Seafire vs. A6M Zero: Pacific Theatre

43 Pages·31.837 MB·English

by  Donald Nijboer

ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR
DONALD NIJBOERisafreelancewriterwho livesinToronto, Canada. Heteaches
coursesin radio broadcastingat HumberCollegeofTechnology andAdvanced
SEAFIRE
Learning. Hisfour books, Cockpit:AnIllustratedHistoryofWorldWarIIAircraft
Interiors, Gunner:AnIllustratedHistoryofWorld WarIIAircraftTurretsandGun
Positions, CockpitsoftheColdWarand GraphicWar- TheSecretAviation
DrawingsandIllustrationsofWorld WarTwohavebeen published bythe Boston
Mills Press. He hasalsowritten articlesfor FlightJournal,AviationHistoryand
A6M ZERO-SEN
AeroplaneMonthly.
JIM LAURIERisanativeofNewEnglandand lives in NewHampshire.
Heattended PaierSchool ofArtin Hamden,Connecticut,from 1974-78,
The Pacific 1945
and since hegraduatedwith honours, he hasbeenworkingprofessionally in
thefield ofFineArt and Illustration.Hehasbeen commissionedto paintforthe
USAirForceand hasaviation paintingson permanentdisplay atthe Pentagon.
/
DONALD NIJBOER
FirstpublishedinGreatBritainin2009byOspreyPublishing,
CONTENTS
MidlandHouse,WestWay,Bodey,OxfordOX2OPH,UK
443ParkAvenueSourh,NewYork,NY10016,USA
E-mail:[email protected]
©2009OspreyPublishingLrd. Seafirecoverart
WhoshordownSubLrFreddieHockleyof887Naval
Allrightsreserved.Apartfromanyfairdealingforthepurposeofprivatestudy,research,
criticismorreview,aspermittedundertheCopyrighr,Designsand ParentsAcr, 1988,noparr AirSquadron(NAS)?OnthemorningofJ5Augusr Introduction 4
ofthispublicarionmaybereproduccd,storedinarerrievalsystem,orrransmirrcdinanyform 1945,SubLrHockleywasleadingPiveSeaPireIllsas
orbyanymeans,e1ecrronic,e1ecrrical,chemical,mechanical,optical,photocopying,recording closeandmiddlecoverforsixAvengersoverOdaki Bay, Chronology 6
ororherwise,withoutrhepriorwrirrenpermissionofthecopyrighrowner.Enquiriesshould ncarTokyo.TwelveA6MZero-sensapproachedrhe
beaddressedrorhePublishers. formarionfromaboveandasternandbeganrheiratrack. Design and Development 8
ACIPcataloguerecordforrhisbookisavailablefromrheBririshLibrary SufficienrrimewasavailableforrhcSeafirestocounter
PrintISBN:978 I846034336 rhebounce,butowingtoR/Tfailure,Hockleyf:1iledto Technical Specifications 21
seerhedanger~U1dwasshordown. Irisnorclearasto
PDFe-bookISBN:978 I846038754
whichJapaneseunirwasresponsible.Twogroupswere
The Strategic Situation 35
Edi<edbyTonyHolmes activerharmorning- Zero-sensandJ2M Raidensfrom
Cockpir,gunsighr,rhree-vicwandarmamentscrapviewartworkbyJimLaurier rhc302ndKokutaiandZero-sensfromrhe252nd
CoverartworkbyGarethHectorandWiekLuijken Kokurai. (CotJe/"{{rtworkbyWiekL"ijke,,} The Combatants 41
BatrlcscencbyWickLuijken
PageIayourbyKenVailGraphicDesign,Cambridge,UK A6MZero-sencoverart Combat 55
IndexbyMargaretVaudrey
Ar0725hrson 1April 1945,SubLrR. H.Reynoldsof
Typeserin ITCConduirandAdobeGaramond
894NASengagedhisfirstkamikazeafrerpursuing Statistics and Analysis 72
MapsbyBounford.com
OriginatedbyPDQDigiralMediaSolutions,Suffolk,UK rheZcro-scnrhroughtheBririshAeer'sGun Defence
PrinredinChinarhrough1300kbuilders Zone.TheSeaPirepiloropenedPireonrheA6M5ar Aftermath 75
longrangeandwithextremcdeAecrion.Nevcrtheless.
09 10 II 1213 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I
Reynoldsscoredcannonsrrikesonrheporrwingrootof Further Reading 78
FORACATALOGUEOFALLBOOKSPUBLISHEDBYOSPREYMILITARYAND rheJapanesenavalfighrer.Beforehecouldarrainabetter
AVIATIONPLEASECONTACT: shooringangle,however,rheZero-senrolledanddove
Index 80
srraightintorheaircraftcarrierHMS /ntlejiltigflble.
NorthAmerica
(Cover({rtworkbyG{{rethHertol)
OspreyDirecr,cloRandom HouseDistributionCenter,400HahnRoad,Wesnninster,MD
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E-mail:[email protected] Titlepagephoto
Withrhewarnowover,rheBririshPacificFleerwas
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quicklyreducedinsrrengrh.Evenwirhirspoordeck
OspreyDirect,TheBookServiceLrd,DisrriburionCenrre,ColchcsrcrRoad,FraringGreen,
handlingandlandingperformance,rheSeafireconrinued
Colchesrer,Essex,C077DW,UK
E-mail:[email protected] tosoldieronwithNo24Naval FighterWing,seenhere
aboardHMSIlldefiltig{{bleinSeprember1945.Thewing
wwwoospccypublishingocom
thenwentashoreatRNAirSrarionSchoficldsin
OspreyPublishingissupportingtheWoodlandTrusr,rheUK'sleadingwoodland Ausrraliafrom 18Sepremberro22November1945.
conservarioncharity,byfundingthededicationofnees. (FleetAirArmMuseum)
judged by the standards it set. But as the war progressed, and the Allies forced the
Japaneseonto thedefensive, itfell upon the Zero-sen to defend the empire.
When theSeafireIIIeLtteredthePacificwar, theImperialJapaneseNavyAirForce
(IJNAF) wasamereshadowofitsformerself- itwascriticallyshortoffuel, pilotsand
qualityaircraft. Theonce vaunted Zero-sen was forced to soldieron, and while new
versions had been produced, it remained completelyoutclassed by the latest crop of
Allied fighters such as the P-38, Corsair, Hellcat, P-47, P-51 and Seanre.
By mid 1944, the fate ofJapan was all but sealed. In the race tOwards the
Philippines, US Army Air Force and carrier-based US Navy squadrons had all but
decimatedwholeunitsoftheJapaneseArmyAirForceOAAF)and IJNAF.Whatbases
INTRODUCTION theyhadnotdestroyed theysimplybypassedinoneofthemosteffectivetacticsofthe
war. Whole units were left to rotand starvewhere theystood.
In order to support the United States' final offensive push towards the Japanese
homeislands,aformidableBritishcarrierfleetwas proposed. On22November1944,
Adm Sir Bruce Fraser hoisted his flag as commander-in-chiefofthe newly formed
British PacificFleet(BPF).Aboard thecarriers, No24NavalFighterWing(joined in
March 1945 by No 38 Naval Fighter Wing) was equipped with Seafire F IIIs and
TheSpitfire/SeafireandtheA6MZero-senaretwoofthemostrecognisableand iconic LHIs.Theirassigned taskwasaformidableone.The40Seafiresof887and894Naval
fighters ofWorldWar II. Whileone has come to represem asymbol offreedom, the AirSquadrons(NAS) weretoprovidethebulkofthefleet fighterdefence- theymade
Zero-sen has been cast as the aggressor. In terms ofform and function, they are up just27 percentofthe tOtal BPF fighter suength.The rest ofrhe fighters, namely
arguably two ofthe mostelegantand beautiful fighters ever built. 12 Fireflies, 38 Hellcats and 73 Corsairs, would be used in the escort and fighter
Designedandconstructed forverydifferentpurposes, theSpitfire/SeanreandA6M sweep roles.
Zero-sen should have never met in combar. While theSpitfirewas'adapted' to fulfil TheSeafireFHIandLHI would prove to be twoofthebestmedium and low-level
arole forwhich itwas neverintended, theA6M Zero-senwas purposebuiltfrom the fighters ofthe war. In 1945, they were still the fastest and steepest climbingAllied
ground up as a naval fighter, and it proved to beone ofthe finest aircraftofits type interceptors. Even against the latest marks ofthe Zero-sen - theA6M5c- the Seafire
to see action in World War II. And when both met for the final air combats ofthis had a considerable edge in level speed, rate ofclimb and divingspeed. Ifit could not
global conflict, their roles had ironically been reversed. Seanre Ills were flying from alwaysforceanopponenttofight, itcouldatleastbreakoffcombatatwilland return to
carrier decks while late mark A6M Zero-sens were being used as ground-based fightanotherday. Developedfrom theSpitfire,theSeafirewasaremarkableachievement,
imerceptOrs and suicide bombers. Tasked with carrying out very different roles for and its performanceasanavalfighterwasalastingtributeto itsbrilliantdesign.
which theywere designed, onlyonewould be victorious.
The Seafire emerged from an urgem requirement by the FleetAirArm for a fast
single-enginedfighter (itdid not possesssuch an aircraftat thebeginningofthewar) Thismixedformationisledby
acapturedNakajimaKi-84
capableofmeetingland-basedopponemsonbetterorequal terms.Afterprovingitself
Hayate,codenamed'Frank'
during the Battle ofBritain, the Spitfire was soon being closely scrutinised by the
thisexamplewasflownbythe
Admiralty, whoquicklydemandedanavalisedversionfor itscarriers.ASpitfireVwas TechnicalAirIntelligenceUnit
duly fLtted wirl~ an arrestor hook and slinging points, and during ChristI1Jas week basedatClarkField,inthe
1941,decksuitability ttials were conducted aboard HMS ILLustrious. Furthercarrier Philippines,inJanuary1945.
Otheraircraftintheformation
trials tookplaceduringMarch-April 1942,and they proved completelysuccessful.
includeaP-S10,F6FHellcat
Meanwhile, in the Pacific, A6M2 Zero-Sens were flying circles around a mixed andaSeafireIII.Whilethe
force ofBritish, Dutch, Australian andAmerican fighters. TheAllies were waginga oldestdesigninthegroup,
batrleforsurvival,as theirP-36s,P-39s,P-40s, Hurricanesand Buffaloswere proving theSeafirewasstilloneof
thebestmediumtolow-level
tobelittlemore thancannon fodder for theImperialJapaneseNavy'sZero-sen units.
fightersofthewar.
The psychological impact of the A6M2's initial success on Allied pilots was
[AustralianWarMemorial
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SeaGladiators (adaptedfrom theland-basedversion), theymadeuptheentirefighter
force available to theRoyal Navyat thestartofWorldWarII.
Operationsduringthe GermaninvasionofNorwayandsubsequentactions in the
MediterraneanagainsttheItaliansshowedthattheFleetAirArmdid nothaveafighter
capable ofengagingAxis fighters, or bombers for that matter. As a result, the Royal
NavyquicklyacceptedanumberofHawkerHurricanesandtransformed themintoSea
Hurricanes throughthefitmentofanarrestorhook.Thisproved to thepowers thatbe
thathigh-performanceshore-based fighters couldoperate from acarrier deck. While
theSeaHurricanewasasuccess, thelimitsofits performanceweresoonexposed.What
wasneededwas afast, agilefighter, and theAdmiraltysoon demanded Spitfires.
TheideaofoperatingaSpitfirefromacarrierdeckwasmetwithmixedfeelings by
DESIGN AND
FleetAirArm pilots.Whilemanyadmired theSpitfire, andweremore thanhappyto
fly one, they questioned how it would realistically perform from a pitching carrier
deck. Despite being aweapon ofwar, the Spitfire could, ironically, be described as
DEVELOPMENT
elegant, and when asked to fly from an aircraft carrier, as fragile. C~uld its slender
fuselage and narrow-track undercarriage stand up to the harsh deceleration ofan
arrested landing? What about its landing speed and view from the cockpit over its
long nose?The difficulties were many, but the urgency ofwar pushed those worries
aside, andsoon the 'SeaSpitfire' would take to theair.
The first Spitfire to be 'hooked' was Mk VB BL676 in late 1941. An A-frame
arrestor hook was attached to the bottom longerons and slinging points were
introduced on the centre longerons. During the Christmas week of1941, Lt Cdr
H. P. Bramwell made 12 successful deck landings, seven tal<e-offs and four catapult
SEAFIRE
launches from the fleet carrier HMS Illustrious. Bramwell's report was encouraging
enough for theAdmiralty, andsoon 250 Spitfire MkVBs and VCs wereearmarked
TheSeafirewasafighter bornoutofdesperation.When warbrokeoutinSeptember forconversion.Thefirst tobedeliveredwouldbe48existing, butmodified, MkVBs,
1939, the Royal Navy's fleet structurehad been designed mainly to fightJapan, not with the remaining202 being new production MkVCs.
Germany.ThefearthatJapanwouldseizetherichesofitsEasternempiredroveBritain Adaptation forshipboard usewasaverysimplematter. Naval HF (high frequency)
to develop aircraft carriers that did not require fighter aircraft. British naval aircraft R/T (Radio Telephone), IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) and homing beacon
procurementconcentratedon theproblemsofadecisivefleetbattle.Duringtheinter receivers were fitted, alongwith a hydraulically damped A-frame arrestor hook and
war period the Royal Navy assumed that ifits aircraft could not sink the enemy's slingingpoints.TheMkVBs becameSeafireIBsand theMkVCsweredesignatedas
capitalshipsalone, thebesttheycoulddowas toslowdown theenemyfleetandleave Seafire IICs.The only difference between the Mk-IB and IIC was in the wing. The
it to the battleships to finish them off MkVBwasfitted with the'B'wing,whichcouldaccommodateone20mmHispano
British aircraft carrier design (armoured hangars) and the beliefthat the vessels' cannon (120 rounds) and two Browning 0.303-in machine guns (350 rounds per
anti-aircraft guns would offer sufficient protection also greatly influenced aircraft gun),withafiring timeofbetween 10and 12seconds.The'C'wingwas designed to
procurement. Limited by the.number ofaircraft its carriers could hold, the Royal carry two 20mm cannons or one 20mm cannon and two machine guns. The extra
•
Navy con<;:entrated on procuring machines that could fill multiple roles (bomber, weightassociatedwithtwoadditional 20mmcannonsprovedtobeunacceptable,and
torpedo-bo~ber,long-range scout, gunfire spotting etc.) like the Fairey Swordfish, the 'c' wing was therefore never used. The Seafire's built in armament remained
Albacoreand BlackburnSkua.An aircraft thatperformedexclusivelyas afighterwas unchanged during thewarat two cannons and four machineguns. "[
laston the list.
With themodificationscomplete, the newSeafire'soverallweightrosebyonlyfive
InSeptember1939, theFleetAirArmwasequippedwith232operationalaircraft. percent, and maximumspeed was only reduced by5-6 mph. Itwas agoodstart.
In the majoriry was the fabric-covered Swordfish torpedo scout bomber. The only TheSeafireIBwasviewedasan interimmodelonly,andagrand totalof211 were
modern aircraft on strength were 30 Skuas. The latter was designed as a fighter! produced. The majority was assigned to Nos 1 and 2 Naval Fighter Schools at
8
dive-bomber, but was more accurately a poor dive-bomber. Along with 18 biplane Yeovilton and Henstridge, whileothersservedwith theSchoolofNavalAirWarfare. 9
HMSFledgling,inStaffordshire,
in1944-45washometoone
oftheWomen'sRoyalNaval
30ft2.5in.
Serviceaircraftmaintenance
trainingcourses.This
evocativecolourphotograph
showsaratherwell-worn
SeafireIwithitscannon
armamentremoved.Italso
revealsjusthowmanytypesof
fighterstheRoyalNavy
employedduringWorldWarII
(themostbyanynavy).We
canseeaCorsair,twoWildcats,
twoSeaHurricanesanda
Fulmar,aswellastwo
Barracudas.
[ONOCanadianArchives)
Theonlyfrontline sguadron to becompletelyeguippedwith theSeafiteIB was 801
NAS, which setved aboard the old Fleet carrier HMS Furious from October 1942
through toSeptember 1944.
The Seafire IIC was the first purpose-built naval fighter to enter FleetAir Arm
service.While theSeafireIBs had been conversionsofSpitfireVB airframes, the 372
SeafireIIC/LIICs that followed were purpose builton the production linefor naval
service.The primarydifference berween the Mk IB and MkIIC was the addition of
catapult spools. This reguired strengthening around the spools, but the most
significantbeefing up took the form ofan external fishplate. This ran along the line
ofthe mid fuselage longeron, berween the forward cockpitbulkheadand radio bay.
Thisadditionalstrengtheningand installation resulted ineven moreweightbeing
OPPOSITE added to the fighter. Compensatingbalanceweights then had to beadded to restore
•
SeafireIIINN212wasflownin thefighter's centre-of-gravitytoacceptablelimits.Add in251bsofarmour, theheavier
combatbySub-LtGerry'Spud'
'C'wingand thestrengthenedundercarriage,and theMkIIC'semptyweight roseby
Murphyonthelastdayofthe
an additionalsix percentover thatoftheMkIB. Eguipped with thesameMerlin45
war,whenheusedittoobtain
hisonlyaerialvictoriesof or46as thelatter, the MkIICproved to be 15mphslower than theMkIB.
thewar.Hehadearlierseen Operation Torch in North Africa in November 1942 was the first Allied
actionintheaircraftoffthe
amphibious assault to enjoy carrier-borne cooperation berween the US and Royal
SakishimaGuntoIslands
Navies. It was also the firsr time that theSeafirewas used in combat, but the results
duringOperationsIcebergI
10 and/Iinthespringof1945. were mixed. Foursguadrons were eguipped with Mk IICs and one, 801 NAS, used 11
the Mk IB.They flew 180 sorties and whichwasafighter-reconnaissanceaircrafr.Twocameraswerefined and full cannon
shot down three aircraft, damaged and machine gun armament was retained. It is believed that about 30 aircraft were
three others in the air and destroyed modifiedformefighterlreconnaissancerole.AlthoughmeLMkIICwasprogressively
fouron theground. However, no fewer replaced by theFMkIII, itsperformancewas, in manyrespects, benerthan thelater
than 21 Seafires were lost, but only machine, and itwas not until theveryendof1944 that theSeafireLIICwasfinally
threeasaresultofenemyaction.These supplanted infrontline service.
operational losses were mainly due to After the quick invasion ofSicily in 1943, and with the knowledge that Italy was
the extremely poor visibiliry in thick negotiatingaseparatearmistice, theAlliesswiftlydrew up a plan for an amphibious
hazeon the first dayofoperations. assaultin theBayofSalernoon9September1943.Itwas herethattheAllies believed
Despite the Seafire IIC proving theycouldcutItalyin halfanddriveon wNaples. ItwasalsowheretheSeafireearned
to be slower than the Mk IB, its its negative reputation.
combatperformancehadbeendeemed Carrier-basedair cover for the invasion was essential.Airfields in Sicilywere 220
successful, although therewas concern w 240 miles from the landing beaches, and while 2,000 land-based fighters were
over its shorrcomings. Initial rate of available, they would be unable to provide more than 36 aircraft with a patrol time
climb and low-alrirude speed left ofbetween 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the rype, over the invasion fleer. The
something to be desired, and in an Seafire,even with itsshortlegs, couldprovide more than an hourofpatrol time. For
PrototypeSeafireIIIMA9?O effort to rectifY theseproblems theaircraftwasfinedwithaMerlin32engine, which the invasion, the Royal Navy brought 121 Seafires w battle- 15 Mk IICs and 106
wasconvertedfromthefirst boastedacroppedsuperchargerimpellertoboostthepowerplam'sperformancecloser LMkIICs.Allofthelatterwereembarkedin foursmallescort(HMSAttacker, Battler,
productionSeafirelie.This
to theground. Hunterand Stalker) and two fleet (HMS Formidableand Illustrious) carriers.
variantflewforthefirsttime
While theSeafire IB and IIC (with their Rolls-Royce Merlin 45 and 46 engines) While the landings atSalerno were ulrimatelysuccessful, the reputation afforded
duringthesecondweekof
November1942.Thefolding had beendesignedas medium to high-altirudefighters, themajoriryofinrerceptions theSeafirewas nor. Statistically, the numbers weregrim. Although only two Seafires
wingmechanismswerequite involvingFleetAirArm aircraft in the European theatre took place below 10,000fr. werelostinaction,justtwoenemyaircrafthad beendestroyed. Inall,42Seafireswere
simple,withthefirstbreak As ifto prove mis poinr, the first three inrerceptions of]u 88s bySeafire IBs proved lostorwrinenoffinaccidents, whichamounted w oneaircraftdestroyedorseriously
justinboardoftheinner
disappoinringwhen the British fighters failed w catch the nimbleGerman bombers damagedforevery ninth sortieflown.The reasons for theSeafire'spoorperformance
cannonbayandthesecond
nearthetipofthewing that had anackedat lowlevel. were two fold - operatingconditionsand pilotinexperience. Manyofthe pilots had
betweenthemainplaneand At theendof1942 itwas decided that theMkIICshould be re-enginedwith the never flown offasmall escortcarrier before, and the lackofwind meantan increase
wingtip.[ww2images.com) Merlin 32, which produced 1,640hp at 1,750fr.To take advanrage ofthe increased inapproachspeedsoflOw 15 knots. Butwhen onelookscloselyatthesortierateper
horsepower, afour-bladed propellerwas fined. With anewengineand propeller, the serviceable aircraft, the Seafire did very well. It went from 2.5 w 4.1 sorties per
SeafireLIICwas born. serviceable aircraft and, in the process, protected the fleet by forcing enemy aircraft
LegendaryBritishtestpilotCaptEricBrownwasdeeplyinvolvedwith metestingof to turn backorjenison their bombs prematurely.
theSeafire.Here, hedescribeshisexperiencewim menewSeafireLIICinaquotetaken The next Seafire variants to see service in World War II were the F Mk III and
from theAirInternational(Volume 15,Number3) anicle'SpitfireswithSeaLegs': LMkIII- mefirsttofeaturefoldingwings.TheFMkIIIwasequippedwith meMerlin
55 engineandafour-bladed propeller.The'C'wingwas further modified through the
TheSeafireLMkIICwasthemostexcitingaircraftthat1hadflown tothattime. Itsinitial elimination ofthe outboard cannon bay and blast tubestub. The Merlin 55 had an
rateofclimband acceleration were littleshortofmagnificent,and at maximum boostit automaticboostcontroland barometricgoverning,which relieved the pilotofthe need
could maintain4,600ft/minup-to6,OOOft.AnotherresultoftheinstallationoftheMerljn tousehisjudgmenrtogetthemostoutofhisengine.Thesemodificationsresultedinan
32wasaquitedramaticreduction in take-offdistanceand, infact, theLMklICwithout aircraftsuperior to the MklIe.The FMkIII was 20mph ('1steratall heights, with an
flapcouldgetairborneinashorterdistancethan thestandardMkIlCusingfull flap! My increasein rateofclimb.Below10,000ft,itwasstillinferiortotheMkIIC, however,bur
enthusiasmforthisnewSeafirevariantwassuch that,oneafternoon, insheerexhilaration, theFMkIIIwasbuiltasamedium to high-level fighter,sothiswasofnogreatconcern.
1looped itaround both spans ofthe Forth Bridge in succession - court martial stuff Only 103 F Mk IIIs were built before production switched to the L Mk III, and
nowadays, butduringawarnobodyhasthetimetobotherwithsuch formalities. 887 NAS would be the only unitequippedwith this variam through to war's end.
Legendary US Navy test pilot'Corky' Meyer, who anended the]oinrUSAAF/US
The result ofCapt Eric Brown's flight tests led w the decision w converr all Navy Fighter ConferenceofMarch 1943 at Eglin Armyairfield, in Florida, had the
12 MkIICs w LMkIICconfiguration.Asub-rypeoftheSeafireLIICwas theLRIIC, chance to fly an earlySeafire FIII at this event: 13
Withomargument, theSpitfire/Seafireconfiguration was probably the most beautiful In mid 1937theIJNAFissuedspecificationsforanewfighter- 12-Shi- thatwere
fighterevertoemergefromadrawingboard.Itsellipticalwingandlong,slimfuselagewere farinexcessofthoseoftheA5M'Claude' thatwasjustbeginningtoenterservice.The
visuallymostdelightful,and itsflightcharacteristicsequalled itsaerodynamicbeauty. IJNAFwantedafighter capableofinterceptingand destroyingenemybombers, and
The Seafire had such delightful upright flying qualities that knowing it had an to serve as an escort fighter with a combat performance greater than that ofenemy
invertedfuelandoilsystem,Idecidedtotryinverted'figure-8s'.Theywereaseasyaspie, interceptors. Itwasatallorder, butthewaragainstChinaaccelerated thedevelopment
evenwhen hangingbythecomplicated,butcomfortable,Britishpilotrestraintharness. ofJapan's air arm.
Iwassurprisedtohearmyselflaughingasif!werecrazy.Ihaveneverenjoyedaflight in Japanesesuccesswiththe nimble'Claude' reinforcedastrongbeliefamongIJNAF
afighter as much beforeorsince, or felt so comfortable in an aeroplaneat any flight pilots in the continuing need for a highly manoeuvrable fighter designed for tight
arrirude.Itwascleartoseehowsofewexhausted, hastilytrained, BattleofBritainpilots turning air-to-air combat. The lessons learned in China would not serve the new
wereableto fightoffHitler's hordes forsolong,andsosuccessfully,with it. fighter well. The beliefthat a light, nimble aircraft would dominate the skies was
The Lend-Lease Royal Navy Wildcats, Hellcats and Corsair fighters were only misplaced. The Allies had learned that manoeuvrability was the least important
workhorses.TheSeafireIII wasadashingstallion! attributewhen itcameto fighter design.
Japanesedesignerswerealso highlyinfluencedbytheirpilots,especiallythoseofrhe
The final Merlin-engined version to see service, and the one built in the greatest IJNAF'sYokosuka Naval Air Corps. Requirements for the new fighter were revealed
numbers, was[he L Mk III. First flown in the autumn of1943, it was the logical to representatives ofNakajima and Mitsubishi at Yokosuka on 17-January 1938.
successorto the'LMkIIC.Theonlydifferencebetween theFMkIIIandLMkIIIwas Nakajima quickly withdrew, convinced the job was not possible. Mitsubishi at the
thesubstitution ofthe Merlin 55 with the 55M. Like the Merlin 32, this engine was timewas in theprocessofdevelopingtheIJNAF's 11-Shibomber,and itwas therefore
optimised for low-level performance through the fitment ofa cropped supercharger extremely hesitant to invest resources into something that showed little hope of
impeller that helped the powerplant deliver 1,585hp at 2,750ft. Later model L Mk success.Thecompanywas persuadedto acceptthe project, however,and in exchange
Ills would receive a minor armament change when the Mk V version ofthe 20mm it was allowed to drop the 11-Shi bomber project. Under thesestrict circumstances
Hispanocannon replacedtheMkII. Itwasalighterweapon withashorterbarrel.The Mitsubishi designer Hiro Horikoshi and his team createda minor miracle.
'C wingwas also modified to carry two rocket-projectile launchers under each main In order to produce what was in essencea 'super Claude', the Zero was designed
plane.Aphoto-reconnaissanceversionwasalsoproducedastheFRMkIII(129built). to beaslightas possible.Thewingwas builtasone piece,and itmade useofaunique
The LMk III and FRMk III were the mostsuccessful Seafirevariants, and were lightweight material calledExtra-SuperDuralumin.
builtin thegreatestnumbers- 808completedbyWestlandAircraftLimitedand 252 Engine power was another important factor in the new fighter's outstanding
byCunliffe-OwenAircraft Limited. performance. At the time Japanese engine manufacturers were only producing
When theRoyalNavycommittedcarrierstotheIndianandPacifictheatres in 1944, powerplantsin the800-1,000hp range.Therewereanumberofadvancedenginesin
close to a third ofthe entire fighter force available was made up ofSeafire F Ills and the design and experimental stages, but to move the project forward Horikoshi and
LIlls.With theFleetAirArmalsooperatingamixedforceofAmerican-builtHellcats his team needed a reliable one. At the time there were three available- the 875hp
and Corsairs, the Seafire would be relegated to short-range CombatAir Patrols and Mitsubishi Zuisei 13, the 950hp Nakajima Sakae 12 and the 1,070hp Mitsubishi
anti-submarine patrols. Onlywhen drop tanks were made available did the Seafires Kinsei46.Thefirst two prototypeswouldbefittedwith theZuisei 13engine,and the
participateinescortandstrikeoperationsagainsttargetson theJapanesehome islands. Sakae 12wasinstalledin the third prototype.Thelatterproduced betterperformance
It was here that the Seafire pilots ofthe FleetAirArm would meet the remnants than theMitsubishi engine,and itwouldduly power theZero-sen through itsentire
ofthe once powerfulJAAF and IJNAF. In the last desperate battles ofthe war, the combatcareer.
Seafire would compile asmall but impressive score, and participate in the war's last Saddledwithan engine thatdevelopedjust950hp,Horikoshi hadlittlechoicebut
dogfight between British andlapaneseaircraft. to dispense with anything that added unnecessary weight and drag. Items such as
armour plateandself-sealingfuel tankswere outofthe question.
The Zero-sen symbolised bothJapan's militarysuccess and its inability to fight a
protracted conflict with a major power. So it was a bad omen when, on 23 March
A6M ZERO-SEN
1939, the Zero-sen prototype had to be taken apart at the Mitsubishi plant, loaded
onto twooxcartsand movedsome25 miles to the naval airbaseatKagamigaharafor
Anydiscussion ofJapaneseaircraft in WorldWar II must begin with the Mitsubishi its first flight. Powered by an 875hp Mitsubishi Zuisei 13 engine, the newA6M1
A6M Reisen (Zero-sen being the rough translation). It formed the backbone of prototypetookto theairfor thefirst timeon 1April 1939. Productionmodelsofthe
14 Japanese naval fighter forces from the beginningofthewar right up until the end. Zero-sen would be powered by the Nakajima Sakae 12 engine, rated at 950hp at 15
Thefighter'slightweighthadanotherbenefit- range.TheZero-senwasextremely
fuel-efficient, and as a result it had a range ofmore than 1,100 miles. During the
battlefor GuadalcanalinAugust 1942, theA6Mwas theonlyfighter in theworldat
the time thatcouldfly the 560 miles from Rabual to Guadalcanal.
The first Zero-sens to experience combatwere those assigned to the 12th Rengo
Kokutai (Combined Naval Air Corps) in China. This force was made up of 15
pre-productionA6M2 Model lIs. On 13 September 1940, 13 fighters escorted a
small force ofbomberssentto attack theciryofChungking.As theJapaneseaircraft
left the target area, Chinese fighters appeared.The Zero-sens quickly turned around
and pounced on the mixed force ofSoviet-built Polikarpov 1-15 biplanes and 1-16
TheType313.2mmmachine
monoplane fighters. In the one-sided battle that ensued, no fewer than 27 Chinese
gungreatlyenhancedthe
aircraftwereshotdown.
Zero·sen'shittingpower.
Afterayearofcombat, thesmall force ofZero-sens had chalked up an impressive TheA5M5cType52cwas
score- 354sorties,44enemyaircraftshotdown and62damagedfor thelossoftwo armedwiththreeofthese
A6M2s toanti-aircraftfire.TheextremeconfidencegeneratedbytheZero-sen'sinitial weapons,alongwithtwoType
9920mmcannon.TheType3
success gave IJNAF commanders an unshakable faith in the aircraft, and beliefthat
wasbasicallyacopyofthe
their future militaryoperationswould be nothing butsuccessful.
AmericanM2Browning0.50·
When war broke out in the Pacific, theJapanese had approximately 400 A6M2 calmachinegun,butitfired
Model21 Zero-sensonstrength,ofwhich 108 rookpartin theattackonPearlHarbor 13.2mmHotchkisscartridges.
Rate·of·firewas800rounds
on7December1941.Itwasanincrediblysmallnumberoffighterswithwhich tostart
perminute,withamuzzle
awar, butJapanesecommanders believed the Zero-sen to be the equal oftwo to five
velocityof2,610ftpersecond.
enemyfighters. [NationalArchives)
ThisNakajimaSakae12radial take-off. The IJNAF subsequently took delivery of the second protorype on 25
enginewastakenfromthe October 1939, and less than ayear later, on the last day ofJuly 1940, the Zeto-sen
firstZero-sentobecaptured
enteredfrontline service.
intactandflight-testedby
Aerodynamically, theA6Mwasextremelyefficient. SaburoSakai,whowasJapan's
USforces- theA5M2was
discoveredintheAleutian highestscoringsurvivingace.atwar's end, described the Zero-sen thus:
IslandsinJuly1942.The
14-cylindertwinrowradial
The Zero excired me as norhing else had ever done. Even on rhe ground ir had rhe
producedjust950hp,which
cleanesrlinesIhad everseen inan aeroplane. Irwasadream ro fly.
didnotcomparewellwith
theenginesthatpowered •
Alliedfightersatthetime. Becauseofits lowweight relative to engine power, cleandesign andhigh lift, the
TheMerlin45fittedtothe Zero-sen was oneofthe most manoeuvrable fighters ofWorldWarII. At lowspeeds
firstSeafiresinDecember
it could turn inside anyAllied fighter with ease. It also had a nasry bite, however.
1941developed1,415hpat
Manyhistorians havelistedthemanyadvancedperformancequalitiesoftheA6M, but
11,OOOft.[NavalHistorical
[enter] whatissometimesoverlookedis theselectionofarmament. Boastingtwolicense-built
20mm Oerlikon cannons and two Type 97 7.7mm machines guns, the Zero-sen
packedapowerfulpunch. Fittingthefighterwithcannonwasaboldstepforward, and
16 one thatwouldsoon befollowed by theAllies. 17