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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_A6M_Zero

https://ww2db.com/aircraft_spec.php?aircraft_model_id=3

https://www.britannica.com/technology/Zero-Japanese-aircraft

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiro_Horikoshi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akutan_Zero
https://www.thoughtco.com/world-war-ii-mitsubishi-a6m-zero-2361071

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Manoeuvrability - (of a vehicle's or ship's) ability to turn easily in any direction while in motion

Dogfight - an aerial combat battle between military aircraft

Mileage - the distance covered using an amount of fuel

Spitfire - a fighter that went head to head with the A6M Fighter during WWII
Self-sealing Fuel Tank -  prevents fuel tanks from leaking fuel and igniting after being damaged by enemy fire.
Drop Tank - an external fuel tank that was able to be jettisoned from the aircraft after usage making the plane lighter.
Aircraft Carrier - a large warship with a deck on which aircraft can land on and take off from.

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Causes and Consequences of building the A6M Zero Fighter

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Causes and Consequences of building the A6M Zero Fighter

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Cause:

- Japan wanted a very maneuverable plane for successful dogfights

- Japan wanted a plane that was very light and had a very far range for invasions in which they could fly to and come back with a single tank

-because Japan is surrounded by ocean, their planes had to have good mileage so the a6m zero was very light and had important features removed for maximised fuel efficiency

Consequence:

- with their new plane the japanese had attacked pearl harbour. Which was a success,however it brought America into the war and ended up being devastating to the japanese as 2 nuclear bombs were dropped.

- because the planes were so successful when first made they were kept throughout the war and thus leading to other countries with technological advances and japan not changing the planes

- many Japanese pilots were shot down with very few rounds of ammunition because of the decreased protection the planes had for the pilots and fuel tanks

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This primary source is an image of an A6M Zero fighter tied down onto the Akagi. The Akagi was the name given to  one of the carrier ships used by the Japanese that transported the aircraft's across distances that the planes themselves could not handle. In the background, several officers and lookouts can be seen on the multiple different levels as well as some crew members of the plane labelled AI-101 on the right-hand side.
The photographer is unknown but it was likely a Japanese sailor taking an image of the planes that they were transporting or possibly a pilot taking a photo of his own plane, he might be proud of it and wanting to show it off. This particular photo was taken in December of 1941, either during of before the attack on Pearl Harbour and it is likely that this is one of the planes that actually attacked as the A6M Zero's are known to be one of the leading fighters in that surprise strike by the Japanese. It provides us with knowledge of how the planes were transported vi carrier ships.

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The legacy left by the A6M Zero plane can be seen by its advantages and disadvantages. The A6M Zero had a fearsome reputation when it was first built. The Zero was considered the most capable carrier-based fighter in the world. It had excellent maneuverability and a very long range in which it could travel in one tank of fuel. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) also had it used as a land-based fighter. Although not as fast as the competing British fighter in the war, the Zero fighter could out-turn the Spitfire with ease, it could handle a climb at a very steep angle, and stay airborne for three times longer than the Spitfire. Allied pilots soon developed tactics to deal with the Zero fighters. Due to the Zeros extreme agility, engaging a Zero in a traditional dogfight was likely to end up being suicide. It was better for the allied forces to swoop down from higher altitudes at high-speed and fire a quick burst of rounds into the Zero and then climb quickly back up to altitude to avoid dogfights.

However, every possible weight-saving measure was integrated into the design of the A6M Zero. Most of the aircraft was built of new aluminium alloy developed by Sumitomo Metal Industries in 1936. Named "extra super duralumin" (ESD), it was lighter, stronger and more ductile than other alloys. It was used at the time, but was prone to corrosive attacks, which made it brittle and rust easily. This detrimental effect was countered with an anti-corrosion coating applied after being made. No armour protection was made to protect the pilot, the engine or other critical points of the aircraft, and self-sealing fuel tanks were not integrated into the planes complex. This made the Zero much lighter, more manoeuvrable, and the longest-ranged single-engine fighter plane during World War II, which made it possible for the pilots of the A6M Zeros to search out an enemy hundreds of kilometres away, engaging them in a battle, then returning to its base or aircraft carrier without running out of fuel. However, that tradeoff in weight and its build also made it likely to catch fire and exploding mid-air when hit by enemy rounds.

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Japanese View: Saburo Sakai was a naval aviator in WWII and possibly the best pilot to have ever flown in the Imperial Japanese Military. He was recorded saying this about the Zero fighter, “The Zero excited me as nothing else had ever done. Even on the ground it had the cleanest lines I had ever seen in an aeroplane, it was a dream to fly.”

Horikoshi Jiro View: Despite being closely tied to the Japanese Military and directly participating in building up the Japanese forces. He was extremely opposed to what he thought of as a futile war. These are excerpts from his personal diary that were written during the final year of the war and published in 1956. “When we awoke on the morning of December 8, 1941, we found ourselves — without any foreknowledge — to be embroiled in war... Since then, the majority of us who had truly understood the awesome industrial strength of the United States never really believed that Japan would win this war. We were convinced that surely our government had in mind some diplomatic measures which would bring the conflict to a halt before the situation became catastrophic for Japan. But now, bereft of any strong government move to seek a diplomatic way out, we are being driven to doom. Japan is being destroyed. I cannot do [anything] other but to blame the military hierarchy and the blind politicians in power for dragging Japan into this hellish cauldron of defeat.” He disagreed with how the Japanese leaders were using his creation and admittedly felt guilty that what he had made had caused so much death and pain.

Allied View: The A6M Zero was designed by Horikoshi Jiro in 1937 and it was first tested two years later. It was the most manoeuvrable plane that had ever been created and it was able to easily out manoeuvre its opponents. No allied aircrafts at the time could completely protect themselves from it. And the allies knew that they would be easily out-manoeuvred and chose to focus on armour and bulking up. However, the lack of almost any defence on the Zero meant that they typically went down after a few shots, despite that they still managed to down at least 1,550 American aircrafts between 1941 and 1945. author Jim Rearden said "The Zero was probably the easiest fighter of any in World War II to bring down when hit ... The Japanese ... were not prepared to or weren't capable of building more advanced fighters in the numbers needed to cope with increasing numbers and quality of American fighters.”