Warum 90 % der Zero-Piloten starben | Die tragische Geschichte des Mitsubishi A6M | WW2 Doku

Video from the channel Zeugen der Zeit about Mitsubishi A6M Zero, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 11:19. Language: German. Video type: Documentary.

A German documentary about the Mitsubishi A6M Zero carrier fighter. It traces its path from apparent superiority at the start of the Pacific War to obsolescence, and focuses on the high price its pilots paid.

The story begins in 1940, with reports from Chinese pilots about a Japanese fighter capable of breaking up entire formations. In the late 1930s, the Imperial Japanese Navy had called for a carrier aircraft with great range, speed and manoeuvrability. Jiro Horikoshi's team solved this with a very light structure, lacking armour or self-sealing tanks. The prototype flew in 1939. In December 1941 the Zero escorted the bombers at Pearl Harbor and prevailed over aircraft such as the Curtiss P-40 and the Brewster Buffalo. The Allies studied captured examples and responded with diving attacks from altitude. The loss of four carriers and many veteran pilots at Midway, together with the arrival of the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair, tipped the balance. According to the video, from 1943 onward its advantage had disappeared.

The video credits the aircraft with about 540 km/h, over 3,000 km of range and armament of two 20 mm cannons and two 7.7 mm machine guns. It notes that a single hit was often fatal and that Japan could not replace its expert pilots or sustain its supply of materiel. It also states that more than 90% of Zero pilots did not survive the war.