5 Things You Never Knew About the Japanese Zero

Here are 5 things that you probably never knew about the famous Mitsubishi "Zero" fighter in World War II. The A6M2 and A6M3 was the premier fighter of Japan during the second world war. This was made using the World War II flight simulator War Thunder. Hope you enjoy! Please like, comment, and subscribe. #WW2 #WWIIHistory #WarThunder

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[tug-mug]

You missed one important factor about the Zero. One of the reasons the Zero was so light and and strong was because the Zero used the most advanced alloy in the world. None of the other combatant nations had at the start of the war, the 7075 aluminium alloy. It was invented by the Japanese company Sumitomo Metal.

[francisbusa]

Very good historical insights, especially from the Japanese perspective. However, I believe an intact Zero was captured, perhaps in the Aleutians in July, '42.

[rahuljacob]

One small correction.. Actually USA got their hands on a zero and they were able to decode it's weakness..

[twentypdrparrott]

There is a Zero at the Planes Of Fame Museum in Chino, California. They fly it about twice a year. The plane has its original engine. They have a big airshow mid May each year. The Zero flies for this event.

[BELCAN]

The "Zero" benefited from using the American designed Hamilton Standard variable pitch propeller. In fact, after the war Japan had to pay the company royalties on every copy produced.

[paulnicholson]

The Zero had little to no armor to protect their pilots, as the war dragged on the valuable experienced Japanese pilots were replaced by very inexperienced pilots, who were shot down much easier than earlier in the war.
The Zero was also missing self sealing fuel tanks, leading to damaged Zeros catching fire or exploding once damaged.
Once the Grumman F4F Wildcats were replaced with the much improved F6F Hellcats, alot of Japanese pilots were taken out thinking they were the earlier F4F Wildcats they faced earlier, leading to a shortage of experienced pilots, and the rest is history, as they say.

[erhardspies]

One Zero was indeed captured in the Aleutians. It was repaired and tested, and what turned out was that at a speed over 600km/h its ailerons got frozen, which limited its maneuvrability.

[steveb]

My dad was a F6F pilot and told me that one good burst was all it took. He would aim for the wing roots and the zero would 🔥.

[Crazybee.erklam]

TJ3 wif you didnt know if you get a monthly average of 1000 views per video you can apply for a partnership with war thunder with good exclusive free items for you in the game and for making videos. if you dont have it already :)

[rodneypayne]

1. Various models of the A6m had armour and self sealing fuel tanks, only the A6m2 didn't.
2. Japanese industry used off the shelf components for systems in the A6m
Eg. Bosh Ignition system and engine wiring harness
Dunlop tires and brakes
Hamilton Standard Propeller
Pratt and Whitney pattern engine design for the Sakai, some even had the Japanese Badge for this company on the lower crankcase.
3. Aluminium supplied from stock shipped from Australia, some crashed Zeros even had BHP( Australian steel company) stamped on the inside of wing surfaces.
3.Over the Chinese coast the Zero faced experienced Chinese pilots flying the I-16 and I53 (supplied by Russia) and got a rude shock when they tried to turn fight and were outperformed by both and took losses then disengaged from combat almost immediately.
4. Most if not all engagements early in the war were fought by the Zero when they had a numbers advantage against fighters that were flown by pilots that were well trained but had little to no combat experience.
5. A6m was unstable at higher speeds suffered control surface lock up at relatively medium speed dives compared to even the early American fighters which also often resulted in overstress in turns and wing and tail failure.
6. Both main Japanese Army fighters at the time could out turn the Zero (Ki27 and Ki43) and the 43 was faster and could climb better.
I could go on but these are just a few small points I'll post after years of research and building scale plastic model kits and studying reference books.
There is a wealth of information available about Japanese Fighters if you know where to look.

[chriscase]

I think it's a myth that the Grumman Hellcat was designed deliberately to counter the Zero. By the time the Aleutians Zero was discovered, transported, repaired, and test flown, (late in 1942), the Grumman was very close to going into full production. The Navy was not about to go back to square one to redesign an aircraft that was already a probable match for anything the Japanese could put into the air, if not superior.

[paoloviti]

Very interesting video regarding the Mitsubishi A6M , also known as Zero. This airplane when entered in service both in China and during early year of war in the Pacific, as you stated, was virtually the best carrier airplane in world in that period. As it had an outstanding range, good firepower and a very reliable 940 Hp Nakajima Sakae 12 engine. Let's not forget also the highly trained pilots that achieved so much at the at the beginning of the war in the Pacific. I knew that Japan never reached the production level of USA from the beginning but I didn't know that the airplane had to be transported by cart in parts at the Mitsubishi factory. But for me there was various "fatal flaws" about this airplane: it had no with self-sealing fuel tanks and no armour protection of any kind leading to the loss of irreplaceable pilots, it had the tendency to have very hard for the pilot to control the airplane at high speeds not only by diving and finally it was also the failure to supply this airplane with more powerful engines that it was relatively available but the Navy always vetoed until far too late. Good job again as always 👍👍👍👍

[speedomars]

The Zero had a lower wing loading and a better horsepower-to-weight ratio, which translated into better climb rates and tighter turns. But the Zero was only marginally faster than the Wildcat below 18, 000 feet. Depending on the source, the difference in speed was as much as 20 mph or as little as 13. Also, By 1943, the Zero was less effective against newer Allied fighters due to design limitations. It lacked hydraulic boosting for its ailerons and rudder, rendering it extremely difficult to maneuver at high speeds. By 1944, with Allied fighters approaching the A6M levels of maneuverability and consistently exceeding its firepower, armor, and speed, the A6M had largely become outdated as a fighter aircraft.

[jstephenallington]

There are theories that point to the Howard Hughes H-1 Racer as the inspiration behind the Mitsubishi fighter. Though it's not likely factual, there were some similarities. What is true is that the while the Zero enjoyed some great success earlier on in the Pacific, by war's end it's initial lead resulted in a net loss for the Japanese, giving the U.S. it's two highest scoring aces of all aces, Major Richard Bong and Major Thomas B. McGuire Jr., both flying the big twin-engine Lockheed P-38 Lightning.

[rudeawakening]

My Uncle was a USMC “ tail gunner “
on a USMC SBD “ dive bomber “
A Douglas- Dauntless .
He was stationed in the South Pacific during WWII .
He got credit for shooting down a Jap Zero during the war .
He was my fav uncle .
RIP uncle Eddie !

[moss]

Back in the 80's met a WWII veteran who showed me a card signed by MacArthur that gave him access to anywhere in the Pacific (The Bearer Of This Card) and his job was to seek out Japanese airplanes, no matter what shape they were in and do detailed studies that he explained was used to make recognition aides and engineering studies.

[larryconnell]

The first combat of the AVG also known as the Flying Tigers took place on Dec 20 1941. Thirteen days after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

[MrEsMysteriesMagicks]

Who would ever believe that the Zero's most vulnerable weakness was a lack of oxen?

[csjrogerson]

9:10 The Zero was never "fast", its engine was never powerful enough. Improvments did not keep pace with improvements in Allied aircraft. In addition, the control surfaces were so large and mandraulically operated (hydraulics would have added weight) they were impossible to use at speeds above 270-300 kns apart from straight and level flight.
Reasons for the long range: smallish engine, light aircraft. Lightness achieved due to lack of:
armour, self sealing tanks, radio, parachute and sparsity of ammunition. All of this led to poor survivability of the aircraft AND pilots.

New US tactics removed their only remaining advantage, manoeuvrability. Thatcher weave in 2 pairs and zoom and boom

[KyleCowden]

Another great on @TJ3 History! FWIW, there's a restored Zero at the National Museum of Naval Aviation. What's interesting is there's a single bullet hole in the side of the cockpit. The docent said that when they would come up on a grounded Japanese fighter, they'd poke a .45 hole in the side to ensure no ambush was waiting for them.