drop tank
- wing-mounted 20mm cannons and more
The A6M1 prototype was completed in March of 1939, and made its first flight in April. During testing, the prototype -- powered by a 780hp Zuisei engine -- achieved a speed of 491 kmh. This and its other performance characteristics all meet or exceeded the Navy's requirements. Following testing, minor modifications (such as switching to a three-blade propeller) were made and the aircraft was handed over to the Navy for further tests in September. Following commencement of the Navy's testing, the third and following prototypes were fitted with the 940hp Nakajima Sakae 12 engine, further improving on the planes's already exceptional performance. Compared to the Zusei-powered version, this type was 270mm longer and 19kg heavier, but top speed was boosted to 533.4 kmh. Although the second prototype was lost in a unexplained accident in which the plane came apart in mid-air, the Navy's tests were otherwise completely successful, and the Sakae-powered Zero was adopted by the Navy in July of 1940 becoming officially known as the Navy Type Zero Carrier Fighter Model 11, or A6M2 (the name was revised in 1942 to A6M2a). Even prior to the plane's official adoption, fifteen pre-production examples had been sent to China for combat trials. These aircraft fulfilled the Navy's hopes for the type. Together with production planes, they combined to shoot down 99 Chines aircraft while losing just two to of their own to ground fire during one combat in September. A total of 64 Model 11 Zeros were produced. Employed as land-based planes, these aircraft lacked carrier-use features such as tail hooks and folding wings. Beginning with the 67th aircraft, however, 50cm manual-folding wingtips, tail hooks and other modifications were incorporated. This version of the Zero was adopted as the Model 21, or A6M2b. Nakajima Hikoki also began their production of the plane with this model. It was the A6M2b which spearheaded the Japanese successes at Pearl Harbor, Wake, the Philippines and others, firmly establishing it as the most formidable fighter in the sky during the early years of the Pacific War.
Crew: 1
Length: 9.06m
Wingspan: 12.0m
Height: 3.57m
Maximum Speed: 533kmh at 4,300m
Powerplant: Nakajima NK1C Sakae 12 14-cylinder air-cooled radial 940hp
Standard Armament: Two 7.7mm machine guns, two 20mm cannon
