Planes were sliding onto the flight deck of the armored aircraft carrier Yamato one after another. Although the landing speed is much faster than that of conventional biplanes or the A5M, the behavior during landing is stable. The single-seat, single-engine, single-wing aircraft is the Zero Model 21 carrier fighter, which was adopted last year.
Compared to the Army's Ki-43 fighter, which is equipped with the Sakae engine adopted around the same time, the Zero's nose is noticeably thicker. The reason for the thicker nose of the Zero compared to the Ki-43 was that the Zero was equipped with the large-diameter Kinsei engine. However, despite being called large-diameter, the engine of the Ki-43 is too small in the first place, and the Kinsei engine is actually smaller when compared to the R-1830 carried by the rival F4F. On the other hand, while the Ki-43 has 950 horsepower, the Zero has 1.100 horsepower, and the soon-to-be-deployed latest version of the Kinsei will deliver 1.300 horsepower. This variant equipped with the Kinsei engine was supposed to be called Model 22.
Naturally, being a large-displacement engine, the Kinsei has poor fuel efficiency compared to the Sakae engine, and the forward visibility is also adversely affected. Moreover, it becomes significantly heavier, leading to a corresponding decrease in maneuverability. In actual dogfights, the Zero is not a match for the Ki-43, and it even lags behind the previous-generation A5M. However, due to the absolute difference in horsepower, the Zero excels in speed performance, and the acceleration, or the transition to combat speed, is also faster thanks to the high torque, giving the advantage to the Zero. From this, it could be said that the agile Ki-43 excels in horizontal combat, while the Zero is stronger in vertical combat.
Regarding defense, both aircraft have almost equal protection, with bulletproof steel plates, leak-proof tanks, and automatic fire extinguishers for crew protection. Unfortunately, their equipment performance does not match the standards of the West. Nevertheless, it is a significant progress compared to the relatively unprotected A5M.
The Zero and the Ki-43 have opposite characteristics as fighters, but the most significant difference lies in their armament.
While the Ki-43 has two 12,7mm machine guns or one 12,7 mm machine gun and one 7,7 mm machine gun in the nose, the Zero Model 11 is equipped with four 7,7 mm machine guns. However, since Model 21, it has been equipped with 20 mm autocannons and 12,7 mm machine guns on each wing. Among them, the 20 mm autocannon adopts the high-velocity Mark 2 cannon, capable of causing significant damage to four-engine heavy bombers. However, despite its high firepower, the 20 mm ammunition loaded in the drum magazine is only a meager 100 rounds, and it can be quickly depleted in combat. To overcome this drawback, there is a rushed development of a belt-fed mechanism for the 20 mm machine gun, ensuring a larger ammunition capacity.
On the other hand, the 12,7mm machine gun is a joint development with the Army, sharing information about the development of the US four-engine heavy bomber and its threat. It resulted in the Ho-103, which began deployment. To be frank, the Ho-103 is a degraded version of the American Browning machine gun, but it still has significantly more power than the conventional 7,7 mm machine gun, proving effective against both single-engine fighters and twin-engine bombers.
Furthermore, the Zero's bomb-carrying capacity has greatly improved compared to the A5M. The Zero adopts a new drop tank and a compatible release device, allowing for the carriage of one 250 kg bomb or four 60 kg bombs. In addition, Zero pilots are trained in glide bombing, and with the benefits of the new type of bombing sight, they achieve much higher accuracy in glide bombing, although it does not match dive bombing.
The training of Zero pilots in glide bombing is aimed at performing ship attacks, supporting ground combat, and, in some cases, carrying out anti-submarine patrol missions. Unlike large bases or large carriers, small bases with few aircraft must multitask to function. In the future, as engine and bombing sight performance improves, the ability of fighter aircraft to attack ships is expected to increase. Or, in the near future, there may be aircraft types that can handle torpedo attacks. In any case, for the Imperial Navy, which has transitioned to air dominance, fighter aircraft are the key to military power. That's why a significant budget and manpower have been invested in the Zero, allowing them to obtain high-performance aircraft. And, in a negative sense, the investment is expected to pay off early.
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