July 10 1942 The Akutan Zero

Ultradog MN · Jul 10, 2017

An American PBY Catalina crew spotted the wreck of a Japanese aircraft on Akutan Island, US Territory of Alaska.
The mostly intact plane was recovered by the Navy and shipped to California to be restored, flown and studied for it's flight characteristics - and possible weaknesses.
Akutan Zero

JF in MI · Jul 10, 2017

I read the book, 'Koga's Zero', and found it pretty interesting. I can't remember who I loaned it to but never saw it again.

Billy Shafer · Jul 10, 2017

I use to fly with a doctor that bought a real Zero. Didn't have the original engine,but the rest was. Those things were flying tin cans.I was surprised to find no protection at all on it. Just thin skin.

BarnyardEngineering · Jul 10, 2017

That's what they were famous for. The lack of armor made them very light and maneuverable. Instead of sitting there taking a pounding, they could dodge machine gun fire from an American fighter. Bullets whizzed right through instead of bouncing around inside the airframe causing damage. A pilot would have to score a direct hit on the pilot, fuel tank, or engine, all very small targets, to bring one down.

Billy Shafer · Jul 10, 2017

My dad was a gunner on a fleet tug. Told me you had to aim for the three spots you said. Otherwise you were just wasting ammo.

RJKeith · Jul 10, 2017

By July 1942, Navy pilots had already figured out the weaknesses of the Zero and devised tactics to defeat it. Coral Sea and Midway were the proving grounds for these tactics. Rather than trying to out maneuver the Zero, Navy pilots used the Wildcats heavier armor, more rugged construction, greater firepower, and better communications to develop team tactics that proved devastating to the Japanese. (Most Zero fighters had NO radios)

Also, one of the biggest advantages the Zero had at the start of 1942 was the training of their pilots, one of the biggest advantages the US Navy had by the end of 1942 was the training of their pilots. The Japanese simply could not train pilots with the same rigor during the war that they were able to before the war, while the US focused on training replacements to meet the inevitable attrition of war, letting the best pilots pass along their hard won lesson. This flip in pilot quality accounted immeasurably to the success of the Hellcat.

Goose · Jul 10, 2017

Interesting.

One of my uncles helped take the Aleutian Islands back from Japan in WWII.

JF in MI · Jul 10, 2017

One of the important things they did learn from Koga's Zero, that they didn't know before, was the turn issue in a dive. Through testing they learned that in a high speed dive (the Wildcat's big advantage on the Zero) the Zero could hardly turn left. The Wildcat pilots were instructed that to shake a zero off their tail they should dive and turn right.

jeffcat · Jul 10, 2017

Yes to the engine. You stick an American engine on them they are really reliable.

CKain(MI) · Jul 10, 2017

JF, I read many books too. Like to share and often that's the last I see of the book !!!

July 10 1942 The Akutan Zero

Ultradog MN

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JF in MI

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Billy Shafer

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BarnyardEngineering

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Billy Shafer

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RJKeith

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Goose

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JF in MI

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jeffcat

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CKain(MI)

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