A6M2 (China)

␗A6M2

␗A6M2

China

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.7	3.7	3.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Naval aircraft

Purchase:1 300

Description

The ␗A6M2 Reisen is a premium rank III Chinese fighter with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB/RB) and 3.3 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.93 "Shark Attack".

One thing many players note when fighting the Zero is its immense manoeuvrability and turn rate. It is incredibly nimble and has an amazing climb rate, which allows you to run literal rings around many opponents. Even fighters renowned for manoeuvrability, like the mighty Spitfire, will think twice before engaging in a turn fight with the Zero. A deadly addition of two 20 mm cannons and two 7.7 mm machine guns mean that you can compete with other fighters.

The Zero's lightly loaded, high lift wing and low weight make it a dream to fly at speeds below 400 km/h, with an ability to execute wild gyrations and zoom climbs at the whim of the pilot. However, the Zero is hard to handle as it approaches speeds of 480 km/h.

Force an enemy pilot into a dogfight at 370 - 400 km/h and below 6,000 meters. At this speed and altitude, no enemy fighter can out-manoeuvre or out-climb you. Jump on cruising enemy aircraft from above, fasten onto the tail of the bandit, use your superior manoeuvrability to match his evasive moves, and put enough rounds into him to bring him down. Use your machine guns first to "bore-sight" the enemy - once you get hits on him, finish him off with your cannons. Below 480 km/h, you can fling the Zero all over the sky to get on an enemy's tail or to shake off all but the most determined attacker. Climb away from most enemy aircraft, hanging on your prop in a near-vertical climb. Manoeuvres like the Immelmann are easy, and heavier fighters can't stay with you. The Zero rolls faster to the left than to the right. Roll left to tighten your turn and get onto the enemy's six. Don't dive away from attackers - your plane doesn't have the power or weight to out-run most fighters. To exploit your plane's best performance, force the enemy lower and slow down the pace of the engagement.

General info

Flight performance

This aircraft is a copy from the A6M2 from the Japanese tech tree, it has really good turning and maneuverability, is able to accelerate fast, has a good climb rate and is known for being the best turn-fighter at its BR with the cost of being very weak in terms of armour protection against enemy fire. This aircraft also has a slow top speed, but is still very competitive with other fighters at its BR.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 4,400 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
491	477	10300	17.7	18.1	10.2	10.2	175
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 4,400 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
531	510	10300	16.8	17.0	17.4	13.3	175

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	✓

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flaps (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
		510	~12	~7

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 270	< 420	< 410	> 324

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
3,400 m	950 hp	1,075 hp

Survivability and armour

There is close to no survivability on this aircraft. A stray .50 cal can burn down your plane. The structure of the plane is good, except that the plane burns in the front, quickly knocking out the pilot. It has armour behind the pilot, however.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The A6M2 (China) is armed with:

• 2 x 20 mm Type 99 Model 1 navy cannons, wing-mounted (60 rpg = 120 total)
• 2 x 7.7 mm Type 97 navy machine guns, nose-mounted (680 rpg = 1,360 total)

Suspended armament

The A6M2 (China) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 2 x 60 kg Navy Type 97 Number 6 bombs (120 kg total)

Usage in battles

The best tactic to use in this aircraft is to sneak up behind your enemies and use your excellent turn rate to your advantage, something that most other fighters don't have at the BR. The most dangerous enemies in this aircraft come from above, Boom and Zoomers will reign fire from above if your are not careful.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Not controllable 1 gear	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 7 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 7 mm MGs	9 in (mod30)
III	Wings repair	Engine		Offensive 20 mm
IV		Engine injection	Cover	New 20 mm cannons

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Excellent turn rate
• Excellent roll rate
• Superior climb rate up to 4,500 m
• Decent cannon armament
• Nimble, your opponents will have a hard time hitting you
• Extremely maneuverable
• Very good at catching enemies off guard
• Can out turn almost all enemies it can face
• Tail hook enables it to land on carriers
• Very short takeoff distance

Cons:

• Mostly faces Japan (facing equally / more maneuverable planes)
• No armour and no pilot protection
• Limited 20 mm cannon ammo
• 7.7 mm machine guns don't really do any significant damage
• Guns have different trajectories, you need to get really close to targets to be effective
• Attacking bombers is one of the worst jobs for the Zero, as it is easily damaged by their gunners
• Although it can carry bombs, it's just absurd to equip them to the Zero
• Slow in a straight line
• Strictly limited to the air-to-air role, although it performs exceptionally in it
• No self-sealing fuel tanks and the plane is littered with fuel tanks, will ignite and burn to death quite often
• Can easily be countered by just doing simple Boom & Zoom as the Zero lacks adequate energy retention
• Low dive speed, and easily compressed in a dive
• Has lots of bars inside the cockpit, limiting visibility
• Prone to ripping at high-speed manoeuvres

History

In 1937, the Imperial Japanese Navy's Koku Hombu (Aviation Bureau) issued the "Planning Requirements for the Prototype 12-shi Carrier Fighter" to the Mitsubishi Kokuki K.K. (Mitsubishi Aircraft Company Ltd.) and the Nakajima Hikooki K.K. (Nakajima Aeroplane Company Ltd.), requiring designs for a new fighter to replace the Mitsubishi Type 96 Carrier Fighter (A5M). The requirements were extremely challenging: manoeuvrability equal to or better than the Type 96 fighter, heavier armament including 20 mm cannons, exceptional rate-of-climb to intercept bombers, a range of at least 1,010 miles with a normal fuel load to escort bombers, a take-off distance of less than 230 ft into a 30 mph wind, landing speed of less than 67 mph, and a top speed better than 310 mph.

Nakajima soon bowed out in the face of such seemingly impossible requirements, but Jiro Horikoshi, who had previously designed the A5M, and his design team at Mitsubishi were undeterred. In addition to the already demanding requirements of the IJN, Horikoshi was also limited by the relatively weak engines that the Japanese aviation industry had to offer at the time. Selecting the lighter but less powerful Mitsubishi Zuisei-13 ("Holy Star"), which had a rating of less than 900 hp, the Mitsubishi team strove to design the lightest possible airframe around the engine, but that was still strong enough to withstand carrier operations and carry enough fuel and weapons to be an effective fighter. To this end, they were fortunate that the Sumitomo Metal Company had just finished developing a new strong zinc-aluminium alloy known as Extra Super Duralumin (ESD), allowing thinner sheets to be used for the skin of the fighter without loss of strength. However, they also had to dispense with self-sealing fuel tanks and any sort of armour for the pilot. The relatively light but less powerful Oerlikon FF 20 mm cannon was chosen as the fighter's main armament, produced in Japan as the 20 mm Type 99. A large wing ensured a low wing loading to ensure maneuverability but limited the diving and level speeds.

The first flight of the Prototype 12-shi carrier fighter (later designated A6M1) took place on 1 April 1939. The next month, the IJNAF expressed its intentions to switch from the Zuisei-13 to the more powerful Nakajima Sakae-12 ("Prosperity") 14-cylinder radial engine, and it was first installed on the third prototype. This prototype would be designated as the A6M2, and it was with the Sakae radial engine that almost every model of the A6M fighter family would go to war. Testing of the first three A6M prototypes took place later that year. The A6M1 was able to meet all but the maximum speed requirements, but the Sakae-equipped A6M2 exceeded them at 331 mph. On 31 July 1940, the Mitsubishi A6M2 was formally accepted by the IJNAF as the Type 0 Carrier Fighter Model 11.

The A6M2 proved itself during combat in China. The aircraft also performed well during its carrier trials. One problem that did quickly arise was its ability to fit on carrier's elevators. The solution was to have the A6M2 fold its wing tips to avoid damage. This reduced the total wingspan by 20 inches. This change required it to have a new designation. The aircraft was put into production in November of 1941 and a total of 740 were constructed. This particular variant was code-named "Zeke 21" by Allies.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

• A6M2 - Original version in the Japanese tree

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
• other literature.

Mitsubishi Company (三菱商会)
Fighters	A5M4 · Hagiri's A5M4
	A6M2 mod. 11 · A6M2 · A6M3 · A6M3 mod. 22 · A6M3 mod. 22Ko · A6M5 · A6M5 Ko · A6M5 otsu · A6M5 Hei · A6M6c
	A7M1 (NK9H) · A7M2
	J2M2 · J2M3 · J2M4 Kai · J2M5 · J2M5 (30 mm)
Hydroplanes	F1M2
Interceptors	Ki-83 · Ki-109
Bombers	G4M1
	Ki-21-Ia · Ki-21-I hei · Ki-67-I Ko · Ki-67-I otsu
Jet Fighters	Ki-200
Captured	▃A6M2 · ␗A6M2
See also	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Post-War)

China premium aircraft
Fighters	␗A6M2 · D.510C · ␗F-47N-25-RE · H-81A-2 · Hawk III · ␗Ki-45 hei/tei · ␗Ki-84 ko · ␗P-51C-11-NT
Jet fighters	Shenyang F-5 · J-7D
Strike aircraft	A-5C · ␗F-84G-31-RE