Mitsubishi A6M Zero A6M2a Tipo 0 Modelo 11

While the Navy was testing the first two prototypes, it suggested the third be fitted with the 700 kW (940 hp) Nakajima Sakae 12 engine instead of the Zuisei; Mitsubishi had its own engine in that class (the Kinsei) and accepted the Sakae reluctantly. The first A6M2 was completed in January 1940, and the Sakae's extra power pushed performance well past the original specification. The Navy ordered 15 pre-series aircraft, which arrived in Manchuria in July 1940 and first saw combat over Chongqing in August, proving untouchable against the Soviet-built Polikarpov I-15s and I-16s that had troubled the A5M: in one encounter, 13 Zeros shot down 27 I-15s and I-16s in under three minutes without loss. After these reports, the Navy ordered the type into production as the Type 0 Carrier Fighter, Model 11.