Post by batteryboy on Nov 4, 2015 14:28:59 GMT 8
I started a blog called ShellWings. Shell for my interest in coast artillery and Wings for my love for military aviation. Thought of sharing this with you. Its titled:
Mitsubishi A6M2b Model 21. Credit Don Marsh Studios via j-aircraft.com
One evening, several summers ago, I was having a discussion about WWII fighter planes with a few elders and scale modeling enthusiast. One of the subjects that was brought up was the popular Mitsubishi A6M Reisen or popularly knows as the “Zero”. It is considered by many as the best Japanese fighter of WWII and more than 10,000 were manufactured from 1940 to 45. From Pearl Harbor to Midway to the Solomon Islands, Leyte Gulf and the Japanese Homeland defense, the Zero served as the Japanese Navy’s Air Force primary fighter aircraft.
Now someone in the group asked me “You mean that the Japanese Navy had its own air force and that the Zero is a navy fighter plane?” — For the interest of the group I had to explain that the Japanese Army and Navy had their own air force and had aircraft designed to their specific needs. I may discuss this in another page but one thing I observed was the notion that for some, every Japanese fighter plane was a “Zero”
Well first I cant blame those who have thought of such as not all are enthusiast like me or my colleagues in the hobby who do research on the subject. The birth of the myth can be attributed after the attack at Pearl Harbor were the popularity of the A6M Zero was immortalized and was associated not only as a fighter plane but also misidentified as Japan’s ONLY fighter plane of WWII. Some even take it further by generalizing that every single engine radial plane with the distinctive Hinomaru or “circle of the sun” emblem found on the main wings and fuselage was a Zero.
The “Hinomaru” national insignia of Japan
The Hinomaru was also called a “meatball”, a slang term by US pilots who used the term to identify that the aircraft was of Japanese in nature. It was also confused by some as the symbol why the aircraft was called the Zero because of its circular nature that resembles the “0” number–another addition to the myth. The real name of the Zero came from its actual name: Reisen as it adopted the last digit of the year it entered service: 2600 (imperial year) or 1940. The US and its allies actually referred to the Zero as the “Zeke” but later also used the word Zero to associate it with the type but that also led to more misidentifications as we see later on.
An A6M2b Model 21 Reisen flying past Mt. Fuji in Japan
Now lets look at other aspects what also led to misidentification and confusion. Let’s start with the basic shape of the Zero. The aircraft is a single seat aircraft that houses a radial engine which gave its nose a round appearance. The propeller spinner also gave it a prominent feature.
A later model A6M3 Model 22 Reisen
Now the photo above is also a single seat aircraft with a radial engine with a prominent propeller spinner with the familiar Hinomaru markings. If you are a US or allied pilot encountering this aircraft, with your adrenaline rushing and itching to press that trigger finger, the words that may come out when you holler on the radio are: “Japanese Zero straight ahead!”
The photo is actually a Japanese Army Air Force Nakajima Ki-43-II Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon) or better known as the “Oscar” in allied terminology. For those who are not familiar in detail with both aircraft, it is easy to confuse or misidentify one for the other. Since the Zero was the more popular aircraft, thus the preference for the name stuck.
As the war progressed, identification of US and allied airmen got better and then they were able to distinguish the difference between the two aircraft but even up to the end of the war, there were still several misidentifications. An example was one book that mention US Army Air Force’s second leading ace in WWII, Major Tommy McGuirre met his demise thru an older A6M3 Model 32 “Hamp” when in reality his flight was engaged by Warrant Office Akira Sugimoto flying a Ki-43 Oscar and later joined by Sgt. Mizunori Fukuda in a Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Gale) or “Frank” — an aircraft with a radial engine and prominent propeller spinner and of course, adorned with the Hinomaru.
A later model Nakajima Ki-43-III Hayabusa (Oscar) with a pair of under wing drop tanks.
Later model Mitsubishi A6M5b also with under wing drop tanks. See how it can also be confused with the Ki-43 Oscar.
A Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Frank) at Clark Field in the Philippines. around late 1944. Now if you look at the shape of the aircraft, its not hard for it to be confused again with either the Zero or the Oscar in the fog of war.
I am more forgiving to non military aviation buffs who confuse the Zero with other Japanese fighter aircraft. Let me share with you my experience with a local tour guide.
About 20 years ago I was in Corregidor Island for an overnight holiday. As much as I wanted to do my own exploration I attended the normal guided tour around the tourist destinations on the island. We visited Battery Way and the tour guide was doing his spiel. The local guides there are known for their embellishment of the facts and stories. I just let them be and don’t want to interfere with their livelihood (like I said, I am more forgiving to non military enthusiasts) but he mentions an incident in May of 1942 just before the island surrendered that Battery Way was bombed heavily by the “Zero fighters” of Japan and thus ending his sentence by pointing out the pockmarked concrete in the emplacement. It drew “oohhs and ahhss” from the ordinary tourist but I was shaking my head at the back of the group. I took a deep breathe and sighed…The pockmarks were actually caused more by Japanese artillery shells than bombs. Plus by 1942, the A6M5 Reisen was not in service yet.
A later model A6M5 Reisen with a 250kg centerline bomb rack. Some later A6M5s and Nakajima built A6M2bs were equipped with a centerline bomb rack. Zeroes used for Kamikaze sorties had this armament arrangement in their mission. (Not in 1942 as story of the tour guide.
Now for the civilians who lived and experience World War II in the Philippines, identifying the actual type of aircraft was more of a challenge. But the common denominator was the identification of the Hinomaru on the aircraft wings or fuselage. Easily they can identify that its Japanese –piece of cake– even my paternal grandmother can spot if the plane was Japanese or American (associated with the “Star”) But some would go further by saying: “Its a Zero” – …just like our tour guide.
The A6M Reisen is the icon of Japan’s airpower in WWII. In the early days of the Pacific it was aircraft that excelled in a dogfight. It was fast, maneuverable and in the hands of a skilled pilot was superior to what the US or allies can field at that time. It had a great cruising range. Before the P-51 Mustangs were able to provide long range escorts to US bombers in Europe, the Zero already demonstrated this by flying over open water on long range fighter escort with Japanese Navy twin engine bombers from Formosa (Taiwan) to the Philippines on December 8, 1941. The Zeros had ample strafing and dogfighting time over their targets and escorted the bombers back to their bases in Formosa. A feat that has never before done. By October 1944, it was again in center stage as the first Kamikaze missions that took of at Mabalacat Airfield were bomb laden Zeros and were escorted by non other than Zeros as well. In Japan, the Zero continued to battle US and allied aircraft over the homeland skies. Some pilots preferred flying the Zeros over the newer aircraft types, a testament that this fighter aircraft was loved by the pilots who flew them.
Japan produced several single seat fighter aircraft. Some were even better than the Zero in other aspects like the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Frank) and the later model Kawanishi N1k2-J Shiden-Kai (George) but even they cannot eclipse the popularity of the A6M Zero. It was a legend even before its time ended.
A good aircraft with meatballs and a name that is easy to remember. No wonder the name stuck.
Actual Blog can be found on the link below:
shellwings.wordpress.com/2015/11/04/why-every-wwii-japanese-fighter-plane-was-called-zero/
Regards,
Cheers,
BBoy