Mitsubishi A6M "Zero"
Model Airplane News Cover Art for January, 1943
by Jo Kotula
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The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was usually referred to by the Allies as the "Zero".

  

Mitsubishi A6M "Zero"
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When it was introduced early in World War II, the Zero was the best carrier-based fighter in the world, combining excellent maneuverability and very long range. In early combat operations, the Zero gained a legendary reputation as a "dogfighter", gaining the outstanding kill ratio of 12 to 1, but by 1942, a combination of new tactics and the introduction of better equipment enabled the Allied pilots to engage the Zero on more equal terms. By 1943, inherent design weaknesses and meant that the Zero became less effective against newer enemy fighters that possessed greaterfirepower, armor, speed, and approached the Zero's maneuverability. Although the Mitsubishi A6M was outdated by 1944, it was never totally supplanted by the newer Japanese aircraft types. During the final years of the War in the Pacific, the Zero was used in kamikaze operations

Jo Kotula revisited this airplane in the "Box Art" for the Aurora kit for the Mitsubishi A6M "Zero".

Aurora Plastic Model of the Mitsubishi A6M "Zero"
Artwork by Jo Kotula
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Here is a video of the Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" in action:

Here is a wartime Cleveland kit for the A6M. Note that the Japanese were not our BFF during the war, and this kit was sold as the "Jap Zero". Note also that the box cover mentions that the plane was "armorless". Regardless of your feelings about World war II in general, or Pearl Harbor in particular, the A6M was a remarkable airplane and makes a superb subject for either Control Line or Free Flight/RC modeling.

     

Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" Fighter
The Kit is from the World War II Era, given the non-PC language on the box
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You can buy the plans and patterns that will enable you to make this model right now. Click Here to go to the exact location on the Cleveland Website to get them.

The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" Fighter at the Cleveland Site
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Click Here for more information about the Mitsubishi A6M "Zero".

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