A6M Zero

Since the ascent of the Wright Brothers shook the world, the plane has been an important part of life. Once again, with many innovative inventions, the plane was weaponized for war. 







Before the plane, a few things like balloons for scouting or the occasional blimp were all that hung in the sky for wartime. The first planes that flew in the skies were quickly realized as an important asset and moved from reconnaissance to attack and other duties. World War 1 debuted the importance of the canvas planes that were fragile and sported machine guns. By the time of World War 2, the plane had evolved to the metal rotund craft that was characteristic of the planes of the time. 



Japan was becoming a rising force in the world, defeating Russia in a war and quickly moving to secure the resources it needed to become a superpower, by invading China. It was here where a new plane made its showing against the Chinese Air Force to great effect, downing and having an unbelievable KDR. This plane was the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero.



The cultural and psychological difference between the Japanese forces and the American forces was apparent in the first engagements that happened. Pearl Harbor instigated a wave of fervor that carried over to the war effort, which was why American pilots were so astounded at how badly they were outclassed. The A6M Zero was a plane that prioritized maneuverability and speed, with pilot safety as a secondary. Contrast that to the lumbering Naval plane that was the standard, the Grumman F4F which was coated with layers of armor and was heavily outclassed by the Zero in terms of dogfighting capability. The Japanese pilots utilized their superior climbing rates by diving down like a bird plucking a fish out of the water, attacking, then rising into the air. Subsequently, tactics like the Thach weave were created, but there was no denying that the Japanese plane was a massive contributor to the early dominance of the Japanese force.



The fall of the Zero happened when the US put the industrial factories to work, developing fighters that would manage to outclass the Zero. Planes like the Grumman F5F Hellcat and the Vaught F4U Corsair, as well as the P-38 Lockheed Lightning (the plane which took out Admiral Yamamoto), dominated against the Zero. They had various advantages over the Zero while being more superior in many areas like speed or diving capability, like the ability to change engines if need be, to upgrade the quality, and the Zero missed out on hydraulic boosting to increase maneuverability, especially at extreme speed.