Japanese Mitsubishi Zero A6M
When we look back on the Pacific War, there is no greater an expression of the Japanese Military Culture then the infamous Zero. Designed at the start of the war to replace the A5M, it went on to a brief career of unprecedented dominance that will never be matched. Unfortunately, the Zero is also a cautionary tale, a prime example of evolve or die.
The Beginning
In the late 1930’s the Mitsubishi A5M “Claude” was the primary carrier based fighter in the Japanese inventory, a lightly armed but well protected fighter with excellent maneuverability and decent top end speed, it was a robust successful fighter that did exceptionally well in the Sino-Japanese War.
However, as the Japanese were drawn into the inevitable war against the Americans which was to in their minds be build around carrier tactics, the Japanese Military Command decided to look to replace it with a generational aircraft.
With a demand for fighter with a top speed of greater then 500 km/h, a fast climb rate and above average endurance. The Imperial Japanese Navy also wanted a plane with heavier fire power and the ability to carry bombs.
Only one company came forward to build this plane, and that was Mitsubishi. Designed by Jiro Horikoshi, he realized that the only way to meet the requirements of the Navy was to build a extremely lightweight plane.
To achieve the weight constraints, Horikoshi built the plane out of an experimental light weight aluminum alloy, and every single pilot safety feature was removed. There would be no armor in the Zero, and the fuel tanks would not contain a self-sealing feature. There were also problems around the aluminum frame which became brittle in the cold and tended corrode quickly. There would also be no hydraulic control systems for the rudders and ailerons which were cable driven and difficult to use.
In exchange for the removal of these safety systems, the Japanese created a revolutionary aircraft. Driven by a lightweight 14 cyclinder air cooled radial piston engine with 940 hp, the Zero’s top speed was a fairly sporty 533 km/h, it could climb at 15.7 m/s, and because of the extremely low stalling speed could outturn anything in the air at the time.
It featured a pretty heavy Sunday punch based around 2 20 mm cannons and 2 7.7 mm machine guns. It could either carry two light 130 pound bombs and a center mounted fuel tank, or in later years one 550 lb bomb for kamikaze missions.
Entering the War
The Japanese Zero reached operational status in 1940 and got involved in the war against China where it showed its incredible dominance. In its first year the Zero was responsible for more then 100 Chinese Aircraft.
However production was fairly slow, as the Japanese moved across the Pacific Ocean and approached Pearl Harbor the Japanese had only managed to build about 500 Zero’s, though by the end of the war they had produced around 10,000 of different variances.
Pearl Harbor showed the absolute benefits and dominance of the Zero. First and foremost because of its long range, it could be launched farther away from the American Airbase, in its first engagement with American Fighters it was shown to be far more maneuverable then the heavier American Fighters. At its height in the Pacific War the Zero had a 12-1 one kill ratio.
Considered to be far superior to the American F4F Wildcats and slightly superior to the British Submarine Spitfire, it was a fighter that rewarded an experienced and aggressive pilot, though it was unforgiving to a tentative or inexperienced pilot which the Japanese would learn latter in the War.
Opponent 1 The Grumman F4F Wildcat
The primary American Naval Fighter at the start of the Pacific War. Designed to be a rugged plane that could exchange fire with enemy planes, it was woefully outperformed by the Zero. With a slower top speed at about 512 km/h, the Wildcat couldn’t turn with the zero nor outclimb it. It was also seriously outgunned and outranged by its Japanese opponents.
The Tactical Change
There were two problems with the American Naval Aircraft. First and foremost, the Wildcat was universally hated by its pilot, it could not maneuver with the Zero. The other problems was with initial tactics. American pilots had trained to fight extremely technical pilots from Germany and Italy. Unfortunately, the Japanese were far more aggressive and were prone to take a lot more risks with heir plane. On top of that the Japanese pilots knew that they had a massive advantage over the American pilots and were willing to engage in a turn-based battle.
After seeing dominance by the Zero at Pearl Harbor and Midway (The Japanese lost the battle but the Zero carried the air war). The American’s changed tactics at Guadalcanal. Using altitude, the American’s would climb to their maximum ceiling and dive on the Zero’s, this had two key advantages. It increased the speed of the Wildcat, and it allowed them to attack the Zero’s from their blind spot which denied the Japanese pilots their maneuvering advantage. They would literally attempt to rip through Japanese formations. Upon completion of their attack run, the F4F would climb back up to altitude and then dive back down on their opponents again. This attack was made even more effective through the use of American early warning radars which allowed the American’s to effectively ambush their opponents. This maneuver became known as the Boom and Zoom.
However, at Midway the American’s introduced a tactic that is still in use today.
Jimmy Thach and the Weave
John “Jimmy” Thach was unique in the fighter community. An excellent tactical pilot, he was also extremely cerebral. While most fighter pilots would unwind at the bar, Thach would unwind by creating tactics at home. Realizing that the Japanese had a vast advantage in aircraft and their tactics were extremely aggressive, he worked on a way to turn those advantages against each other, and came up with the cooperative Weave. Based around a two plane formation flying around 60 meters apart, the Americans would invite a attack from the rear. Once they had a Zero on the tail of one of the planes, the two American’s would turn in towards each other in a weave, dragging the Zero into the gun sights of an American fighter. If the first attack failed the planes would pass and then weave back towards each other. The Japanese pilots who were taught to press the advantage when they had a tail attack were victimized by this tactic as they had two choices. Press the attack, or break off and circle, which became impossible as the Americans could then turn inside on the circle. The Weave is used to this day and is one of the most effective cooperative fighter tactics in history.
Problems surface
The Japanese Navy had two problems. As the war dragged on they were losing their best and more experienced pilots, and that loss would get worse as the war continued and the Americans bought in new planes designed to be Zero Killers. As I stated earlier the Zero is a pilots dream, but a nightmare to inexperienced pilots.
The other problem was that the Zero never evolved. Later Zero’s would have bigger heavier engines that would increase straight ahead speed, but the extra weight effected its stall speed and turning ability, two things that were crucial to the Zero’s success. The other issue was that the controls weren’t great compared to the later aircraft of the war, so a Pilot in an American Aircraft gained a maneuvering advantage.
The biggest problem was America’s industrial base, something that Admiral Yamamoto warned the government about. Once America got into the war, they could out design, outproduce and get fighters into the war quicker. Japan because of its failure to design a successor to the Zero was in severe trouble.
Opponent 2 Grumman F6F Hellcat
Designed around intelligence gathered by captured Zero’s the F6F was designed to effectively counter the Zero. Considered to be one of the greatest naval fighters ever created, the F6F was a beast. Heavily armored and built around a massive 18 cylinder air cooled radial piston engine with 2,200 hp. The Hellcat had a huge speed advantage over the zero (629 KM/H vs 533 KM/H) it had a fairly equivalent climbing rate. While the Zero could still out turn the Hellcat at low speeds, the Hellcat could outturn the zero at its top speed. It was also extremely well armored and armed. It could effectively use the Boom and Zoom and the Weave, could stick with a Zero on climbs and dives and could survive a running gun battle. The Hellcat was so effective that at Tarawa they killed 30 Zero’s to 1 Hellcat, and in the Philippines the Hellcat was one of the great reasons for the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. By the end of the War the Hellcat had accounted for 75% of American aerial victories.
Opponent 3 Vought F4U Corsair
A late entry into the war, the F4U was a generational leap forward as a Fighter Bomber. While Zero Pilots were scared of the Hellcat, they were terrified of the Corsair. Used as both a carrier based and land based fighter flown by the Navy and Marine Corp. Featuring a unique bent wing structure, and one of the largest engines mounted on a plane in World War 2, it featured a top speed of 718 km/h, a massive climb rate advantage and a extreme service ceiling. It was heavily gunned featuring either 6 machine guns or 4 20 mm canons and could act as a bomber with either rockets or 4000 pounds in bombs. The Zero couldn’t maneuver with the Corsair at high speed or outclimb it, and by 1944 when the Corsair was released the American’s had a significant pilot advantage.
Opponent 4 – Lockheed P38 Lightning
While it entered the war in 1942, it took a while for the lightning to make its mark in the Pacific in the same way that it made its mark in Europe. Called two planes one pilot by the Japanese it was a unique design using two 1600 Horsepower engines. It had a extremely high ceiling with a extremely fast rate of climb and could beat the Zero because of its use of Energy Tactics which would be to draw a Zero into a climbing circle and then use its superior energy to turn inside. Armed with a 20 mm cannon and 4 machine guns, it would utilize the Boom and Zoom tactics of the F4F Wildcat to great effect.
The End of the Zero
With the Americans’ building better fighters in greater numbers and the Japanese losses adding up in terms of experienced numbers. The IJN was losing carriers and was being forced back to the home Island. As America started disrupting Japanese production, the Zero began to disappear from the skies. As the American navy began to close the noose on the Japanese mainland's and the American bombing campaign under Curtis LeMay began to intensify, it was noted that it was rare to see Zero’s defending the home Islands. Instead they were being used in a more nefarious way. The Zero became the primary kamikaze platform near the end of the war. Fixed with a large 2000 pound bomb on its center point the Japanese didn’t need the range provided by drop tanks as their trips were one way. The Zero’s became the worlds first example of a cruise missile. Re-enter Jimmy Thach who was the bane of the Zeros. Thach developed the Big Blue Blanket, which introduced the use of radar mounted picket ships which would detect incoming Japanese Aircraft and inform American combat air patrols vectoring them in on the Japanese Kamikaze’s far from the fleet.
Conclusion
It could be argued that the Zero in the end was a failed design that went well past its short service life. But it would be a dishonest argument. At the start of the War through to 1942 the Zero’s owned the sky with a 12-1 advantage. The problem was that like the Japanese victory at Midway, Victory fever destroyed the Zero. It was so dominant, that the Japanese felt that they could hold its advantage until the American’s surrendered, instead American resolve hardened and American engineering and industrial might leapt naval aviation forward by several generations. The Zero was left behind.
If anything the Zero and its pilots were a reflection of the Bushido code which the Japanese Military distorted to the point where self sacrifice for honor and victor defined the type of aircraft that was designed. Fast, light, simple, with no pilot saving features at all, the Japanese paid the price in lost pilots and planes.
In a fight between the different military philosophies of the United States and Japan, the American reliance on pilot protection, and power won over agility and speed.