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    BEST FIGHTER » PACIFIC THEATER

    Nov 17, 2020 5 minutes

    3 MITSUBISHI A6M5 ZERO

    In 1937, Jiro Horikoshi, the designer of the “Claude,” agreed with the Japanese Navy’s requirement that a carrier-based fighter should have a much longer range and greater speed than the fixed-gear Claude. The Navy specified new requirements for a retractable-landing-gear fighter that would be capable of a 310.5mph top speed and of reaching an altitude of 3,000 meters (9,843 feet) in three minutes, 30 seconds; with an external tank, it should have a cruise range of 10 hours at 131mph. Armament was to consist of two Type 99, 20mm cannon—Mark l, Model 3—two Type 97, .30-caliber machine guns and two 132-pound bombs.

    The production and combat experience gained with the Claude were used to develop the requirements for the new fighter; it was soon to be known worldwide as the A6M2 Zero. On April 1,

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