Mitsubishi A6M Zero

The Mitsubishi A6M Zero is a long-range, carrier-capable fighter designed by Jiro Horikoshi and built by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, entering Imperial Japanese Navy service on July 1, 1940. Its low-wing monoplane airframe used advanced lightweight aluminum alloys to combine excellent maneuverability, high speed, strong firepower and unusually long range, though the same lightweight construction left the aircraft with little pilot protection and no self-sealing fuel tanks. Japan built 10,939 Zeros, more than any other Japanese combat aircraft of the war, and the Model 21 variant was the type flown in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; early in the war the Zero achieved a kill ratio as high as twelve to one before Allied pilots developed effective counter-tactics and newer fighters from mid-1942 onward eroded its advantage. In the war's final phase, Zeros were adapted for kamikaze attacks until Japan's surrender in 1945.