History

Source: Wikipedia "Mitsubishi A6M Zero"
Edited by Jari Juvonen
(Few incorrectness on Wikipedia are corrected, source "A6M Zero in Action by Shigeru Nohara; Squadron Signal Publications n:o 59")

The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the Mitsubishi Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the Allies as the "Zero", from the 'Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter' designation. The official Allied reporting name was Zeke. When it was introduced early in World War II, the Zero was considered the most capable carrier-based fighter in the world, combining excellent maneuverability and very long range. In early combat operations, the Zero gained a legendary reputation as a dogfighter, achieving the outstanding kill ratio of 12 to 1, but by mid-1942 a combination of new tactics and the introduction of better equipment enabled the Allied pilots to engage the Zero on more equal terms. The IJNAS also frequently used the type as a land-based fighter.

By 1943, inherent design weaknesses and the increasing lack of more powerful aircraft engines meant that the Zero became less effective against newer enemy fighters that possessed greater firepower, armor, and speed, and approached the Zero's maneuverability. Although the Mitsubishi A6M was outdated by 1944, it was never totally supplanted by the newer Japanese aircraft types. During the final years of the War in the Pacific, the Zero was used in kamikaze operations. In the course of the war, more Zeros were built than any other Japanese aircraft.

Design and development

The Mitsubishi A5M fighter was just entering service in early 1937, when the Imperial Japanese Navy started looking for its eventual replacement. In May they issued specification 12-Shi for a new carrier-based fighter, sending it to Nakajima and Mitsubishi. Both firms started preliminary design work while they awaited more definitive requirements to be handed over in a few months.

Based on the experiences of the A5M in China, the Navy sent out updated requirements in October calling for a speed of 500 km/h (370 mph) and a climb to 3,000 m (9,840 ft) in 3.5 min. With drop tanks, they wanted an endurance of two hours at normal power, or six to eight hours at economical cruising speed. Armament was to consist of two 20 mm cannons, two 7.7 mm (.303 in) machine guns and two 30 kg (70 lb) or 60 kg (130 lb) bombs. A complete radio set was to be mounted in all aircraft, along with a radio direction finder for long-range navigation. The maneuverability was to be at least equal to that of the A5M, while the wing span had to be less than 12 m (39 ft) to allow for use on aircraft carriers. All this was to be achieved with available engines, a significant design limitation.

Nakajima's team considered the new requirements unachievable and pulled out of the competition in January. Mitsubishi's chief designer, Jiro Horikoshi, felt that the requirements could be met, but only if the aircraft could be made as light as possible. Every possible weight-saving measure was incorporated into the design. Most of the aircraft was built of a new top-secret 7075 aluminium alloy developed by Sumitomo Metal Industries in 1936. Called Extra Super Duralumin (ESD), it was lighter and stronger than other alloys (e.g. 24S alloy) used at the time, but was more brittle and prone to corrosion (it was painted with an anti-corrosion lacquer as a countermeasure). No armor was provided for the pilot, engine or other critical points of the aircraft, and self-sealing fuel tanks, which were becoming common at the time, were not used. This made the Zero lighter and more agile than most other aircraft at the start of the war, but also made it prone to catching fire and exploding when struck by enemy rounds.

With its low-wing cantilever monoplane layout, retractable, wide-set landing gear and enclosed cockpit, the Zero was one of the most modern aircraft in the world at the time of its introduction. It had a fairly high-lift, low-speed wing with a very low wing loading. This, combined with its light weight, resulted it a very low stalling speed of well below 110 km/h (60 kn; 69 mph). This was the main reason for its phenomenal maneuverability, allowing it to out-turn any Allied fighter of the time. Early models were fitted with servo tabs on the ailerons after pilots complained control forces became too heavy at speeds above 300 km/h. They were discontinued on later models after it was found that the lightened control forces were causing pilots to overstress the wings during vigorous maneuvers. At a speed of 260 km/h A6M2 could roll 56 degrees/s but over 483 km/h rate of roll reduced to allmost zero depending of flexibility of the wings.

Operational history

The first Zeros (pre-series A6M2) went into operation in July 1940. On 13 September 1940, the Zeros scored their first air-to-air victories when 13 A6M2s led by Lieutenant Saburo Shindo attacked 27 Soviet-built Polikarpov I-15s and I-16s of the Chinese Nationalist Air Force, shooting down all the fighters without loss to themselves. By the time they were redeployed a year later, the Zeros had shot down 99 Chinese aircraft (266 according to other sources).

At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor 420 Zeros were active in the Pacific. The carrier-borne Model 21 was the type encountered by the Americans. Its tremendous range of over 2,600 km (1,600 mi) allowed it to range farther from its carrier than expected, appearing over distant battlefronts and giving Allied commanders the impression that there were several times as many Zeros as actually existed. The Zero quickly gained a fearsome reputation. Thanks to a combination of excellent maneuverability and firepower, it easily disposed of the motley collection of Allied aircraft sent against it in the Pacific in 1941. It proved a difficult opponent even for the Supermarine Spitfire. Although not as fast as the British fighter, the Mitsubishi fighter could out-turn the Spitfire with ease, could sustain a climb at a very steep angle, and could stay in the air for three times as long.

Soon, however, Allied pilots developed tactics to cope with the Zero. Due to its extreme agility, engaging in a traditional, turning dogfight with a Zero was likely to be fatal. It was better to roar down from above in a high-speed pass, fire a quick burst, then zoom back up to altitude. (A short burst of fire from heavy machine guns or cannon was often enough to bring down the fragile Zero.) Such "boom-and-zoom" tactics were used successfully in the China Burma India Theater (CBI) by the "Flying Tigers" of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) against similarly maneuverable Japanese Army aircraft such as the Nakajima Ki-27 and Ki-43. AVG pilots were trained to exploit the advantages of their P-40s, which were very sturdy, heavily armed, generally faster in a dive and level flight at low altitude, with a good rate of roll.

Another important maneuver was Lieutenant Commander John S. "Jimmy" Thach's "Thach Weave", in which two fighters would fly about 60 m (200 ft) apart. If a Zero latched onto the tail of one of the fighters, the two aircraft would turn toward each other. If the Zero followed his original target through the turn, he would come into a position to be fired on by the target's wingman. This tactic was first used to good effect during the Battle of Midway, and later over the Solomon Islands.

The American military discovered many of the A6M's unique attributes when they recovered a largely intact specimen on Akutan Island in the Aleutians (which was called the Akutan Zero). During an air raid over Dutch Harbor on 4 June 1942, one A6M fighter was hit by ground fire. Losing oil, Flight Petty Officer Tadayoshi Koga attempted an emergency landing on Akutan Island about 20 miles northeast of Dutch Harbor, but his Zero flipped over in soft ground in a sudden crash landing. Koga died instantly of head injuries, but the relatively undamaged fighter was found over a month later by an American salvage team and shipped to Naval Air Station North Island USA where testing flights of the repaired A6M revealed not only its strengths, but also its deficiencies in design and performance.

A6M Zero was constructed only for offensive duty, it had long range, good aqility and firepower but all this was achieved by leaving off pilots armour and self sealing fuel tanks. Many highly experienced Japanese aviators were lost in combat, resulting in a progressive decline in the quality of the opponents faced by Allied pilots, which became a significant factor in Allied successes. Unexpected heavy losses of these irreplaceable pilots at the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway dealt the Japanese carrier air force a blow from which it never fully recovered.

In contrast, Allied fighters were designed with ruggedness and pilot protection in mind. The Japanese ace Saburo Sakai described how the resilience of early Grumman aircraft was a factor in preventing the Zero from attaining total domination:

"...I had full confidence in my ability to destroy the Grumman and decided to finish off the enemy fighter with only my 7.7 mm machine guns. I turned the 20mm. cannon switch to the 'off' position, and closed in. For some strange reason, even after I had poured about five or six hundred rounds of ammunition directly into the Grumman, the airplane did not fall, but kept on flying! I thought this very odd—it had never happened before—and closed the distance between the two airplanes until I could almost reach out and touch the Grumman. To my surprise, the Grumman's rudder and tail were torn to shreds, looking like an old torn piece of rag. With his plane in such condition, no wonder the pilot was unable to continue fighting! A Zero which had taken that many bullets would have been a ball of fire by now".

When the powerful Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Grumman F6F Hellcat and Vought F4U Corsair appeared in the Pacific theater, the A6M, with its low-powered engine, was hard-pressed to remain competitive. In combat with an F6F or F4U, the only positive thing that could be said of the Zero at this stage of the war was that in the hands of a skillful pilot it could maneuver as well as most of its opponents. Nonetheless, in competent hands the Zero could still be deadly. Due to shortages of high-powered aviation engines and problems with planned successor models, the Zero remained in production until 1945, with over 11,000 of all variants produced. It is said that Zeros destroyed at least 1550 American aircraft during the course of the war.

A6M1, Type 0 variants:

A6M1, Type 0 Prototypes
The first A6M1 prototype was completed in March 1939, powered by the 780 hp (580 kW) Mitsubishi Zuisei 13 engine with a two-blade propeller. It first flew on 1 April, and passed testing in a remarkably short period of time. By September, it had already been accepted for Navy testing as the A6M1 Type 0 Carrier Fighter, with the only notable change being a switch to a three-bladed propeller to cure a vibration problem.

A6M2 Type 0 Model 11
While the Navy was testing the first two prototypes, they suggested that the third be fitted with the 940 hp (700 kW) Nakajima Sakae 12 engine instead. Mitsubishi had its own engine of this class in the form of the Kinsei, so they were somewhat reluctant to use the Sakae. Nevertheless, when the first A6M2 was completed in January 1940, the Sakae's extra power pushed the performance of the Zero well past the original specifications.

The new version was so promising that the Navy had 15 built and shipped to China before they had completed testing. They arrived in Manchuria in July 1940, and first saw combat over Chungking in August. There they proved to be completely untouchable by the Polikarpov I-16s and I-153s that had been such a problem for the A5Ms currently in service. In one encounter, 13 Zeros shot down 27 I-15s and I-16s in under three minutes without loss. After hearing of these reports the Navy immediately ordered the A6M2 into production as the Type 0 Carrier Fighter, Model 11. Reports of the Zero's performance filtered back to the US slowly. There they were dismissed by most military officials, who felt it was impossible for the Japanese to build such an aircraft.

A6M2 Type 0 Model 21
After the delivery of only 65 aircraft by November 1940, a further change was worked into the production lines, which introduced folding wingtips to allow them to fit on aircraft carriers. The resulting Model 21 would become one of the most produced versions early in the war. When the lines switched to updated models, 740 Model 21s had been completed by Mitsubishi, and another 800 by Nakajima. Two other versions of the Model 21 were built in small numbers, the Nakajima-built A6M2-N "Rufe" floatplane (based on the Model 11 with a slightly modified tail), and the A6M2-K two-seat trainer of which a total of 508 were built by Hitachi and the Sasebo Naval Air Arsenal.

A6M3 Type 0 Model 32
In late 1941, Nakajima introduced the Sakae 21, which used a two-speed supercharger for better altitude performance, and increased power to 1130 hp (840 kW). Plans were made to introduce the new engine into the Zero as soon as possible. The new Sakae was slightly heavier and somewhat longer due to the larger supercharger, which moved the center of gravity too far forward on the existing airframe. To correct for this the engine mountings were cut down by 20 cm (8 in), moving the engine back towards the cockpit. This had the side effect of reducing the size of the main fuel tank (located to the rear of the engine) from 518 L (137 US gal) to 470 L (120 US gal).

The only other major changes were to the wings, which were simplified by removing the Model 21's folding tips. This changed the appearance enough to prompt the US to designate it with a new code name, Hap. This name was short-lived, as a protest from USAAF commander General Henry "Hap" Arnold forced a change to "Hamp". Soon after, it was realized that it was simply a new model of the "Zeke". The wings also included larger ammunition boxes, allowing for 100 rounds for each of the 20 mm cannon.

The wing changes had much greater effects on performance than expected. The smaller size led to better roll, and their lower drag allowed the diving speed to be increased to 670 km/h (420 mph). On the downside, maneuverability was reduced, and range suffered due to both decreased lift and the smaller fuel tank. Pilots complained about both. The shorter range proved a significant limitation during the Solomons campaign of 1942. The first Model 32 deliveries began in April 1942, but it remained on the lines only for a short time, with a run of 343 being built.

A6M3 Type 0 Model 22
In order to correct the deficiencies of the Model 32, a new version with the Model 21's folding wings, new in-wing fuel tanks and attachments for a 330 L (90 US gal) drop tank under each wing were introduced. The internal fuel was thereby increased to 570 L (137 US gal) in this model, regaining all of the lost range. As the airframe was reverted from the Model 32 and the engine remained the same, this version received the navy designation Model 22, while Mitsubishi called it the A6M3a. The new model started production in December, and 560 were eventually produced. This company constructed some examples for evaluation, armed with 30 mm Type 5 Cannon, under denomination of A6M3b (model 22b). A few late-production A6M3 Model 22s had a wing similar to the later shortened, rounded tip wing fitted to the A6M5 Model 52. These were probably a transition model, at least one was photographed at Rabaul-East in Mid-1943. Model 22 had the longest range of all Zero models, even 160 km longer than Model 21.

A6M4 Type 0 Model 41
The A6M4 designation was applied to two A6M2s fitted with an experimental turbo-supercharged Sakae engine designed for high-altitude use. The design, modification and testing of these two prototypes was the responsibility of the First Naval Air Technical Arsenal (????????) at Yokosuka and took place in 1943. Lack of suitable alloys for use in the manufacture of the turbo-supercharger and its related ducting caused numerous ruptures of the ducting resulting in fires and poor performance. Consequently, further development of the A6M4 was cancelled. The program still provided useful data for future aircraft designs and, consequently, the manufacture of the more conventional A6M5, already under development by Mitsubishi Jukogyo K.K., was accelerated.

A6M5 Type 0 Model 52
Considered the most effective variant, the Model 52 was developed to face the powerful American F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair, superior mostly for engine power and armament. The variant was a modest update of the A6M3 Model 32, with Model 32's shorter wing with rounded wing tips and thicker wing skinning to permit faster diving speeds, plus an improved exhaust system. The latter used four ejector exhaust stacks, providing an increment of thrust, projecting along each side of the forward fuselage. The new exhaust system required modified "notched" cowl flaps and small rectangular plates which were riveted to the fuselage, just aft of the exhausts. Two smaller exhaust stacks exited via small cowling flaps immediately forward of and just below each of the wing leading edges. The improved roll-rate of the clipped-wing A6M3 was now built in. The A6M5 had a maximum speed of 540 km/h (340 mph) and reached a height of 8,000 m (26,250 ft) in nine minutes, 57 seconds.

A6M5 sub-variants:

A6M5a Model 52a «Kou»," featuring Type 99-II cannon with belt feed of the Mk 4 instead of drum feed Mk 3 (100 rpg), permitting a bigger ammunition supply (125 rpg)

A6M5b Model 52b «Otsu»," with an armor glass windscreen, a fuel tank fire extinguisher and the 7.7 mm (.303 in) Type 97 gun (750 m/s muzzle velocity and 600 m/1,970 ft range) in the left forward fuselage was replaced by a 13.2 mm/.51 in Type 3 Browning-derived gun (790 m/s muzzle velocity and 900 m/2,950 ft range) with 240 rounds. The larger weapon required an enlarged cowling opening, creating a distinctive asymmetric appearance to the top of the cowling.

A6M5c Model 52c «Hei»" with thicker armored glass in the cabin's windshield (5.5 cm/2.2 in) and armor plate behind the pilot's seat. The wing skinning was further thickened in localized areas to allow for a further increase in dive speed. This version also had a modified armament fit of three 13.2 mm (.51 in) guns (one in the forward fuselage, and one in each wing with a rate of fire of 800 rpm), twin 20 mm Type 99-II guns and an additional fuel tank with a capacity of 367 L (97 US gal), often replaced by a 250 kg bomb.

A6M5d-S (modified for night combat), armed with normal forward firing armament and with one 20 mm Type 99 cannon, inclined back to the pilot's cockpit (like the German schräge muzik).

A6M5-K "Zero-Reisen" (model l22) tandem trainer version, also manufactured by Mitsubishi.

A6M6c Type 0 Model 53c
This was similar to the A6M5c, but with self-sealing wing tanks and a Nakajima Sakae 31a engine featuring water-methanol engine boost.

A6M7 Type 0 Model 63
Similar to the A6M6 but intended for attack or Kamikaze role.

A6M8 Type 0 Model 64
Similar to the A6M6 but with the Sakae (now out of production) replaced by the Mitsubishi Kinsei 62 engine with 1,560 hp (1,164 kW), 60% more powerful than the engine of the A6M2. This resulted in an extensively modified cowling and nose for the aircraft. The carburetor intake was much larger, a long duct like that on the Nakajima B6N Tenzan was added, and a large spinner—like that on the Yokosuka D4Y Suisei with the Kinsei 62—was mounted. The larger cowling meant deletion of the fuselage mounted machine gun, but armament was otherwise unchanged from the Model 52 Hei (20 mm cannon x 2; 13 mm/.51 in MG x 2). In addition, the Model 64 was modified to carry two 150 L (40 US gal) drop tanks on either wing in order to permit the mounting of a 250 kg (550 lb) bomb on the underside of the fuselage. Two prototypes were completed in April 1945 but the chaotic situation of Japanese industry and the end of the war obstructed the start of the ambitious program of production for 6,300 machines, none being completed.

Engine	950 hp Nakajima Sakae 12, two-row, 14-cylinder, air-cooled radial engine
Dimensions	Span 12,00 m; lenght 9,06 m; hight 3,05 m; wing area 22.44 m²
Weights	Empty weight 1680 kg; max. flying weight 2410 kg
Performance	Max. speed 533 km/h at 4550 meters; rate of climb 945 m/min
Ceiling	10000 m
Range	With internal fuel ? km, with drop tank 3105 km
Armament	2× 7,7 mm model 97 machine guns on engine cowling, 500 rounds/gun 2× 20 mm model 99 guns in wings, 60 rounds/gun 2× 60 kg bombs or 1× fixed 250 kg bomb for kamikaze attacks
Production	All models 10 939 (Mitsubishi and Nakajima)
Users	Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan (Republic of China), Thailand

Saburo Sakai

Source: Wikipedia "Saburo Sakai"
translated by Jari Juvonen

(26.8.1916 – 22.9.2000) was an Imperial Japanise Navy fighter pilot. He has also writen the famous book "Samurai" in which he tells about his experiences at the controls of the famous Zero fighter plane during the second world war on the Pasific theatre of the war.

Sakai wasn't member of samarai-clan so he has to start his career as an ordinary seaman on a battleship. Life in his home province still followed old Bushido rules. Saburo Sakai was brought up according those rules. His family was poor and came from a smallholding near a small town Saga. The smallholding was founded by his ancestors during the reform of Japan when samurai class privileges were abolished. Sakai was accepted to grammar school but continuous troublemaking caused him to expel from the school to disappointment for his family and village.

Sakai enlisted to navy on may 1931 and after basic training he served on battleships Kirishima and Haruna. While in hard military service on a ship he studied to non-commissioned gunner officer. He applied for admission to pilot training in 1937 and was approved. Sakai was the best of his course.

In 1938 Sakai was ordered to China where China-Japan war was still under way. Japanese press wrote about Sakai when he was the only Japanese pilot who managed to get airborne under bombing attack to his home base, he also wounded slightly by a fragments. He managed to catch up SB-2 bomber with his Mitsubishi A5M (codename "Claude") fighter and fire it but scarcity of fuel forced him to turn back and his kill couldn't be confirmed. Sakai served in China until 1941 achieving two confirmed kills with A5M and A6M (codename "Zero") fighters.

At the beginning of the second world war Sakai was corporal but at Navy ranks of enlisted men he rose first to the rank of warrant-officer, later he was promoted to sub-lieutenant and to lieutenant before the war ended.

Sakai shot down 64 enemy planes in the world war two. His mainly flew with Mitsubishi Zero fighters. He was trained as carrier pilot but after he had completed the carrier course with the best ratings he never flew from carriers but instead from land bases. In April 1942 he was ordered to Lae at New-Guinea where he served untill he wounded.

When airborne Sakai always used his own judgement. For example in 28th of February 1942 Sakai alone was patrolling over Java when he sighted a lone DC-3 east of Surabaya. Sakai wanted to observe the unarmed plane and flew beside it. When he saw two child and a light haired woman observing enemy fighter through the window of "Dakota" he decided not to attack and leaved the plane to continue it's journey in peace.

At least 40 of Sakai's kills could have been identified accurately from allied losses and his battle with Julien "Pug" Southerland's Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter in 14th of August 1942 over Guadalcanal is one of the best documented aerial battle of the second world war.

Immediately after this battle Sakai attacked US Navy's Douglas SBD Dauntless dive-bomber formation he mistakenly identified as F4F fighters.

Sakai wounded seriously to the head and to the right eye by back-gunners defensefire and paralyzed temporarily. Description of his flight back to his base almost blind is one of the most impressive story of aviation history. Eye operation to maintain his sight without anaesthesia was made in homeland and was partly succesful, his left eye recovered as before.

After recovery time Sakai entered to flight service being a flying instructor at first. He requested back to active duty and achieved four more kills at the end of the war. During his service at Iwo Jima he was nearly shot down in June 1944 because he did not discover in time US Navy's F6F Hellcat fighters due to his bad right eye's depth-sight. He managed to break and fly over the island whereby anti-aircraft artillery drove away enemy fighters which didn't have had a single hit to Sakai's plane. He was evacuated in 4th of July in the second group according his military rank together with ten others.

During the closing stages of the war he worked as a test pilot of new types, for example Shinden-Kai "George", he also worked as flying instructor. At the last moments of the war on the 17th of August 1945, two days after Japan has announced it's surrender (capitulation documents were signed on the 2nd of September 1945), Sakai started with three Kawanishi N1K Shiden-Kai and 14 Zero fighters to intercept four photo-reconnaissance Consolidated B-32 Dominator. Next day two American B-32 Dominators repeated the photo-reconnaissance flight. The B-32 flying at 6000 meters could escape the Japanese fighters but lieutenant John M. Andersson's B-32 which flew at an altitude of 3000 meters was attacked by warrant-officer Sadamu Komach's Shiden-Kai fighter. The B-32 was badly damaged and it hardly managed back to Okinawa. Members of the crew of the B-32 senior sergeant Joseph Lacharite was badly wounded and sergeant Anthony Marchione was killed, he was the last American killed in the second world war.

In 1957 Sakai wrote his Samurai-memoirs. He speaks bluntly about many untold facts of the war, of the basic training time when trainers could beat recruits as they wished, even lame. Sakai also tells that just a year before Americans landed Iwo Jima it was totally unfortified rocky island that could be easily taken by the Americans.

Sakai also tells of the Japanese manner to evacuate people from a garrison which is to be abandoned. The withdrawal was strictly ruled by an old Japanise military caste system, only man's military rank influenced when it was one's turn to evacuate, no other things affected. Although Sakai was picked up later with a separately sended plane because his actual evacuation squadron filled up before it was time to evacuate Sakai and his group.

He describes his cross-purposes between traditional sense of honour and a desperate battle which failed in the 2nd of July 1944, on a mission where he was ordered to a kamikaze mission with torpedo bombers and ordered to collide with enemy ships at last. This was the first time when an well considered order was given to the pilots to purposely sacrifice themselves. Although Sakai tells in his book that there were great numbers of voluntary pilots to join to real Kamikaze units. He enlisted also many times but his superiors always refused his requests.

Patrolling F6F fighters intercepted the formation and Sakai and his wingman managed to escape to a cumulus cloud with great difficulty. As he continued his flight he makes a difference between a real possibility of victory and between blind traditional sense of honour when he says, that there is no real possibility to accomplish the mission. Yet his comrades could still believe that the mission had been accomplished or that they have had death of a hero. He cosiders this immoral.

He came back with his wingmen through a thunderstorm in very difficult condition and he considered this flight and surviving from the enemy as an evidence of the skills and value of those pilots. During this same mission also another ace pilot Kinsuke Muto and one torbedo bomber pilot made oneself same decision and turned back.

He was a long time engaged with a girl from a respected family, named Fudziko Nior, but the engagement was cancelled when he wounded. Sakai thought that he was an outcast and would not be a worthy husband to a girl like she was. Anyway, at the end of the war he married his cousin Hatsujo who lived in Tokiyo. He told that the marriage was happy but ended without a child when his wife died after a short disease.

These two women together made for Sakai at the beginning of the war the famous white belt on which they collected, standing on a corner of a street, red stitches from 998 women passing by. This old tradition was carried out by a countless number of Japanese soldiers mothers, wifes, brides, sisters and cousins.

Later Sakai married again and he has two children (one boy and one girl) from his second marriage.

After the war Sakai became a printing house owner. He looked for and took to work many widows and brothers of his battle mates when his busines advanced. In 1982 he met one of the SBD's back-gunners that fired him, Harold L. Jones. Despite blindness of his right eye and invalidity by his war injures Sakai is a skillful golf-player.

Sources:

Wikipedia "Mitsubishi A6M Zero"
Wikipedia "Saburo Sakai"
j-aircraft.com (Japanese Aircraft, Ships @ Historical Research)
Aviation of Japan
Imperial Japanese Navy Aces 1937-1945 by Henry Saikada; Osprey Aircraft Of The Aces n:o 22
A6M Zero in Action by Shigeru Nohara; Squadron Signal Publications n:o 59
Internet

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