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The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-capable fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from 1940 to 1945.
Zero, fighter aircraft, a single-seat, low-wing monoplane used with great effect by the Japanese during World War II. Designed by Horikoshi Jiro, it was the first carrier-based fighter capable of besting its land-based opponents.
One of the most famous planes of the Second World War, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero-Sen, was Japan’s best fighter and the bane of Allied airmen in the Pacific.
The Mitsubishi A6M Reisen ("ree-sin," Japanese for Zero Fighter) was the symbol of Japanese air power during World War II. Mitsubishi designed the Zero fighter but co-produced the airplane with Nakajima. The two companies built more than 10,000 Zeros between March 1939 and August 1945.
On the morning of December 7, 1941, a Mitsubishi Zero fighter, tail number A1-108, takes off from the aircraft carrier Akagi en route to attack Pearl Harbor and other American military installations on the island of Oahu. For a short time, the nimble Zero dominated the skies during the Pacific War.
Mitsubishi designed the A6M from Navy requirements set out in 1937 for a fighter that was fast, maneuverable and had great range. Designed as a carrier-borne fighter, it was exceptionally light compared to its opponents.
Popularly known as the ‘Zero’, the Mitsubishi A6M was the world’s most capable carrier-based fighter at the time of its appearance, out-performing all land-based contemporaries. Latterly outclassed, it remained in service until the end of the war.