Mitsubishi A6M Reisen / ZEKE

Robbie Lownds, e-mail, 20.03.2009 18:46 To my fellow readers I apologize for spelling Horikoshi incorrectly. It was spelled Honkoshi in the information about the aircraft on the site. reply

Robbie Lownds, e-mail, 20.03.2009 18:44 To my fellow readers I apologize for spelling Horikoshi incorrectly. It was spelled Honkoshi in the information about the aircraft on the site. reply

Robbie Lownds, e-mail, 20.03.2009 18:19 The A6M "Zero" was beautifully designed and truly is a classic of World War II. Designer Honkoshi did a masterful job. The Zero did suffer from one major flaw in that the fuel tank had a terrible habit of exploding when hit by intense gunfire. The Hellcat for example was better protected and could take much more punishment in terms of structural endurance. I thank you for the opportunity to leave this message reply

Robbie Lownds, e-mail, 20.03.2009 18:18 The A6M "Zero" was beautifully designed and truly is a classic of World War II. Designer Honkoshi did a masterful job. The Zero did suffer from one major flaw in that the fuel tank had a terrible habit of exploding when hit by intense gunfire. The Hellcat for example was better protected and could take much more punishment in terms of structural endurance. I thank you for the opportunity to leave this message reply

Jill, e-mail, 07.01.2009 20:47 Any idea where I can find details and dimensions of the tail? reply

bao, e-mail, 06.01.2009 14:37 the zero ace pilot Saburo sakai surviving after wwii was the famous zero fighter pilot . he shoot down over 80 enemy plane reply

Ronald, e-mail, 15.10.2008 05:30 To solve the dilemma of an elevator control small enough not to be oversensitive at high speed and yet large enough to give adequate control for landing, Horikoshi and his team used finer strands of connecting cables and more flexible torque tubes to the elevator. With this innovation, at high loads due to speed the stretch would cause less elevator movement but when at landing speed there would be full travel of the elevator. This A6M2 feature was patented in Japan in 1940. They struck the right balance, avoiding high speed elevator flutter and non-responsive spongy controls at the same time. But aileron high speed flutter still limited dive speed even after it was largely solved by 12 /7 /41. You might wonder if the tail was placed further aft for dive stability like the P-40F (late version). While this was likely a good outcome, it was really done to stabilize the greater recoil of the 20mm wing cannon. The FFS motor cannon in the imported Dewoitine D.510 impressed the Japanese with it's hitting power. When FF cannons were tested on the wings of a Claude fighter for comparison in August 1938, it did better generally than the D.510 but for accuracy. The Claude had some horizontal scatter. When Jiro Horikoshi heard of this he made the tail design correction in the Zero. Why cannons on a weight saving fighter? The D.510 was the writing on the wall for the Zero. The thinking was to not only match what a future enemy fighter might pack but surpass it! Besides the cannons on the A6M2 weren't that heavy. They were compact and light. At first the Type 99-1 cannon had limited ammo and muzzle velocity but with Navy approval it was a start. reply

Ronald, e-mail, 13.10.2008 21:18 Most Japanese fighters were designed to withstand a force of 7g. From 1932 all Japanese warplanes were required to meet a safety load factor of 1.8 so the limit for the A6M had to be 12.6g (1.8x7g). Thus weight had to be saved throughout it's design for example the wing and cockpit were made as one assembly with a one piece main spar when other fighters were bolting wings onto their fuselage at heavy casting points. Not only did this save weight, it gave the Zero's wings seamless integrity as well. Officially 391 mph was the terminal dive limit for the model 21 Zero. Stall speed was 73 mph. reply

Ronald, e-mail, 13.10.2008 04:03 Roll rate was 56 deg /sec @ 160 mph; 35 deg /sec @ 340 mph. At 100 mph it could roll with a spitfire Mk V (not the clipped LF), under 150 mph it out rolls the F4F-3 and P-47C, under 160 it out rolls the P-39D and P-51B, under 180 it out rolls the F6F-3 and P-38L, under 210 mph it out rolls the P-38F. Above 180 mph ailerons were sluggish and virtually ineffective above 230 mph. This and it's inferior dive acceleration gave allied pilots an escape by diving with a high speed roll. The Model 21 was the peak of Zero supremacy by virtue of close-in aerobatics together with 20 mm cannons and surprising range at such an early stage. Succeeding models offered only slight improvements when the Allies made giant leaps. reply

Ronald, e-mail, 12.10.2008 03:36 At 230 mph the A6M2 Zero 21 did a 1118' radius 180 degree turn was done in 5.62 seconds. For slower turns the radius was 612'. Normal positive g-load factor was 7g, safety limit was 8.8g; and normal negative was 3.5g with a safety factor of another 1.8g or 5.3g limit. Wing loading was 22 lb /sq. ft. Stability was neutral around all three axis, controls were light and beautifully harmonized. Stall was gentle and complemented it's slow speed dogfighting prowess. However as speed and altitude increased this diminished especially above 26,000'. Initial climb rate was 4517 fpm, not bad for 940-950 hp! 19,685' was reached in 7 min. 27 sec. Power loading was 5.59 lb /hp. reply

John, e-mail, 14.07.2007 02:06 For Zero details including cockpit try www.socalvalue.com /airace /zero /zero.htm reply

Dave Kirby, e-mail, 05.12.2006 10:00 Trying to verify a japanese aircraft part from pearl harbor attack is authenic. How can I get maybe a blue print of a Zero or maybe cockpit photos. reply

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