Marushin MARS005 Imperial Japanese Navy Mitsubishi A6M5 Riesen "Zero" Fighter - Sergeant Major Takeo Tanimizu, 203 Navy Squadron, 1942 (1:48 Scale)
"We have resolved to endure the unendurable and suffer what is insufferable."
- Japanese Emperor Hirohito speaking to the Japanese people after the atomic bombings, August 1945
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a light-weight carrier-based fighter aircraft employed by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945.
It is universally known as Zero from its Japanese Navy designation, Type 0 Carrier Fighter (Rei shiki Kanjo sentoki), taken from the last digit of the Imperial year 2600 (1940), when it entered service. In Japan it was unofficially referred to as both Rei-sen and Zero-sen. The official Allied code name was Zeke (Hamp for the A6M3 model 32 variant); while this was in keeping with standard practice of giving boys' names to fighters, it is not definitively known if this was chosen for its similarity to "Zero".
A combination of excellent maneuverability and very long range made it one of the best fighters of its era. In early service the Zero gained a legendary reputation, outclassing its contemporaries. Later, design weaknesses and the increasing scarcity of more powerful aircraft engines meant that the Zero became less effective against newer fighters.
Pictured here is a 1:48 scale replica of an Imperial Japanese Navy Mitsubishi A6M5 Riesen "Zero" fighter that was piloted by Sergeant Major Takeo Tanimizu, who was attached to 203 Navy Squadron during 1942. Sold Out!
Wingspan: 9 inches
Length: 7-1/4 inches
Release Date: October 2008
Historical Account: "Teikoku Rikugun Kokotai" - The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (often called the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (Teikoku Rikugun Kokotai) (IJAAF), was the land-based aviation force of the Imperial Japanese Army. As with the IJA itself, the IJAAF was developed along the lines of Imperial German Army Aviation so its primary mission was to provide tactical close air support, for ground troops while maintaining a limited air interdiction capability. The JAAF also provided important reconnaissance support for the Army. However, the Army Air Service usually did not control the light aircraft or balloons deployed and operated by the Imperial Japanese Army artillery battalions as spotters or observers. Although the Army Air Service engaged in limited strategic bombing of major Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Chongqing in the early stages of the Second Sino-Japanese War, this was not its primary mission, and it lacked the heavy strategic bombers as were later deployed by the United States Army Air Force. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service was responsible for long-range strikes and strategic air defense and it was not until the later stages of the Pacific War that both services attempted anything like integrated air defense.