Mitsubishi A6M Zero
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The Mitsubishi A6M Zero, officially designated the Navy Type 0 carrier fighter (零式艦上戦闘機 Rei-shiki-kanjō-sentōki), also commonly referred to as the Reisen (零戦 Reisen, lit. 'zero fighter') or simply Zero (ゼロ), referred to by the Allies under the Allied reporting name Zeke, is a carrier-based fighter aircraft used extensively by Imperial Japan during World War II, entering into service in 1940. Like other piston-engined fighter aircraft of the era, the Zero received constant upgrades and improvements throughout World War II, remaining in use with the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service until the end of the war in 1945. It appears in the openings of the 2017 Monsterverse film Kong: Skull Island and the 2023 Godzilla film Godzilla Minus One.
History
- Kong: Skull Island (2017)
- Godzilla Minus One (2023)
Monsterverse
Kong: Skull Island
In 1944, Japanese pilot Gunpei Ikari downed American pilot Hank Marlow's P-51 Mustang over Skull Island with his A6M Zero during a close-range dogfight. However, his plane sustained critical damage during the fight as well, forcing him to bail out and parachute to the island's shore below. After becoming friends, the pilots incorporated pieces of both aircraft, as well as portions of a B-29 Superfortress, into a boat called the Grey Fox.
Reiwa era
Godzilla Minus One
In August 1945, during the closing days of World War II, Koichi Shikishima, a kamikaze pilot, flew his A6M5 Model 52 Zero to Odo Island's airbase, claiming that he had encountered mechanical problems with the aircraft. A team of Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service mechanics led by Sosaku Tachibana inspected the aircraft, but could find nothing wrong with it; Tachibana deduced that Shikishima had feigned technical difficulties as a means to avoid carrying out his mission.
That night, a giant monster emerged from the Pacific Ocean and began rampaging, killing any members of the garrison he could get his jaws on. As the monster, known in Odo Island folklore as Godzilla, briefly paused his assault, Tachibana sent Shikishima to climb aboard the Zero and use its 20 mm gun to defend the island. However, paralyzed by fear, Shikishima was unable to fire on Godzilla, who began brutally dispatching the mechanics after they angered him with gunfire. Terrified, Shikishima got out of the Zero and attempted to flee, only for Godzilla to grab hold of the plane with his jaws and throw it into the air, causing it to explode when it fell back to the ground. Caught in the shockwave from the explosion, Shikishima was launched forward by the blast and landed hard on the ground, having just enough time to look at Godzilla before he fell unconscious. With no possible means of fighting back left, the remaining survivors, with the exception of Tachibana and Shikishima, were all killed by Godzilla. The following morning, Shikishima awoke in front of the wreckage of his Zero, which had burned through the rest of the night, leaving only its warped metal frame behind.
Capabilities
- Flight
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero could fly at a top speed of 317 to 332 miles per hour.[2]
- Guns
- Armed with two Type 97 aircraft machine guns in the engine cowling, with a capacity of 500 rounds per machine gun.
- Armed with two 20 mm Type 99-1 Mk. 3 cannons installed in the wings, with 60 rounds per gun.
- Bombs
- Wing hardpoints for two 60 kg (130 lb) bombs, or one fixed, belly-mounted 250 kg (550 lb) bomb for use in kamikaze attacks.
Gallery
Godzilla Minus One
Koichi Shikishima in the cockpit of his A6M Zero
English expository super
Godzilla grabs hold of Shikishima's Zero using his jaws
Godzilla throws the Zero into the air
The Zero exploding after falling to the ground
The burnt out wreckage of the Zero on the morning after Godzilla's attack
Trivia
- A Mitsubishi A6M Zero appears on the Japanese theatrical poster for the 1954 Godzilla film, though not in the film itself. In real life, Zeros were never utilized for postwar defense.
References
This is a list of references for Mitsubishi A6M Zero. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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