MITSUBISHI ZERO A6 - M5
Doté d'un moteur "Nakajima" de 1 130ch il arrivait à la vitesse de 565 km/h. Il possédait deux mitrailleuses de 7.7mm et deux canons de 20mm. Son autonomie avoisinait les 1 920 km...
L'épave présentée ici se trouve à Rabaul en Nouvelle-Papouasie, non loin de la plage de Kokopo, où il échoua lors de la bataille de Midway. Cet avion de 9 mètres de long pour un empennage de 12 mètres repose par 30 mètres de fond...
Introduced in autumn 1943, the A6-M5 "Zero-sen" was quickly overtaken by the Allied advance. Designed for attack, it was Japan's best fighter at the outset and long held its superiority, outclassing Allied fighters in speed and maneuverability (even the British "Spitfire" was less maneuverable). Its lightweight construction and lack of power doomed it to failure against second-generation American fighters such as the "P47", "Hellca" and other "Corsairs"...
Equipped with a 1,130hp "Nakajima" engine, it reached a speed of 565 km/h. It had two 7.7mm machine guns and two 20mm cannons. Its range was close to 1,920 km...
The wreckage presented here is located in Rabaul, New Papua, not far from Kokopo beach, where it ran aground during the Battle of Midway. This 9-meter-long aircraft with a 12-meter-long tail rests in 30 meters of water...
