Akutan Zero

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

The Akutan Zero, also known as Koga's Zero and the Aleutian Zero, was a type 0
model 21 Mitsubishi A6M Zero Japanese fighter aircraft that crash-landed on
Akutan Island, Alaska Territory, during World War II. It was found intact by the
Americans in July 1942 and became the first flyable Zero acquired by the United
States during the war. It was repaired and flown by American test pilots. As a
result of information gained from these tests, American tacticians were able to
devise ways to defeat the Zero, which was the Imperial Japanese Navy's primary
fighter plane throughout the war.

The Akutan Zero has been described as "a prize almost beyond value to the United
States", and "probably one of the greatest prizes of the Pacific War". Japanese
historian Masatake Okumiya stated that the acquisition of the Akutan Zero "was
no less serious" than the Japanese defeat at the Battle of Midway, and that it
"did much to hasten Japan's final defeat". On the other hand, John Lundstrom is
among those who challenge "the contention that it took dissection of Koga's Zero
to create tactics that beat the fabled airplane".

The Akutan Zero was destroyed in a training accident in 1945. Parts of it are
preserved in several museums in the United States.

A6M "Zero"

Role
Fighter

Manufacturer
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

First flight
1 April 1939

Introduction
1 July 1940

Retired
1945 (Japan)

Primary users
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Chinese Nationalist Air Force

Produced
1940–1945

Number built
10,939

Variants
Nakajima A6M2-N

During the attack on Pearl Harbor, nine Zeros were shot down. From these wrecks,
the Allies learned that the Zero lacked armor and self-sealing fuel tanks, but
little else about its capabilities. The Zero's flight performance
characteristics—crucial to devising tactics and machinery to combat it—remained
a mystery.

Prior to recovery of the Akutan Zero, technical information from three other
downed Zeros was available to the Allies. One Zero (serial number 5349), piloted
by Hajime Toyoshima, crashed on Melville Island in Australia following the
bombing of Darwin. The Zero was heavily damaged, and Toyoshima became
Australia's first Japanese prisoner of the Pacific war. Another Zero, piloted by
Yoshimitsu Maeda, crashed near Cape Rodney, New Guinea. The team sent to recover
the plane erred when they chopped off the wings, severing the wing spars and
rendering the hulk unflyable. The third came from China, where Gerhard Neumann
was able to reconstruct a working Zero. He used a partly intact Zero (serial
number 3372) that had landed in Chinese territory, repaired with salvaged pieces
from other downed Zeros. However, bad conditions and the long delivery time from
China prevented Neumann's Zero from reaching the United States for testing until
after the recovery of the Akutan Zero.

In June 1942, as part of the Japanese Midway operation, the Japanese attacked
the Aleutian islands, off the south coast of Alaska. A Japanese task force led
by Admiral Kakuji Kakuta bombed Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island twice, once on
June 3 and again the following day.

Tadayoshi Koga, a 19-year-old flight petty officer first class, was launched
from the Japanese aircraft carrier Ryujo as part of the June 4 raid. Koga was
part of a three-plane section; his wingmen were Chief Petty Officer Makoto Endo
and Petty Officer Tsuguo Shikada. Koga and his comrades attacked Dutch Harbor,
shooting down an American PBY-5A Catalina flying boat piloted by Bud Mitchell
and strafing its survivors in the water. In the process, Koga's plane (serial
number 4593) was damaged by small arms fire.

Tsuguo Shikada, one of Koga's wingmen, published an account in 1984 in which he
claimed the damage to Koga's plane occurred while his section was making an
attack against two American Catalinas anchored in the bay. This account omits
any mention of shooting down Mitchell's PBY. Both American and Japanese records
contradict his claims; there were no PBYs in the bay that day. However, his
claims do match American records from the attack against Dutch Harbor the
previous day (June 3). Rearden noted, "It seems likely that in the near
half-century after the event Shikada's memory confused the raids of June 3 and
June 4 ... It also seems likely that in his interview, Shikada employed
selective memory in not mentioning shooting down Mitchell's PBY and then
machine-gunning the crew on the water".

It is not known who fired the shot that brought down Koga's plane, though
numerous individuals have claimed credit. Photographic evidence strongly
suggests it was hit by ground fire. Members of the 206th Coast Artillery
Regiment, which had both 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and .50 caliber machine guns
in position defending Dutch Harbor, claimed credit, in addition to claims made
by United States Navy ships that were present. Physical inspection of the plane
revealed it was hit with small arms fire — .50 caliber bullet holes and smaller,
from both above and below.

The fatal shot severed the return oil line, and Koga's plane immediately began
trailing oil. Koga reduced speed to keep the engine from seizing as long as
possible.


The three Zeros flew to Akutan Island, 25 miles east of Dutch Harbor, which had
been designated for emergency landings. Waiting near the island was a Japanese
submarine assigned to pick up downed pilots. At Akutan, the three Zeros circled
a grassy flat half a mile inland from Broad Bight. Shikada thought the ground
was firm beneath the grass, but in his second pass he noticed water glistening.
He suddenly realized Koga should make a belly landing. But by then Koga had
lowered his landing gear and was almost down.

The plane's landing gear mired in the water and mud, causing the plane to flip
upside down and skid to a stop. Although the aircraft survived the landing
nearly intact, Petty Officer Koga died instantly on impact, probably from a
broken neck or a blunt-force blow to his head. Koga's wingmen, circling above,
had orders to destroy any Zeros that crash-landed in enemy territory, but as
they did not know if Koga was still alive, they could not bring themselves to
strafe his plane. They decided to leave without firing on it. The Japanese
submarine stationed off Akutan Island to pick up pilots searched for Koga in
vain before being driven off by the destroyer USS Williamson.

Data from the captured Zero had been transmitted to the U.S. Navy's Bureau of
Aeronautics (BuAer) and Grumman Aircraft. After careful study, Roy Grumman
decided that he could match or surpass the Zero in most respects, except in
range, without sacrificing pilot armor, self-sealing tanks and fuselage
structure. The new F6F Hellcat would compensate for the extra weight with
additional power.

On September 20, 1942, two months after the Zero's capture, Lieutenant Commander
Eddie R. Sanders took the Akutan Zero up for its first test flight. He would
make 24 test flights between September 20 and October 15. According to Sanders'
report:

"These flights covered performance tests such as we do on planes undergoing Navy
tests. The very first flight exposed weaknesses of the Zero which our pilots
could exploit with proper tactics ... immediately apparent was the fact that the
ailerons froze up at speeds above 200 knots so that rolling maneuvers at those
speeds were slow and required much force on the control stick. It rolled to the
left much easier than to the right. Also, its engine cut out under negative
acceleration due to its float-type carburetor. We now had the answer for our
pilots who were being outmaneuvered and unable to escape a pursuing Zero: Go
into a vertical power dive, using negative acceleration if possible to open the
range while the Zero's engine was stopped by the acceleration. At about 200
knots, roll hard right before the Zero pilot could get his sights lined up.

Some historians dispute the degree to which the Akutan Zero influenced the
outcome of the air war in the Pacific. For example, the Thach Weave, a tactic
created by John Thach and used with great success by American airmen against the
Zero, was devised by Thach prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, based on
intelligence reports on the Zero's performance in China.

"The capture and flight tests of Koga's Zero is usually described as a
tremendous coup for the Allies as it revealed the secrets of that mysterious
aircraft and led directly to its downfall. According to this viewpoint, only
then did Allied pilots learn how to deal with their nimble opponents. The
Japanese could not agree more ... Yet those naval pilots who fought the Zero at
Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal without the benefit of test reports would beg
to differ with the contention that it took dissection of Koga's Zero to create
tactics that beat the fabled airplane. To them the Zero did not long remain a
mystery plane. Word quickly circulated among the combat pilots as to its
particular attributes. Indeed on 6 October while testing the Zero, Akutan Zero
test pilot Frederick M. Trapnell made a highly revealing statement: 'The general
impression of the airplane is exactly as originally created by
intelligence—including the performance'.





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