Development

摘要

When the lmperial Japanese Naval Air Force (IJNAF) launched its surprise attack on the US Navy's Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero-sen was the world's best naval fighter by some margin. It retained a position of dominance until late 1943, when a new generation of American naval fighters in the form of the Vought F4U Corsair and Grumman F6F Hellcat wrested control of the skies from the IJNAF. With the Zero-sen's replacements delayed by technical problems and the vacillation of senior naval officers, front-line units were forced to fight on with the increasingly obsolescent A6M. Mitsubishi had done its best to keep the aircraft as effective as possible with continual improvements to its armament and more powerful engines.