A6M3 mod. 22

A6M3 mod. 22

A6M3

A6M3 mod. 22Ko

A6M3 mod. 22

A6M3

A6M3 mod. 22Ko

Japan

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.3	4.3	4.0

Class:

Fighter

Naval aircraft

Research:13 000

Purchase:76 000

This page is about the Japanese fighter A6M3 mod. 22. For other uses, see A6M (Family).

Description

The A6M3 Reisen mod. 22 is a Rank III Japanese fighter with a battle rating of 4.3 (AB/RB) and 4.0 (SB). This aircraft has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.29.

If you have come this far into the Japanese tech tree playing the Zero's, you should already know that this plane is all about turn fighting. the Reisen mod 22 A6M3 is a rank 3 fighter having come after the A6M3 in the tech tree and plays very closely to its previous version. The only main difference is speed, camouflage and the cannons which are now Mk 2 having replaced the AP round with AP-I, making it much easier to score hits and kills.

The A6M3 line of planes is a very unique set of planes getting better and better as they go on. This modification (or Mod 22) features a better engine, turn rate, energy retention and a green camouflage instead of the off coloured yellow, cream colour camouflage on the other zero's before.

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 6,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
519	507	11050	16.1	16.6	8.0	10.2	288
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 6,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
?	?	11050	??.?	??.?	??.?	??.?	288

Details

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

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
0	240	420	~20	~9

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 310	< 420	< 410	> 260

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
2,500 m	1,095 hp	1,213 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
5,000 m	965 hp	1,069 hp

Survivability and armour

• No armour plating
• No armour glazing
• Critical components located in front of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)
• More fuel tanks located in wings near the fuselage

Armaments

Offensive armament

The A6M3 mod. 22 is armed with:

• 2 × 20 mm Type 99 Mk 2 cannon, wing-mounted (100 rpg = 200 total)
• 2 × 7.7 mm Type 97 machine gun, nose-mounted (700 rpg = 1,400 total)

Suspended armament

      Main article: Bombs

The A6M3 mod. 22 can be outfitted with the following ordinance:

• Without load
• 2 × 60 kg Navy Type 97 Number 6 ground bombs

Usage in the battles

The Zero's are a pure air defence fighter. Not like the German Do 217's, or the Russian Pe-2 and 3's. the Zero is a defensive fighter and an air defence fighter in many respects, as playing aggressive will get you killed fast.

If you happen to run up against an A6M3, if the Zero wants to head you on, do not shy away and simply fire for a minimum of 1-3 seconds before diving down, rolling and legging it to Boom & Zoom him for the rest of the battle as if you get a direct hit to the engine, even if it's a hit it will cause massive problems for the pilot as the Zero's engine is a fragile thing that can easily be annoyed. Turn fighting is out of the question as Spitfires, Yak-3's even the captured Japanese planes will struggle at trying to keep a solid turn fight with this plane due to the engine upgrades and improved turn radius at the expense of its Roll rate which will not affect you heavily as you will be mainly turning all day long.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Separate	Not ontrollable	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:

• Rounded wing tips of the A6M2 provide better turn-rate
• Superior cannons than predecessors; Type 99 Mark 2

Cons:

• Worse roll rate than A6M3

History

The A6M3 Reisen mod. 22 was actually developed before the A6M3 Reisen. Due to the demand for a squared wing version the aircraft's production was delayed. The IJNAF needed a solution to the loss of range by the A6M3 Reisen. The Sakae 21 engine was kept and the aircraft's fuel was increased by 24 gallons. The mod. 22 had the greatest range of the variants. It arrived in time for Guadalcanal in August of 1942.

Encyclopedia Info

In April of 1942, a new A6M model fighter was launched. The main difference between the A6M3 model 32 and the A6M2 Model 21 was the new Sakae 21 engine (1130 hp), which had a two-stage supercharger making it more stable at higher altitudes and a propeller diameter of 3.05 m (150 mm greater than that of its predecessor). The engine was much heavier and longer than those used in previous models, so to prevent displacement of the centre of gravity the engine was moved closer to the cockpit and the main fuel tank’s capacity was reduced from 518 to 470 litres. 

Also, the folding wingtips were removed, which increased the plane’s dive speed limit but reduced its manoeuvrability and range. The latter side effect was particularly important as it made it impossible to use the A6M3 effectively during the 1942 campaign in the Solomon Islands. The 20-mm guns were replaced by Type 99-I model 3s, and their ammunition was increased to 100 rounds. Also, the aircraft could carry two 60-kg bombs.

A total of 343 A6M3 Model 32s were made for the Japanese navy.

Media

Skin and Camouflages for the A6M3 mod. 22 in Warthunder Live.

Read also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example,

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

Sources

Wikipedia