A6M Zero: Japan’s Flying Illusion | Corrupted Intel Files

Video from the channel Captain Slicerax about Mitsubishi A6M Zero, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 32:33. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

A humorous look back at the history of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, called Reisen in Japan and Zeke by the Allies. The thread running through it is how its reputation misled both enemies and public opinion: at times it seemed more formidable than it was, and at other times less.

After the A5M, the Japanese Navy set the requirements for a successor in May 1937 and expanded them in October. The war in China had shown that bombers needed long-range escort. It called for a carrier-based fighter capable of both escort and interception, with 310 mph at about 4,000 m and a climb to 3,000 m in under three and a half minutes. It also had to have long range with a drop tank and carry two 7.7 mm machine guns and two 20 mm cannon. Nakajima withdrew from the competition. Mitsubishi, with Jiro Horikoshi, bet on cutting weight to the minimum. The prototype flew on 1 April 1939. The Zuisei 13 engine proved insufficient, and the 940 hp Nakajima Sakae 12 was adopted, the basis for the A6M2, which entered production in early 1940.

The video details the extra super duralumin alloy, the extreme weight-saving measures and the lack of armour and self-sealing tanks. The Type 99 Model 1 cannon were derived from the Oerlikon FF and used 60-round drums. The manually operated ailerons stiffened at high speed. The Zero entered combat in China in July 1940, and on 13 September of that year it shot down 13 Chinese aircraft without losses, although its pilots claimed 27.

The video puts its reputation for invincibility in perspective: against the F4F Wildcat its performance was closer than believed, and both sides overestimated their kills. The United States studied the Akutan Zero, captured in 1942.

As for variants, the A6M3 fitted the 1,130 hp Sakae 21, with less fuel and less range. The A6M5 entered service in August 1943 with 13.2 mm machine guns, and later versions added armour and bulletproof glass. The A6M7 was reinforced to carry bombs, and its successor, the A7M, did not go beyond eight prototypes. More than 10,000 Zeros were built by August 1945. According to the video, the loss of veteran pilots and American industrial superiority explain its decline.