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Zero
Japanese aircraft
Also known as: Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0, Reisen, Reisen Kanjikisen, Zeke
Zero
Category:
Science & Tech
- Also called:
- Mitsubishi A6M or Navy Type 0
- Related Topics:
- fighter aircraft
Zero, fighter aircraft, a single-seat, low-wing monoplane used with great effect by the Japanese during World War II. Designed by Horikoshi Jiro, it was the first carrier-based fighter capable of besting its land-based opponents. It was designed to specifications written in 1937, was first tested in 1939, and was placed in production and in operation in China in 1940. Although Allied forces code-named the aircraft “Zeke,” it was generally known as the Zero, a term derived from one of its Japanese names—Reisen Kanjikisen (Type Zero Carrier-based Fighter Airplane), abbreviated Reisen. The year its production began, 1940, was the 2,600th anniversary ...(100 of 281 words)