Book Review of
A6M Zero Mitsubishi
Author: Robert Jackson
Pen & Word Books Flight Craft Series
ISBN: 9781526759948
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 2020
MSRP: $28.95
ISBN: 9781526759948
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 2020
MSRP: $28.95
HISTORY:
The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" was a long-range fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the Mitsubishi Navy Type 0 carrier fighter (rei-shiki-kanjō-sentōki), or the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen.
The A6M was usually referred to by its pilots as the Reisen ( zero fighter), "0" being the last digit of the imperial year 2600 (1940) when it entered service with the Imperial Navy. The official Allied reporting name was "Zeke", although the name "Zero" (from Type 0) was used colloquially by the Allies as well.
The Zero is considered to have been the most capable carrier-based fighter in the world when it was introduced early in World War II, combining excellent maneuverability and very long range. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) also frequently used it as a land-based fighter.
In early combat operations, the Zero gained a reputation as a dogfighter, achieving an outstanding kill ratio of 12 to 1, but by mid-1942 a combination of new tactics and the introduction of better equipment enabled Allied pilots to engage the Zero on generally equal terms.
By 1943, due to inherent design weaknesses, such as a lack of hydraulic ailerons and rudder, which rendered it extremely un-maneuverable at high speeds, and an inability to equip it with a more powerful aircraft engine, the Zero gradually became less effective against newer Allied fighters. By 1944, with opposing Allied fighters approaching its levels of maneuverability and consistently exceeding its firepower, armor, and speed, the A6M had largely become outdated as a fighter aircraft.
However, as design delays and production difficulties hampered the introduction of newer Japanese aircraft models, the Zero continued to serve in a front-line role until the end of the war in the Pacific. During the final phases, it was also adapted for use in kamikaze operations. Japan produced more Zeros than any other model of combat aircraft during the war.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Fighter
National origin: Japan
Manufacturer: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
First flight: 1 April 1939
Introduction to service: 1 July 1940
Retired: 1945 (Japan)
Primary user: Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Produced: 1939–1945
Number built: 10,939
Variants: Nakajima A6M2-N
THE BOOK:
Pen & Sword books is based in England.
This book is soft-cover of 96 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ½” page format.
The cover art shows a rebuilt A6M Model 21 Zero taking part in the Red Bull World Championship Air Race at Chiba in Japan in 2017.
At the top of the center is a wartime photo that has been colorized for the cover of a Zero taking off from the carrier Akagi as part of the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.
At the bottom of the center there is a color photo of a Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero model 52 seen on an evaluation flight in the USA. The US insignia applied to the aircraft have been partly painted over.
At the bottom of the cover there is a color side-profile of a Mitsubishi Zero 341-H-81 of the 341st Kokutai 401st Sentai, Manila, 1945.
On the back cover, at the top. There is a color photo of the Hasegawa brand 1/48th scale A6M3 built by modeler Frederick Seitz.
In the center there is a color photo of the Hasegawa brand A6M2B also built by Federick Seitz.
At the bottom is a color photo of the Hasegawa brand A6M2B built by modeler Johnathan Prestidge.
Counting the covers, this book contains 11 color photos and 74 black and white ones.
Black and white photos of Zero’s and other aircraft in the book include:
A Maurice Farman MF11 seaplane with the Japanese Navy in 1912, Nakajima A1N2 & A4N1, Mitsubishi A5M Type 96, British Gloster Gladiator (which was a match for the A5M), Imperial Japanese Army Nakajima Ki-27, a Soviet Polikarpov I-16, a Nakajima Ki-27, a Mitsubishi A6M, 3 photos of the A6M5, a captured A6M2 in US markings, a Zero showing its 3-bladed propeller that replaced the original 2-bladed one, 3 photos of an A6M4 Zeke 52 version (one heavily camouflaged), 2 photos of an A6M7 model 63, an A6M8, an American soldier seated in an abandoned A6M2-K2.
A British Brewster Buffalo, 2 photos of an A6M2, a British Spitfire and its pilot, an A6M2-N, an A6M5 armed with anti-personnel bombs, a US soldier examining an abandoned A6M5, Australian soldiers examining an abandoned A6M3 on New Guinea, a Yokosuka D4Y “Judy” Kamikaze going down in flames over Okinawa, 4 photo of the captured “Akutan” Zero A6M5 –September 1943, 3 photos of a captured A6M2.
Abandoned A6 M5’s, an A6M5 in Chinese markings. Wreckage of an A6M2 4th Tainan Air Group shot down at Port Moresby, Australia.
Other black and white photos include:
2 cut-way drawings of the Zero’s ribbing (one as a 3-view), 3 photos of Japanese pilots of the 2nd Squadron, Tainan Wing –late 1942, a portrait of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto – commander of the Japanese combined fleet and architect of the Pearl Harbor attack, 2 photos of U.S. pilots, oil tanks ablaze at Darwin, Australia after attack by Japanese carrier aircraft in 1942. Portrait of Japanese ace Junichi Sasai , posed in front of a P-40 in the Netherlands East Indies, December 1941.
Black and white photos of the Pearl Harbor attack include:
An aerial photo of Battle-ship Row during the attack, The U.S.S. California in smoke and flames, Wheeler Field on fire, a tail section of a Zero shot down over Pearl Harbor during the attack, Clark field shown in 1939 before the attack, Air ace Lt. Royal “Buzz” Wagner who fought Zero’s over Pearl Harbor, an aerial photo of Henderson Field years after the attack in 1944
Black and white photos of ships include:
The Japanese cruiser Kaga in 1937, with deck crowded with Nakajima A2N’s , Aichi D1A’s and Mitsubishi B2M’s, the Japanese carrier Hosho in 1922, the Japanese carrier Akagi leaving Osaka, the Japanese carrier Kaga in 1930, Japanese carrier Shoko, on fire after being hit by the U.S.S. Lexington’s air group in the Battle of the Coral Sea, the U.S.S. Lexington on fire and being abandoned, the Japanese carrier Myoko being attacked by U.S. air strikes off Rabaul, February 1942, U.S. battleship South Dakota under attack by a Mitsubishi B5N2 torpedo-bomber during the Battle of Santa Cruz – October 1942, Zeros on the deck of the Japanese carrier Shokaku during the Battle of Santa Cruz, Japanese carrier Zuikaku and 2 destroyers under attack by U.S. aircraft – 30 June 1944, Japanese shipping under attack at Rabaul by low-flying B25’s in November 1943, Japanese Kamikaze pilot attacking carrier U.S. battleship Missouri, U.S. carrier Bunker Hill after being hit by 2 Kamikaze aircraft off Okinawa,
Color photos are of:
Abandoned A6M5 model 52’s at the end of the war, a restored Zero (type not said) and 3 photos of an A6M2 on display at the Pacific Aviation Museum, Hawaii
Color side-view profiles include:
A A6M2 Type O Model 11, 9 side-views of a A6M2 Type O Model 21, 2 side-views of a A6M3 Mode 22, a side view of a A6M2-N float-plane Zero, a A6M3 Model 32, a A6M7, a A6M2-K, 3 side-views of an A6M5C, a A6M5C in surrender markings, a A6M2 Model 21 with white Allied Tactical Air Intelligence unit markings “ATAIU roundel SEA” on the sides of its fuselage
In the modeling section:
The Airfix 1/72nd scale A6M2 showing the cover arts of its bagged and boxed kit.
The Revell 1/72nd scale A6M5C kit box art.
The Frog 1/72nd scale Zero box art (no type said)
The Matchbox 1/72nd scale Zero box art (no type said)
The Airfix 1/72nd scale A6M2B box art, parts trees and made up.
The Hasegawa 1/72nd scale 2 box arts and made up(no type said)
Tamiya 1/72nd scale box art, parts trees, 3 photos of it made up (no type said)
Monogam1/48th scale. 10 color walk-around type photos of it made up.
Otaki 1/48th scale A6M (52) box art and parts trees.
Hasegawa 1/48th scale box art and 2 photos made up (no type said)
Another Monogram 1/48th scale with 19 color walk-around type photos of it made up (no type said)
Another Hasegawa 1/48th scale A6M8 box art, parts trees and 5 color walk-around type photos of it made up.
Tamiya 1/48th scale A6M5-5A box art, parts trees, decal sheet, 2 color photos of it made up with 4 pilot figures and 16 walk-around type photos of the model made up.
Revell 1/32nd scale A6M5 with 2 box arts.
20th Century Toys 1/32nd scale A6M3 box art and made up.
Tamiya 1/32nd scale A6M5 box art, parts trees and 2 photos of it made up.
Hasegawa 1/32nd scale A6M5C box arts and parts trees.
Bandai 1/24th Zero 52 box art and parts trees.
Trumpeter 1/24th A6M2B model 21 box art and 3 photos of it made up.
Another Trumpeter A6M2B box art, parts and 39 color walk-around type photos of it made up.
This is a neat book heavily loaded with Zero types and models available of them. It will be of great interest to both modelers and aviation historians alike.
I sincerely want to thank Casemate Publishers, The North American distributor of Pen & Sword books. All Pen & Sword titles can be viewed on Casemate’s web site at:
The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" was a long-range fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the Mitsubishi Navy Type 0 carrier fighter (rei-shiki-kanjō-sentōki), or the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen.
The A6M was usually referred to by its pilots as the Reisen ( zero fighter), "0" being the last digit of the imperial year 2600 (1940) when it entered service with the Imperial Navy. The official Allied reporting name was "Zeke", although the name "Zero" (from Type 0) was used colloquially by the Allies as well.
The Zero is considered to have been the most capable carrier-based fighter in the world when it was introduced early in World War II, combining excellent maneuverability and very long range. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) also frequently used it as a land-based fighter.
In early combat operations, the Zero gained a reputation as a dogfighter, achieving an outstanding kill ratio of 12 to 1, but by mid-1942 a combination of new tactics and the introduction of better equipment enabled Allied pilots to engage the Zero on generally equal terms.
By 1943, due to inherent design weaknesses, such as a lack of hydraulic ailerons and rudder, which rendered it extremely un-maneuverable at high speeds, and an inability to equip it with a more powerful aircraft engine, the Zero gradually became less effective against newer Allied fighters. By 1944, with opposing Allied fighters approaching its levels of maneuverability and consistently exceeding its firepower, armor, and speed, the A6M had largely become outdated as a fighter aircraft.
However, as design delays and production difficulties hampered the introduction of newer Japanese aircraft models, the Zero continued to serve in a front-line role until the end of the war in the Pacific. During the final phases, it was also adapted for use in kamikaze operations. Japan produced more Zeros than any other model of combat aircraft during the war.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Fighter
National origin: Japan
Manufacturer: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
First flight: 1 April 1939
Introduction to service: 1 July 1940
Retired: 1945 (Japan)
Primary user: Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Produced: 1939–1945
Number built: 10,939
Variants: Nakajima A6M2-N
THE BOOK:
Pen & Sword books is based in England.
This book is soft-cover of 96 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ½” page format.
The cover art shows a rebuilt A6M Model 21 Zero taking part in the Red Bull World Championship Air Race at Chiba in Japan in 2017.
At the top of the center is a wartime photo that has been colorized for the cover of a Zero taking off from the carrier Akagi as part of the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.
At the bottom of the center there is a color photo of a Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero model 52 seen on an evaluation flight in the USA. The US insignia applied to the aircraft have been partly painted over.
At the bottom of the cover there is a color side-profile of a Mitsubishi Zero 341-H-81 of the 341st Kokutai 401st Sentai, Manila, 1945.
On the back cover, at the top. There is a color photo of the Hasegawa brand 1/48th scale A6M3 built by modeler Frederick Seitz.
In the center there is a color photo of the Hasegawa brand A6M2B also built by Federick Seitz.
At the bottom is a color photo of the Hasegawa brand A6M2B built by modeler Johnathan Prestidge.
Counting the covers, this book contains 11 color photos and 74 black and white ones.
Black and white photos of Zero’s and other aircraft in the book include:
A Maurice Farman MF11 seaplane with the Japanese Navy in 1912, Nakajima A1N2 & A4N1, Mitsubishi A5M Type 96, British Gloster Gladiator (which was a match for the A5M), Imperial Japanese Army Nakajima Ki-27, a Soviet Polikarpov I-16, a Nakajima Ki-27, a Mitsubishi A6M, 3 photos of the A6M5, a captured A6M2 in US markings, a Zero showing its 3-bladed propeller that replaced the original 2-bladed one, 3 photos of an A6M4 Zeke 52 version (one heavily camouflaged), 2 photos of an A6M7 model 63, an A6M8, an American soldier seated in an abandoned A6M2-K2.
A British Brewster Buffalo, 2 photos of an A6M2, a British Spitfire and its pilot, an A6M2-N, an A6M5 armed with anti-personnel bombs, a US soldier examining an abandoned A6M5, Australian soldiers examining an abandoned A6M3 on New Guinea, a Yokosuka D4Y “Judy” Kamikaze going down in flames over Okinawa, 4 photo of the captured “Akutan” Zero A6M5 –September 1943, 3 photos of a captured A6M2.
Abandoned A6 M5’s, an A6M5 in Chinese markings. Wreckage of an A6M2 4th Tainan Air Group shot down at Port Moresby, Australia.
Other black and white photos include:
2 cut-way drawings of the Zero’s ribbing (one as a 3-view), 3 photos of Japanese pilots of the 2nd Squadron, Tainan Wing –late 1942, a portrait of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto – commander of the Japanese combined fleet and architect of the Pearl Harbor attack, 2 photos of U.S. pilots, oil tanks ablaze at Darwin, Australia after attack by Japanese carrier aircraft in 1942. Portrait of Japanese ace Junichi Sasai , posed in front of a P-40 in the Netherlands East Indies, December 1941.
Black and white photos of the Pearl Harbor attack include:
An aerial photo of Battle-ship Row during the attack, The U.S.S. California in smoke and flames, Wheeler Field on fire, a tail section of a Zero shot down over Pearl Harbor during the attack, Clark field shown in 1939 before the attack, Air ace Lt. Royal “Buzz” Wagner who fought Zero’s over Pearl Harbor, an aerial photo of Henderson Field years after the attack in 1944
Black and white photos of ships include:
The Japanese cruiser Kaga in 1937, with deck crowded with Nakajima A2N’s , Aichi D1A’s and Mitsubishi B2M’s, the Japanese carrier Hosho in 1922, the Japanese carrier Akagi leaving Osaka, the Japanese carrier Kaga in 1930, Japanese carrier Shoko, on fire after being hit by the U.S.S. Lexington’s air group in the Battle of the Coral Sea, the U.S.S. Lexington on fire and being abandoned, the Japanese carrier Myoko being attacked by U.S. air strikes off Rabaul, February 1942, U.S. battleship South Dakota under attack by a Mitsubishi B5N2 torpedo-bomber during the Battle of Santa Cruz – October 1942, Zeros on the deck of the Japanese carrier Shokaku during the Battle of Santa Cruz, Japanese carrier Zuikaku and 2 destroyers under attack by U.S. aircraft – 30 June 1944, Japanese shipping under attack at Rabaul by low-flying B25’s in November 1943, Japanese Kamikaze pilot attacking carrier U.S. battleship Missouri, U.S. carrier Bunker Hill after being hit by 2 Kamikaze aircraft off Okinawa,
Color photos are of:
Abandoned A6M5 model 52’s at the end of the war, a restored Zero (type not said) and 3 photos of an A6M2 on display at the Pacific Aviation Museum, Hawaii
Color side-view profiles include:
A A6M2 Type O Model 11, 9 side-views of a A6M2 Type O Model 21, 2 side-views of a A6M3 Mode 22, a side view of a A6M2-N float-plane Zero, a A6M3 Model 32, a A6M7, a A6M2-K, 3 side-views of an A6M5C, a A6M5C in surrender markings, a A6M2 Model 21 with white Allied Tactical Air Intelligence unit markings “ATAIU roundel SEA” on the sides of its fuselage
In the modeling section:
The Airfix 1/72nd scale A6M2 showing the cover arts of its bagged and boxed kit.
The Revell 1/72nd scale A6M5C kit box art.
The Frog 1/72nd scale Zero box art (no type said)
The Matchbox 1/72nd scale Zero box art (no type said)
The Airfix 1/72nd scale A6M2B box art, parts trees and made up.
The Hasegawa 1/72nd scale 2 box arts and made up(no type said)
Tamiya 1/72nd scale box art, parts trees, 3 photos of it made up (no type said)
Monogam1/48th scale. 10 color walk-around type photos of it made up.
Otaki 1/48th scale A6M (52) box art and parts trees.
Hasegawa 1/48th scale box art and 2 photos made up (no type said)
Another Monogram 1/48th scale with 19 color walk-around type photos of it made up (no type said)
Another Hasegawa 1/48th scale A6M8 box art, parts trees and 5 color walk-around type photos of it made up.
Tamiya 1/48th scale A6M5-5A box art, parts trees, decal sheet, 2 color photos of it made up with 4 pilot figures and 16 walk-around type photos of the model made up.
Revell 1/32nd scale A6M5 with 2 box arts.
20th Century Toys 1/32nd scale A6M3 box art and made up.
Tamiya 1/32nd scale A6M5 box art, parts trees and 2 photos of it made up.
Hasegawa 1/32nd scale A6M5C box arts and parts trees.
Bandai 1/24th Zero 52 box art and parts trees.
Trumpeter 1/24th A6M2B model 21 box art and 3 photos of it made up.
Another Trumpeter A6M2B box art, parts and 39 color walk-around type photos of it made up.
This is a neat book heavily loaded with Zero types and models available of them. It will be of great interest to both modelers and aviation historians alike.
I sincerely want to thank Casemate Publishers, The North American distributor of Pen & Sword books. All Pen & Sword titles can be viewed on Casemate’s web site at:
Very highly recommended.