Who designed the Japanese Zero?

Jiro Horikoshi
Mitsubishi A6M Zero/Designers

Zero chief designer Jiro Horikoshi assembled a team in 1937 to design a new fighter for the Imperial Japanese Navy with two primary goals in mind: to make the aircraft as maneuverable as possible and to provide it with enough range to escort Japanese bombers all the way to distant targets in China and back.

How did the Japanese Zero get its name?

Name. The A6M is usually known as the “Zero” from its Japanese Navy type designation, Type 0 carrier fighter (Rei shiki Kanjō sentōki, 零式艦上戦闘機), taken from the last digit of the Imperial year 2600 (1940) when it entered service.

Who designed Japanese ww2 planes?

Jiro Horikoshi (堀越 二郎, Horikoshi Jirō, 22 June 1903 – 11 January 1982) was the chief engineer of many Japanese fighter designs of World War II, including the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter.

How did two captured Japanese Zero fighters help uncover the zero’s mystery?

Two captured Japanese Mitsubishi Zero fighters helped unravel the mystery of the plane’s apparent invincibility. The psychological and military shock that the Allies experienced when they first encountered Mitsubishi’s legendary A6M2 Zero fighter plane at the beginning of the Pacific War may be difficult to understand today.

How long did the zero stay in service?

The Zero was produced in greater numbers than any other Japanese aircraft, and modified versions of the design continued to see service until 1945. After a period of ground testing and evaluation, the Zero first saw service in China in July 1940, flying with the 12th Kokutai, or air wing, stationed there.

Why was the zero so popular after Pearl Harbor?

The Zero began the Pacific War with an aura of invincibility. After Pearl Harbor, it quickly came to be viewed as some kind of mystery ship, imbued with strange powers, able to do things no other airplane could.

Why was the zero called the zero?

Until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, most American servicemen had never seen a plane like the “Zero,” so named not because of the prominent Rising Sun emblem painted on the side but for the manufacturer’s type designation: Mitsubishi 6M2 Type 0 Model 21. Those servicemen had heard of the Zero’s reputation, though.