No fighter aircraft from WWII so captured the imagination of the public and the acclaim of history as the Mitsubishi A6M Type 0 (Zero) family of fighters. They were fast, versatile, highly adaptable, and in the hands of a skilled pilot, packed a deadly punch. The A6M was designed to fly long-range missions, requiring its weight to be held to a minimum. Each aircraft was built of lightweight duralumin which gave it strength. It had a high-lift, low-speed monoplane wing which could out-turn any allied fighter of the early war period. To further keep the aircraft light and fast, there was no armor plating to protect the pilot or engine, and there were no self-sealing fuel tanks. The first aircraft went into operation in July 1940 against the Chinese Nationalist Air Force. At the time of the Pearl Harbor mission, 521 A6M aircraft were active in the Pacific. Allied pilots quickly learned that their aircraft were no match for the A6M the allied code name for the Zero was “Zeke”). Special “hit and run” tactics were developed by allied pilots to counter the “Zeke’s” strengths. These tactics cost Japan many of its most experienced aviators. Throughout the war, the A6M went through a number of advancements and improvements. The A6M5 Type 0 Model 52 variant (the Museum’s aircraft) entered service in June 1943. Over 6,000 versions would be produced, the most of any Zero aircraft. At this same time, new allied fighters such as the FU “Corsair” and F6F “Hellcat” entered combat. Their speed and agility matched those of the Zero, which now found the lack of armor and self-sealing fuel tanks to be its downfall. Combined with the growing problem of not enough skilled pilots, many Zeros were used for Kamikaze suicide missions. With the war’s end, production ceased. Nearly 11,000 A6M aircraft were produced from 1940 to 1945.
Joseph Jenkins 