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You missed one important factor about the Zero. One of the reasons the Zero was so light and and strong was because the Zero used the most advanced alloy in the world. None of the other combatant nations had at the start of the war, the 7075 aluminium alloy. It was invented by the Japanese company Sumitomo Metal.

Very good historical insights, especially from the Japanese perspective. However, I believe an intact Zero was captured, perhaps in the Aleutians in July, '42.

My dad was a F6F pilot and told me that one good burst was all it took. He would aim for the wing roots and the zero would 🔥.

One small correction.. Actually USA got their hands on a zero and they were able to decode it's weakness..

There is a Zero at the Planes Of Fame Museum in Chino, California. They fly it about twice a year. The plane has its original engine. They have a big airshow mid May each year. The Zero flies for this event.

The "Zero" benefited from using the American designed Hamilton Standard variable pitch propeller. In fact, after the war Japan had to pay the company royalties on every copy produced.

The Zero had little to no armor to protect their pilots, as the war dragged on the valuable experienced Japanese pilots were replaced by very inexperienced pilots, who were shot down much easier than earlier in the war. The Zero was also missing self sealing fuel tanks, leading to damaged Zeros catching fire or exploding once damaged. Once the Grumman F4F Wildcats were replaced with the much improved F6F Hellcats, alot of Japanese pilots were taken out thinking they were the earlier F4F Wildcats they faced earlier, leading to a shortage of experienced pilots, and the rest is history, as they say.

One Zero was indeed captured in the Aleutians. It was repaired and tested, and what turned out was that at a speed over 600km/h its ailerons got frozen, which limited its maneuvrability.

1. Various models of the A6m had armour and self sealing fuel tanks, only the A6m2 didn't. 2. Japanese industry used off the shelf components for systems in the A6m Eg. Bosh Ignition system and engine wiring harness Dunlop tires and brakes Hamilton Standard Propeller Pratt and Whitney pattern engine design for the Sakai, some even had the Japanese Badge for this company on the lower crankcase. 3. Aluminium supplied from stock shipped from Australia, some crashed Zeros even had BHP( Australian steel company) stamped on the inside of wing surfaces. 3.Over the Chinese coast the Zero faced experienced Chinese pilots flying the I-16 and I53 (supplied by Russia) and got a rude shock when they tried to turn fight and were outperformed by both and took losses then disengaged from combat almost immediately. 4. Most if not all engagements early in the war were fought by the Zero when they had a numbers advantage against fighters that were flown by pilots that were well trained but had little to no combat experience. 5. A6m was unstable at higher speeds suffered control surface lock up at relatively medium speed dives compared to even the early American fighters which also often resulted in overstress in turns and wing and tail failure. 6. Both main Japanese Army fighters at the time could out turn the Zero (Ki27 and Ki43) and the 43 was faster and could climb better. I could go on but these are just a few small points I'll post after years of research and building scale plastic model kits and studying reference books. There is a wealth of information available about Japanese Fighters if you know where to look.

My Uncle was a USMC “ tail gunner “ on a USMC SBD “ dive bomber “ A Douglas- Dauntless . He was stationed in the South Pacific during WWII . He got credit for shooting down a Jap Zero during the war . He was my fav uncle . RIP uncle Eddie !

The Zero had a lower wing loading and a better horsepower-to-weight ratio, which translated into better climb rates and tighter turns. But the Zero was only marginally faster than the Wildcat below 18,000 feet. Depending on the source, the difference in speed was as much as 20 mph or as little as 13. Also, By 1943, the Zero was less effective against newer Allied fighters due to design limitations. It lacked hydraulic boosting for its ailerons and rudder, rendering it extremely difficult to maneuver at high speeds. By 1944, with Allied fighters approaching the A6M levels of maneuverability and consistently exceeding its firepower, armor, and speed, the A6M had largely become outdated as a fighter aircraft.

I think it's a myth that the Grumman Hellcat was designed deliberately to counter the Zero. By the time the Aleutians Zero was discovered, transported, repaired, and test flown, (late in 1942), the Grumman was very close to going into full production. The Navy was not about to go back to square one to redesign an aircraft that was already a probable match for anything the Japanese could put into the air, if not superior.

Back in the 80's met a WWII veteran who showed me a card signed by MacArthur that gave him access to anywhere in the Pacific (The Bearer Of This Card) and his job was to seek out Japanese airplanes, no matter what shape they were in and do detailed studies that he explained was used to make recognition aides and engineering studies.

One other weakness of the Zero... no self-sealing fuel tanks. This was done to conserve weight as the Inch thick rubber bladders which would fit inside of its tanks would increase weight greatly. This was another reason fir the Zero's long range capabilities. No bladders in the tanks increased the tanks volume. The Zero had great range... but at the cost of armor (none) and safety (self-sealing tanks.) Awesome channel my friend!! One of my favorite subs!!! 🏆🇺🇸

There is a story about a Zero that was found and captured. A scout plane was on a routinely patrol around the Aleutian Islands. It was able to find a Zero that was virtually undamaged in the marsh. They picked it up and shipped it to the States. The plane was dubbed the Akuetan Zero, and it was evaluated for several of the Zero’s weaknesses. One such weakness was that when in a high speed dive, its ailerons froze. This restricted rolling maneuver. This info, along with others, was passed to engineers and onto fleets. This helped the United States develop amazing planes like the Grumman F6F Hellcat, which was designed primarily to overpower the Zero. Unfortunately, the Akuetan Zero would not survive the war. It was about to take off from a runway when it collided with a SB2C Helldiver.

Another great on @TJ3 History! FWIW, there's a restored Zero at the National Museum of Naval Aviation. What's interesting is there's a single bullet hole in the side of the cockpit. The docent said that when they would come up on a grounded Japanese fighter, they'd poke a .45 hole in the side to ensure no ambush was waiting for them.

A very key flaw in the Zero design which very rarely mentioned is the disparate armament. The 7.7mm mg had a higher rate of fire and a different bullet trajectory from the slower firing and lower velocity 20mm cannon. Therefore in a turning fight, the Zero pilot had to either use the weaker 7.7mm machine guns OR try to pull tremendous lead to land the low velocity 20mm cannon rounds. Also Saburo Sakai wrote their radios were garbage as late as the Guadalcanal battles which means the pilots could not organize a coordinated attack during the battle. The Zero was specified to cruise 10 hours at low power so that 1500 mile range figure is not a combat range, but a patrol range. At Guadalcanal they used the newer, faster, but shorter r range Zeoes, codnamed "Hamps" and they could not complete the 1200 mile round trip from Rabaul to Guadalcanal. Many ran out of fuel trying to get to emergency airfields. The book first team also says the Wildcat combat radius was only about 250 miles, the max range 840 miles quoted is for ferrying. The Wildcat could never even come close to that in actual combat or even patrol.

Darn good video! I already knew SOME but not all of the information, so I'm very impressed!

im a huge nerd when it comes to aircraft yet im still learning a couple things from this channel great channel aswell

Nicely done! I'd always wondered about production of the Zero. Thanks.

Very interesting video regarding the Mitsubishi A6M , also known as Zero. This airplane when entered in service both in China and during early year of war in the Pacific, as you stated, was virtually the best carrier airplane in world in that period. As it had an outstanding range, good firepower and a very reliable 940 Hp Nakajima Sakae 12 engine. Let's not forget also the highly trained pilots that achieved so much at the at the beginning of the war in the Pacific. I knew that Japan never reached the production level of USA from the beginning but I didn't know that the airplane had to be transported by cart in parts at the Mitsubishi factory. But for me there was various "fatal flaws" about this airplane: it had no with self-sealing fuel tanks and no armour protection of any kind leading to the loss of irreplaceable pilots, it had the tendency to have very hard for the pilot to control the airplane at high speeds not only by diving and finally it was also the failure to supply this airplane with more powerful engines that it was relatively available but the Navy always vetoed until far too late. Good job again as always 👍👍👍👍

Some great insights - thanks!

Impressive video. Thank you.

The first combat of the AVG also known as the Flying Tigers took place on Dec 20 1941. Thirteen days after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

As someone who is new to your channel and has 1,060 hours in war thunder, it’s good to know they are sponsoring you.

Great Work Brother. Real nice Info. 3ish out of 4 you got me on. Is great! DCS!

There are theories that point to the Howard Hughes H-1 Racer as the inspiration behind the Mitsubishi fighter. Though it's not likely factual, there were some similarities. What is true is that the while the Zero enjoyed some great success earlier on in the Pacific, by war's end it's initial lead resulted in a net loss for the Japanese, giving the U.S. it's two highest scoring aces of all aces, Major Richard Bong and Major Thomas B. McGuire Jr., both flying the big twin-engine Lockheed P-38 Lightning.

Awesome video man. Good stuff.

Love to see your coverage on the P40 & the p51

Friday came quick lol. As usual amazing video! Also the zeros chasing the P40 over the water looks sick!

Thanks for your comment

The biggest problem with the Zero is that it didn't get upgraded as the war went on. When it was introduced, it was a very potent aircraft that was better than anything in the pacific theatre in flight performance, but it was delicate (no armour, no self sealing fuel tanks). By 1943, the Americans had upped their game. The F4F Wildcats, which were fighting an uphill battle against the Zero, were replaced with the F6F Hellcat and the F4U Corsair. The Corsair had a troubled development history, but once Vought ironed out the problems, the Corsair attained a 11:1 kill:loss ratio in the hands of Navy and Marine aviators. Put simply, the Corsair and Hellcat took the opposite approach to the Zero. While Mitsubishi shaved every gram of weight off that they could to make the Zero turn on a penny, the Corsair and the Hellcat were heavy aircraft about twice the weight of the Zero, they were armoured up to survive better and as such the sustained flat turn ability was ignored in favour of energy retention. Speed was attained through brute force rather than elegant aerodynamics. The Zero couldn't compete with faster, tougher and better armed enemies.

Very Interesting. Thanks.

the Zero is an incredible aircraft

Nice content bro 👍 my first visit to your channel. Another fun fact, due to the zero was so hard/expensive to make it had its own life west, if it went in to the drink, and the pilot would just have to hang on and await pick up. Keep them uploads coming, and see you in game 😉 🖖

Who would ever believe that the Zero's most vulnerable weakness was a lack of oxen?

I have well and truly learned how to use “THUS” and “BUT” from this vid and my English improved a great deal thank you😊

Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

I did not know about moving them with oxen. That was something new.

Curious on how you get all this great combat information, TJ! I recall as a young kid actually speaking with my dad's friends and work colleagues who were fighter pilots in WW II (one was German. We lived in Switzerland at the time and my parents would hold parties and my dad's boss flew a German fighter which created dissention with the American guests with his stories, and I was told to stop being so inquisitive or go to bed!)........and I wonder if you've had the opportunity for firsthand interviews?? It may already be too late....sadly....due to the passage of time. Jim C.

nice info

The ox delivery anecdote is priceless history.

A wonderful introduced Video About Zero Japanese Fighter

your getting very close 100k!!!!

There is a Zero fuselage wreck at Imperial War Museum in London. Amazing light alloy structure and state of the art technology by WWII days. A must seen highlight for the history military planes enthusiast.

The pilot of the crash landed Zero on Ni'ihau was assisted by Japanese Americans there, which many believe helped instigate the internment program.

Lovely little aircraft I've flown a RC zero and it was delightful

1200 mile range. Always loved the Zero

Good video. The transportation by oxen is information that is new to me. Thanks.

I already play war thunder a lot since like 2 years now. it is MY FAVORITE GAME, nothing can beat it to me. but I was having a bit of trouble with the m36b2. the beginner shell has 175 mm penetration (very good) but no explosive filler (not so good). The zero is also really op in the game, its maneuverability is crazy, just fake head on an enemy, get the hell outta the way of the enemy bullets (this plane has no armor btw, any stray bullet will knock you out completely), get on their tail and the 20mm cannons will do the rest of the work.

I once read that, early in the war, the superiority of the zeros in speed and manuverability made it very hard to escape from a zero on your tail. A strategy to escape developed, which was to dive and then turn right, and the zero would not be able to turn fast enough to stay with you. Didn't make it easy to defeat them, but at least offered a little hope. I found that quite fascinating.

I was one of the zeros you see flying behind him, I was an extra. Thanks for having me tj3 💪💪

TJ3: Not sure if you do heavy bomber stories, but if you're interested in considering one... I recorded a video oral history of 11th AF (PACAF) B24 Pilot Colonel Jerome Jones, who flew in the Aleutian Island Campaign, bombing the Northern Kyrelle Islands, then Japanese home islands Imperial Naval Shipping Yards. Colonel Jones developed some remarkable and very unorthodox and dramatic evasive post bombing run maneuvers that included nosing all his B24's almost straight down to the ocean deck from 12,000 feet to out run the Zeros. Once the Zeros caught up - they got only two strafing passes. One from behind when they caught up with the B24's now 20feet off the surface, and the second when the Zeros overshot them, then turned around ahead of them and came back charging headlong into the B24's. Like medieval knight jousting to see who would move first. Colonel Jones had a specially fixed .50 BMG mounted in front of him as his own personal weapon. There are many other unusual, and violent occurrences on the Kyrelle's Bomb Run. I will attach the video here for you to see. Study the "Climb & Dive" technique Col. Jones developed. It's remarkable. I've never seen anything quite like it ever animated before. He is taking an entire flight of heavy bombers almost straight down with all four engines screaming redline at full throttle. "Smoking" the Zeros who were too lightweight to keep up. Then at the last second, nosing up to level position. This video is now part of the exhibit in the Prince William Sound Museum in Whittier, Alaska. Colonel Jones passed away in his sleep one week after we shot this video. I am not a professional videographer and I made this some years ago. Thank you for your consideration. Vimeo.com/89336863

Thank you so much for this, & moreso, for helping our next generations appreciate what our "Greatest Generation" did for us. My Dad & 4 of 5 uncles served in WWII (the 5th in Korea), & their mothers, fathers, & sisters served & sacrificed so much at home. I chose a career to teach history to honor of them & all our generous ancestors who deserve so much of our humble gratitude.

The U.S. Navy recovered a zero in the Aleutian islands in July of 42 and it was taken to North Island naval air station and repaired and reversed engineered.

According to Smithsonian, the first intact Zero was taken during the Aleutian campaign. The tests showed that due to its light weight, its turning ability due to engine torque, and its diving ability, were its main weaknesses; the best way to get away from one was to dive while turning left - never try to outclimb one. Also, the plane was a potential flaming coffin with no pilot armor or self-sealing gas tanks. With the advent of the Vought Corsair, the Grumman Hellcat, the Lockheed Lightning, and the Black Widow, after 43 about the only thing the Zero was good for was training or Kamikazes.

the zero was also used from many land bases as well, using it's long range to good effect, such as hitting the phillipines from formosa, today's taiwan, which was one of the reasons there seemed to be so many more of the than there were.

You left out one of the main reasons the zero was so effective. It was made out of wood which of course made it much lighter,fuel efficient as well as highly maneuverable.

An impressive warbird. Second favorite after the Spitfire.

This plane was a Hughes Aircraft design the Navy rejected because "it wouldn't withstand the rigors of Carrier Aviation", back in the '30s. The Navy also had a problem with the lack of armor. Apparently the Luftwaffe did, too, as they based the Focke Wulf 190 on the same design. (Ever noticed how similar the two planes appear, if compared side-by-side?)

The Zero was at war prior to completing its qualification program which it failed during dive tests when the wings came off in a 400 MPH dive. The fix was thicker sheet metal for the wings. American Pilots noticed this change in that now the Zero was more resistant to 50 cal fire. Switching to API ammo restored the hitting power of the fitty.

excellent video.. you might have mentioned they had a superior aluminum and were years ahead in that regard... thanks!

I would like to hear about the Corsair it's one of my favorite warbirds

Recently I saw stats that the best pilots in WW2 were finish. When you see the stats combined with the types of lesser fighter planes I would agree the finish pilots were amazing.

The zero was designed and built here in the United States as a Bendix airshow racer. The blueprints were purchased from the owners of the aircraft...

@TJ3 History the Army and Navy had different air craft and the scuffle between them was rumored to be the top brass having been divided by old blood lines of waring samurai clans long ago. The Army for a LONG portion of the war had the inferior Zeke a watered down zero or rhe P40 Warhawk compared to a Corsair Im very happy to see to see you mention that fact about Japans production being divided like Germany do to in fighting over shadowing the true objective. The fact about the oxen is interesting fortunatelty Imperial Japan like Nazi Germany was horrible with there logistical chain

The debate on the new fighter came from two groups, one wanted a high power fast fighter, with hard hitting power, the other wanted what came to be the zero, fast climb, maneuverability, very long range. Genda did not even want a new fighter, he wanted to replace the fighter with another strike aircraft. What you ended up with is the Zero the most overrated fighter in WWII, lack of armor, easy to catch on fire, no dive speed, lower pilot survival rates (in a system that only produced 100 or so trained men a year). When the navy commissioned the 2 new carriers the Japanese had to advance pilots out of training to those two carriers and rake in all the spare pilots they could find. The problem at the start of the war is pilots tried to dogfight the zero in turning classical wwI dogfighting, it would take months to realize you had to engage the zero in driving or head on attacks and drive away. The Zero was so light weight it could not take much damage, and to see the limits on the aircraft just look at the no walking are on the wing on both sides of the cockpit, it is a very thin piece of alumina, and would bend if stepped on, having to be replaced.

Churchill's "Few" comments were inspired by the great battle against the Zero by the flying Tigers.♥️😎

Tora ! Tora ! Tora ! BIG Salute to those young Japanese heros !!!

Later in the war when there's footage of a Zero diving in a straight line with no attempt to dodge enemy fire I hear stems from how difficult the plane was to control at extreme high speeds. The amateur pilots thrown as Kamikaze's against the USN were flying out of control and I guess they just straight up crashed as much as they were shot down.

To TJ3History : I sincerely enjoyed watching your videos; I learned a lot but if you don’t mind, try not to be too close to the microphone because every time you pronounce the letters B, P, -ed, or D, there’s always a loud thumping sound at the end. Thank you.

Good job

Me likey this plan in WT but the grind has a brutal

Also could we see the Italian C.202. I think of it like an Italian spitfire.

Your next video should cover the Macchi C.202 Folgore.

Here's an idea for you. Perhaps you could cover the Japanese fighter ace Tetsuzō Iwamoto? 94 victories, or more if you go by his own records. He was the most successful Japanese pilot of all time and I think E11-102 Zero is represented on War Thunder. Cheers, Laurie UK.

Number six! A fully intact Zero with minor damage crash landed in the Aleutian Islands and the US was able to recover and return it to flying condition and they were able to learn all of the Zero's secrets and effectively deal with it.

In 1942 a Japanese zero was captured on Akutan island in Alaska and legend has it that the F4F Hellcat was developed from this event

Another amazing video , can you do a vid about the kamiakze “cherry blossom” plane (facts about the plane , what it would be like as a kamikaze plane , could you survive the kamikaze , it would be amazing if you make (just my suggestion)

Nice video sir Keep up the good work would be nice to see a bombing run survival edition next 🎉

My favorite axis fighter

He fails to mention the Zero 'captured' in the Aleutians (more like abandoned), fully intact, and brought to the mainland for flight testing and evaluation...

Now that is dedication to honor a secret. Well done, Shigi, well done!!

Bellissimo 😉💪

Please cover the P-38. Thank you

The US Army actually did get their hands on a Zero... the Akutan Zero, also known as Koga's Zero and the Aleutian Zero, it was a type 0 model 21 Mitsubishi A6M Zero Japanese fighter aircraft that crash-landed on Akutan Island, Alaska Territory, during World War II. It was found intact by the Americans in July 1942 and became the first flyable Zero acquired by the United States during the war. It was repaired and flown by American test pilots. As a result of information gained from these tests, American tacticians were able to devise ways to defeat the Zero, which was the Imperial Japanese Navy's primary fighter plane throughout the war.

TJ3 do you have any videos on the P-39 Airacorbra, the P-40, or the Hawker Hurricane ?

Sorry there were no Flying tigers in 1940. Flying tigers first combat was in Dec of 1941.

I like that he responds to his comments

It is well documented that Howard Hughes designed the zero. The U.S. did not like it because of Howard’s reputation. He was not a ball player when it came to the politics. So, Howard presented his design to the Japanese. The rest is history. Mitsubishi did build this plane, but the design was from an American, Howard Hughes. Look it up yourself.

The Mitsubishi Zero fighter was epic due to it's light weight design. Much like an F1 race car, the plane made massive horsepower while remaining extremely light weight. Unfortunately the weight of the plane was achieved by only allowing the plane to have 2 small machine guns and no armor plating. While that makes for an extremely maneuverable air craft it also means it's not good in a fight. The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was an easy target for US fighters who not only had far more firepower available, but they also had armor plating for the cockpit, fuel cells, and fuselage. Of course not all US warplanes had the same armor configuration, but the Mitsubishi Zero, nor any other Japanese planes during WW2 came equipped with armor.

The Zeros did not have self sealing fuel tanks which made them catch fire very easily if attacked.

Ki43 Mk2 FTW

It ended just when it got good haha. They discovered something to do with left rudder or to turn left when a zero is after you. (Less ability to turn or lockup I can't remember) also watched a dogfights episode where they do the strait up maneuver and wait for the american to stall out. The american was in a new model plane so he killed the zero.

Ive been on console but will join via PC and add you. P40 warhawk and its interesting variations?

The occasional lost Zeros still keep popping up to this day all over the Darwin/Tiwi Islands NT Australia!

Did Howard Hughes have any link to the Zero design?

Saburo Sakai's first encounter with the F6F Hellcat was amazing reading. He was shocked that the American planes could follow the Zero through most of his tactics. Badly outnumbered, he only survived because the Americans were obviously inexperienced. Already missing an eye, his hand would go numb from yanking the stick around, and finally escaping by flying into a water tornado.

Do you think you could do a story on the “Acutan” zero?