Mitsubishi A6M Type 0 ("Zeke")
Click HERE to see a more detailed 3-view of the Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" was one of the outstanding planes of the Pacific War. As Japan's premiere (and most common) fighter, Zeros saw service throughout World War II. To many an Allied serviceman, if it was a Japanese fighter, it was a "Zero", regardless of its correct designation. This was because of its fearsome reputation in the early years of the war, and the fact that more Zeros were built than any other Japanese plane during the course of the war. Work began on the A6M design in 1937, intended to be a replacement for the A5M (which was at the time Japan's main naval fighter, and was later to be named "Claude" by the Allies). The first A6M made its maiden flight on April 1, 1939, with the initial version (the A6M2) making its operational debut during the conflict in China. When Japan went to war, the A6M2 was the Imperial Navy's leading carrier-based fighter. It was superior to Allied planes of the period, especially in speed and maneuverability. For the first six months of the war, the Zero (codenamed "Zeke" by the Allies) dominated the Pacific skies. The second main version of the Zero was the A6M3, which came out in mid-1942 with a more powerful engine and stronger armament. This was followed in 1943 by the A6M5 model, which attempted to address the problems of insufficient armament and lack of protection for the pilot and fuel tanks. Unfortunately, the attempt to make an improved Zero which could stand up to the American Hellcats and Corsairs was not a success, and the A6M5 was frequently bested by its competition. This was exacerbated by the fact that in the last two years of the war most of Japan's qualified pilots had already been lost in the combats of 1942 and 1943. A final version of the Zero, the A6M8, was given a more powerful engine and first appeared in April 1945. By that time, however, the end was in sight, and the majority of the surviving Zeros were used in futile attempts to protect the home islands from Allied bombardments, as well as in kamikaze attacks. A total of 10,449 A6Ms were built between March 1939 and August 1945.
Mitsubishi A6M2 Model 21 (A6M5 specs further down the page)
Type: Carrier-borne Fighter
Service: Japanese Navy Air Force (JNAF)
Crew: pilot
Armament: two 7.7mm Type 92 machine guns in the nose
two 20mm Type 99 cannon in the wings
one 500 kg bomb
Reference: Francillon: 362, Mondey: 194
Specifications:
Length: 29' 8.75" (9.06 m)
Height: 10' 0" (3.05 m)
Wingspan: 39' 4.5" (12 m)
Wing area: 241.541 sq. ft (22.44 sq. m)
Empty Weight: 3704 lbs (1680 kg)
Loaded Weight: 5313 lbs (2410 kg)
Max Weight: 6164 lbs (2796 kg)
Propulsion:
No. of Engines: 1
Powerplant: Nakajima NK1C Sakae 12 14-cylinder radial
Horsepower: 950 hp
Performance:
Range: 1930 naut miles (1675 st miles)
Cruise Speed: 207 mph (180 kt)
Max Speed: 331.5 mph at 14930 ft (288 kt at 4550 m)
Climb to/in: 19685 ft (6000 m) in 7 min 27 sec
Ceiling: 32810 ft (10000 m)
Production: approximately 10449 A6Ms (except -N & -K models) total
Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52
Type: Carrier-borne Fighter
Service: Japanese Navy Air Force (JNAF)
Crew: pilot
Armament: two 7.7mm Type 92 machine guns in the nose
two 20mm Type 99 cannon in the wings
one 500 kg bomb
Specifications:
Length: 29' 11" (9.121 m)
Height: 11' 6" (3.509 m)
Wingspan: 36' 1" (11 m)
Wing area: 229.27 sq. ft (21.3 sq. m)
Empty Weight: 4136 lbs (1876 kg)
Loaded Weight: 6025 lbs (2733 kg)
Max Weight: n/a
Propulsion:
No. of Engines: 1
Powerplant: Nakajima NK1F Sakae 21 14-cylinder radial
Horsepower: 1100 hp
Performance:
Range: 1037 naut miles (1194 st miles)
Cruise Speed: 200 mph (230 kt)
Max Speed: 351 mph at 19685 ft (305 kt at 6000 m)
Climb to/in: 19685 ft (6000 m) in 7 min 1 sec
Ceiling: 38520 ft (11740 m)
Production: approximately 10449 A6Ms (except -N & -K models) total
Additional information on this aircraft can be
found at Wikipedia
HERE.
For several very nice scale color drawings of this aircraft, see
here
(19 versions available on left).
Additional color schemes for this aircraft can be found here.
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