Mitsubishi’s A6M Zero

Introduction
The Pearl Harbor attack was Japan’s unexpected military move against the United States.
Japan’s Imperial Navy attacked the United States naval base located in Honolulu. The attack
happened on 7th December, 1941 and directly influenced the United States’ entry into the second
world war (Dwyer, 2014). As a result, Japan destroyed 19 US navy ships, killed 2403 people,
and injured more than 1000 individuals who were not necessarily soldiers. Japan used 521
aircraft to launch the fight against the US, and most of them were manufactured by the
Mitsubishi aircraft company. Out of all the aircrafts used at the time, most of them were the
A6M Zeros. The Imperial Navy considered it the best fighter aircraft then and used it a lot during
the war. The Mitsubishi A6M Zeros were Japan’s deadly weapons for their Kamikaze operations.
The government received prototypes from Mitsubishi and Nakajima; the latter opted out because
it felt that the requirements were unattainable. Japan chose to use Mitsubishi’s A6M Zero
because it met the specifications required by the government to fight enemies aerodynamically.
For Japan and the rest of the world, the A6M Zero represented the revolution of naval aviation
because it set itself apart as a lethal weapon that was unmatched in its time.
Body
Mitsubishi manufactured the A6M Zeros in 1940 to be used as an aircraft fighter. When
Japan used the aircraft, it was recognized as a nation that used the most productive planes. The
aircraft’s features were unprecedented, which gave Japan a competitive advantage against its
rivals. The A6M Zeros were outfitted with strong cannons and machine guns and could carry
bombs of up to 60 kilograms which was unprecedented before its manufacture (Maticm, 2018).

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The manufacturers used an aluminum alloy known as extra super duralumin, which accelerated
the craft’s speed and ascending endurance. The extra super duralumin made the plane lighter,
enabling it to outmaneuver other aircraft fighters. A6M Zero was prominently used during the
Pearl Harbor attack and World War II due to its unique features that enabled faster and more
efficient attacks against their rivals.
According to aviation experts, the A6M Zero fighter aircrafts were the most powerful
fighting machines in 1940 (Smith, 2014). It had a powerful engine that boosted its speed and
adaptability. At the time, it was the only all-metal monoplane that could carry 30-60 kilograms
of bombs for attacks. The design team, headed by Jiro Horikoshi, had created a machine with a
high power-to-weight ratio. Before it was manufactured, the Imperial Navy released a list of
requirements for a fighter plane that was more maneuverable than the A5M (Smith, 2014).
Government requirements specified that the craft had to have a low wingspan and high speed.
The developers of the A6M Zero designed an aircraft with a wingspan of fewer than 12 Metres,
which could go at a speed of at least 315 Miles per Hour (Dwyer, 2014). They manufactured a
plane that was nimble and could out-turn almost all crafts that were being used during the war.
The A6M zero model was lightweight because the designers paid attention to minute details.
For example, they punctured aluminum sheets and welded them together to hold the aileron
control tube instead of using heavier materials (Smith, 2014). At the time, other planes were
made using metal solely. However, the A6M zero manufacturers used plywood to build parts of
the aircraft as a weight reduction measure. Plywood was used to reinforce the craft’s structure
because it is a stable material with consistent measurements (Smith, 2014). Mitsubishi was asked
to improve the weight of the A5M model to enhance endurance. The landing gear and the fuel
tanks determined the wings’ weight and had to be regulated, which was one of the model’s

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shortcomings. To control the weight, the engineers of the A6M Zero used engines that were
lighter than A5M, which limited its horsepower.
A6M Zero’s engine was close to the cockpit, making it more aerodynamically agile. This was
the aircraft’s empennage that centered its gravity and lift. By placing the engine near the cockpit,
the developers placed it close to the fulcrum, thus reducing its weight. Having the engine close to
the cockpit reduced the amount of fuselage material used, drastically reducing the overall weight
(Akimoto, 2014). As a result, pilots experienced less inertia during flights. As a result, they had
an easier time making loops or turns whenever they were attacking. A6M Zero’s elevator allowed
it to make tight turns which was detrimental to helping pilots avoid missile attacks. The engine
produced one thousand horsepower on take-off. Additionally, it used a supercharger which was
two times faster than the previous single charger. This enabled it to reach the expected speed and
sufficiency. The super-charging engine also improved its altitude performance and flight span.
The modifications of the A5M, which led to the development of the A6M Zero, guaranteed
its success in war attacks for some time. Unlike other aircraft fighters, the A6M model could
carry more weapons and explosives at the time. The engineers had installed type 97 machine
guns that pilots fired through the propellers (Smith, 2014). They used synchronized gears, which
were relatively rare during that era. This added them an advantage when fighting enemies.
Additionally, the wings were fitted with type 99 cannons produced recently. Each wing could
also accommodate bombs of up to 60 kgs. The weight of the weapons was enabled by a fuel tank
that could be installed externally under the plane’s centerline.
The plane’s folding wing mechanism made it appropriate for war. The folding wings were
adopted based on previous tests performed on previous models. The tests had been performed on
models such as Mitsubishi’s 740 model and Nakijama’s 800 (Dwyer, 2014). Due to the wing

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adjustment, the engineers had to change the plane’s exhaust system. As a result, it had more
thrust since the exhaust system aimed at stacks and dispersed them around the shortened
fuselage. The exhaust system sometimes got heated and led to malfunctioning. Therefore, the
engineers developed cowl flaps installed with heat shields and notches to cool the stacks
(Tsushima &Tamayama, 2019).
When the pearl harbor attack happened, engineers had produced 521 A6M models that
were already operating in the Pacific (Akimoto, 2014). In-flight, the craft had a range of almost
2600 kilometers which allowed it to attack from a long distance. When Japan attacked their
rivals using the A6M, they knew that they had the advantage of speed and maneuverability. The
plane had a superior climb which allowed its aviators to launch attacks and then speed off to a
distance where they were out of reach. The plane’s easy agility also enabled pilots to get a shot at
the enemy as they climbed away from the fight scene.
Conclusion
The A6M model was an invention that was ahead of its time. During the pearl harbor
attack, Japan used the model based on its agility and high speeds compared to other planes. It
had the ability to out-turn enemies due to its advanced specs. The model inspired the American
government to invest in craft development, which eventually led to its decline. During the
consequent war, Japan lost many aviators, which also contributed to the model’s decline.
However, A6 M’s maneuverability remained unmatched for many years after that. The ideas that
the engineers of A6M Zero used are still inspiring airplane developers today.

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References

Akimoto, D. (2014). War Memory, War Responsibility, and Anti-War Pacifism in Director
Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises (Kaze Tachinu).
Dwyer, L. (2014). Mitsubishi A6M Reisen (Zero-Sen). The Aviation History Online Museum, 25.
Matic, A. (2018). The Trash Pile’Zeke’: The identification of the remains of a Mitsubishi A6M
Zero in a rubbish dump, Yaren District, Republic of Nauru. Artefact: the Journal of the
Archaeological and Anthropological Society of Victoria, The, 41, 16-27.
Smith, P. C. (2014). Mitsubishi Zero: Japan’s Legendary Fighter. Pen and Sword.
Tsushima, N., & Tamayama, M. (2019). Recent researches on morphing aircraft technologies in
Japan and other countries. Mechanical Engineering Reviews, 6(2), 19-00197.