Mitsubishi A6M Zero facts for kids

A6M Zeroes on a Japanese aircraft carrier

The Mitsubishi A6M Zero, often called just the A6M Zero or simply the Zero was a long range carrier based Japanese fighter aircraft during World War II. The aircraft was built by Mitsubishi, making its first flight in 1939, and entering naval service in 1940. It was the primary fighter used by Japan during the war. It was the primary adversary of US Naval aircraft such as the Grumman F4F Wildcat, Vought F4U Corsair, and later the Grumman F6F Hellcat, which was specifically designed to combat the Zero. The A6M Zero was used throughout the entire war.

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Images for kids

Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero wreck abandoned at Munda Airfield, Central Solomons, 1943
A6M2 Zero photo c. 2004
Carrier A6M2 and A6M3 Zeros from the aircraft carrier Zuikaku preparing for a mission at Rabaul
A6M3 Model 22, flown by Japanese ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa over the Solomon Islands, 1943
The Akutan Zero is inspected by US military personnel on Akutan Island on 11 July 1942.
Type zero fighter en-hierarchy
A6M3 Model 32.
Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52s abandoned by the Japanese at the end of the war (Atsugi naval air base) and captured by US forces.
A6M2 Model 21 on display at the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, United States. This aircraft was made airworthy in the early 1980s before it was grounded in 2002.
A6M5 on display at the National Air and Space Museum, United States.
A6M on display at the National Museum of Nature and Science, Japan.
An A6M at the National Museum of the USAF, painted to represent a section leader’s aircraft from the Japanese aircraft carrier Zuihō during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.