The Zero’s story begins in 1937 when Mitsubishi Aircraft Company answered the Imperial Japanese Navy’s call for a truly long-range, carrier-borne fighter. Designer Jiro Horikoshi married a lightweight airframe to a new Nakajima Sakae radial engine, and by 1940 the Navy Type 0 (“Zero”) was ready—its name nodding to the imperial year 2600 when it entered service.In the early months of the Pacific War the Zero dazzled friend and foe alike. Its slender lines and generous wing area gave superb maneuverability, its two 7.7 mm machine guns and two 20 mm cannons packed enough punch, and its 1 870 km ferry range let it strike from the decks of carriers or remote island bases. Victories over Allied fighters in the Philippines and at Pearl Harbor won it a fearsome reputation and a kill ratio that often reached 12 to 1.But by mid-1942 Allied pilots learned to avoid turning contests, instead using boom-and-zoom tactics to exploit the Zero’s weak aileron and rudder control at high speed. Its lack of self-sealing fuel tanks and armour left it vulnerable to return fire. As newer fighters like the F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair arrived, the Zero’s advantages faded.Through 1943 and ’44 Japan struggled to field replacements, so the Zero remained on front-line duty even as it fell behind in speed and protection. In the war’s final year many served in kamikaze squadrons. With over 10 000 built—the most numerous Japanese combat aircraft model—the Zero’s blend of grace and fragility left a lasting mark on aerial warfare.

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Mitsubishi A6M Zero