Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen / Zero: boeken - historie (1/2)

Mitsubishi A6M Zero (Flight Craft)

De Mitsubishi A6M Zero vloog voor het eerst op 1 april 1939 en bleek al snel beter dan de vroege geallieerde jagers in de Stille Oceaan. Het toestel was licht, sterk en zeer wendbaar en had twee 20-mm-kanonnen en twee 7.7-mm-mitrailleurs.
De constructie was bijzonder: motor, cockpit, voorromp en vleugels vormden één vaste sectie, verbonden met de achterromp en staart via 80 bouten.

In 1942 gaven de Amerikanen de A6M de codenaam Zeke, maar de naam Zero werd algemeen gebruikt. In de eerste maanden van de Pacific-oorlog behaalde het toestel grote successen. In de slag om Java, die op 8 maart 1942 eindigde, vernietigden Zero-piloten ongeveer 550 geallieerde vliegtuigen.

Later in de oorlog werd de Zero voorbijgestreefd door nieuwere Amerikaanse jagers zoals de F6F Wildcat en de Corsair. In de laatste fase werden veel toestellen uitgerust met bommen voor Kamikaze-aanvallen.

Dit boek geeft een helder beeld van het ontwerp en de inzet van de Zero. Het bespreekt het doel van de ontwikkeling, het gedrag in gevechten, de vergelijking met tegenstanders en de rol van ontwerpers en piloten. Technische gegevens, foto's en kleurprofielen vervolledigen het werk.

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Mitsubishi A6M 1 / 2 / -2N Zero-Sen of the Japanese Naval Air Service

Reknowned Japanese aircraft historian Richard Bueschel revises and updates his classic series of books on Japanese Naval and Army Air Force aircraft of World War II. The A6M-1/2/-2N ZERO-SEN is the first volume. All variations and markings are covered in this the first of a projected multi-volume series.

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Mitsubishi A6M Zero (Osprey)

Unquestionably the most iconic Japanese fighter of World War II, the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-Sen, Type Zero fighter was used from the initial raid on Pearl Harbor up to the Kamikaze attacks at the end of the war.
Facing off against the likes of the Wildcat, Corsair and even the Spitfire, the Zero gained a legendary reputation amongst Allied pilots due to its incredible manoeuvrability.

Detailed analysis of its technical qualities show why the Zero was so feared, but also pinpoints the weaknesses that would eventually be its downfall as Allied pilots learned how to combat it.
A selection of historical photographs and unique artwork accompany the analysis as James D'Angina delves into the history of the premier Axis fighter of the Pacific Theatre, exploring the design and combat effectiveness of the Zero as well as the tactics developed by Allied pilots to counter it.

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Mitsubishi Zero - Japan's Legendary Fighter

Engineered with manoeuvrability in mind, the light-weight, stripped-back Mitsubishi Zero had a performance that left her opponents totally outclassed. The dogfights she engaged in with the Chinese, British, Dutch and American warplanes in the 1941-42 period are the stuff of aviation legend. All aircraft designs are a compromise of course, and the Zero had faults as well as strengths, two of which were to finally doom her; one was her lack of armour protection and the other was the inability of the Japanese to match the overwhelming production strength and innovation of Allied aircraft construction. Even so, she remained a potent threat until the end of the war, not least in her final role, that of a Kamikaze aircraft, in which she created as much havoc on the sea as she had done earlier in the air.

Peter C. Smith takes the reader on a journey from inspired inception to the blazing termination of this unique aircraft, the first Naval fighter to be superior to land-based aircraft. It describes in detail the many victories that punctuated the early days of its operational career as well as the desperate dying days of the Second World War which witnessed her final demise. Smith also lists the preserved Zero aircraft on display today. This is a fast-paced and fascinating history of a fighter aircraft like no other.

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Zero - The Story of Japan's Air War in the Pacific - As seen by the Enemy

This is the thrilling saga of war in the air in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II told from the Japanese point of view. It is the story of the men who created, led, and fought in the deadly Zero fighter plane.

In their own words, Jiro Horikoshi (who designed the Zero), Masatake Okumiya (leader of many Zero squadrons), and Saburo Sakai (Japan's leading surviving fighter ace) as well as many other men, tell the inside story of developing the Zero and Japan's air force.

They tell what it felt like to bomb American ships and to shoot down American airplanes - and then of their own shock when the myth of invincibility was shattered by the new Lightning, Hellcat, and Corsair fighters.
They tell of the fight against the growing strength of a remorseless American enemy; and how, in desperation, the Japanese High Command ordered the ceration of deadly suicide squadrons, the Kamikaze. And finally, they reveal their reaction to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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