The most famous Japanese aircraft of the Second World War is undoubtedly the Mitsubishi A6M Zero-Sen fighter, code named Zeke by the Allies but more popularly known by its Japanese name of Zero. Built as a land-based, carrier borne and even as a seaplane, the Zero was truly a fantastic plane. The plane was designed by Mitsubishi to a 1937 Navy specification for a carrier aircraft. It first flew on 1 April 1939 but was no April Fool. Mitsubishi and Nakajima built 10,937 of the Zero.
The Zero was armed with various guns, but a common setup was two 20mm cannons in outer wings, two 12.7mm guns in the fuselage. After the Battle of Midway, the new Grumman F6F Hellcats and Vought V-166B F4U Corsair (possibly the greatest combat aircraft of all time) of the US Navy finally took control of the air. The Zero - allied code-name "Zeke" - was remarkable in being the first carrier-based fighter to outperform its land-based equivalents. The result was a small, lightly built aircraft with outstanding manoeuvrability. As it was first produced in 1940 - the Japanese year 5,700 - it became popularly known as the "Zero-Sen" ("Type 00 Fighter"). At Midway many pilots were lost aboard the four Japanese carriers, which were set ablaze by the US dive-bombers. In the protracted and bitter Guadalcanal campaign losses of aircrew mounted, and as the quality of Japanese pilots correspondingly declined Allied aircraft achieved increasing success against the Zero.
Mitsubishi desperately tried to design more effective versions, but improvements were generally modest and the Zero was never again, after 1943, able to fight on equal terms with the best Allied aircraft. However, the A6M6c equipped with the combat-boosted Sakae 31 engine, and the A6M8c equipped with 1,560 hp Kinsei 62 engine, were in 1945 able to give considerable trouble to the F4F and FM Wildcats operating from US escort carriers.
At the Battle of the Philippine Sea 220 or so of the Japanese Mobile Fleet's 430 carrier aircraft were Zeros - many of them operating as bombers. A6Ms were again in action at Leyte Gulf, mainly as attack aircraft, and from October 1944 until the end of the War Zeros were employed in hundreds of kamikaze attacks on American shipping.
Powerplant:
Nakajima NK1C Sakae 12 925 hp 14 cylinder radial
Dimensions:
Length 9,06 m. height 2,92 m. wing span 12 m.
Weights:
Empty 1,680 kg operational 2,410 kg
Performance:
Maximum speed 509 km/h service ceiling 10,300 m. range 3,110 km
Armament:
Two 20 mm cannon, two 7.7 mm machine guns, two 60 kg bombs
The Zero was armed with various guns, but a common setup was two 20mm cannons in outer wings, two 12.7mm guns in the fuselage. After the Battle of Midway, the new Grumman F6F Hellcats and Vought V-166B F4U Corsair (possibly the greatest combat aircraft of all time) of the US Navy finally took control of the air. The Zero - allied code-name "Zeke" - was remarkable in being the first carrier-based fighter to outperform its land-based equivalents. The result was a small, lightly built aircraft with outstanding manoeuvrability. As it was first produced in 1940 - the Japanese year 5,700 - it became popularly known as the "Zero-Sen" ("Type 00 Fighter"). At Midway many pilots were lost aboard the four Japanese carriers, which were set ablaze by the US dive-bombers. In the protracted and bitter Guadalcanal campaign losses of aircrew mounted, and as the quality of Japanese pilots correspondingly declined Allied aircraft achieved increasing success against the Zero.
Mitsubishi desperately tried to design more effective versions, but improvements were generally modest and the Zero was never again, after 1943, able to fight on equal terms with the best Allied aircraft. However, the A6M6c equipped with the combat-boosted Sakae 31 engine, and the A6M8c equipped with 1,560 hp Kinsei 62 engine, were in 1945 able to give considerable trouble to the F4F and FM Wildcats operating from US escort carriers.
At the Battle of the Philippine Sea 220 or so of the Japanese Mobile Fleet's 430 carrier aircraft were Zeros - many of them operating as bombers. A6Ms were again in action at Leyte Gulf, mainly as attack aircraft, and from October 1944 until the end of the War Zeros were employed in hundreds of kamikaze attacks on American shipping.
Powerplant:
Nakajima NK1C Sakae 12 925 hp 14 cylinder radial
Dimensions:
Length 9,06 m. height 2,92 m. wing span 12 m.
Weights:
Empty 1,680 kg operational 2,410 kg
Performance:
Maximum speed 509 km/h service ceiling 10,300 m. range 3,110 km
Armament:
Two 20 mm cannon, two 7.7 mm machine guns, two 60 kg bombs
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar