173-679: The Akutan Zero , also known as Koga's Zero (古賀のゼロ) and the Aleutian Zero , was a type 0 model 21 Mitsubishi A6M Zero Japanese fighter aircraft piloted by Petty Officer Tadayoshi Koga, 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 Zero acquired by the United States during the war that could be restored to airworthy condition. It
346-546: A raid of Chongqing , attacked 34 Soviet-built Polikarpov I-15s and I-16s of the Chinese Nationalist Air Force , claimed "all 27" of the Chinese fighters shot down without loss to themselves. However Major Louie Yim-qun had in fact nursed his I-15 riddled with 48 bullet holes back to base, and Lieutenant Gao Youxin claimed to have shot down one Zero, but at most 4 Zeroes sustained some damage in
519-672: A ball of fire by now. When the Lockheed P-38 Lightning , armed with four "light barrel" AN/M2 .50 cal. Browning machine guns and one 20 mm autocannon , and the Grumman F6F Hellcat and Vought F4U Corsair , each with six AN/M2 .50 calibre Browning guns, appeared in the Pacific theater, the A6M, with its low-powered engine and lighter armament, was hard-pressed to remain competitive. In combat with an F6F or F4U,
692-523: A dive. Testing also revealed that the Zero could not roll as quickly to the right as it could to the left, which could be exploited. While stable on the ground despite its light weight, the aircraft was designed purely for the attack role, emphasizing long range, maneuverability, and firepower at the expense of protection of its pilot. Most lacked self-sealing tanks and armor plating. Captain Eric Brown ,
865-574: A fight, and the western section was not of any strategic value to either side, so they did not battle there. The Japanese invaded the north shore of the Australia territories and were aiming to move south and take the southern shore too. The highlands, northern and eastern parts of the island became key battlefields in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II . Notable battles were for Port Moresby (the naval battle
1038-778: A floristic region that extends from the Malay Peninsula across Indonesia to New Guinea and the East Melanesian Islands . The flora of New Guinea is a mixture of many tropical rainforest species with origins in Asia, together with typically Australasian flora. Typical Southern Hemisphere flora include the conifers Podocarpus and the rainforest emergents Araucaria and Agathis , as well as tree ferns and several species of Eucalyptus . New Guinea has 284 species and six orders of mammals: monotremes , three orders of marsupials , rodents and bats ; 195 of
1211-431: 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
1384-405: A knife. They searched it for anything with intelligence value, and buried Koga in a shallow grave near the crash site. Thies returned with his team to Dutch Harbor, where he reported the plane as salvageable. The next day (July 12), a salvage team under Lieutenant Robert Kirmse was dispatched to Akutan. This team gave Koga a Christian burial in a nearby knoll and set about recovering the plane, but
1557-435: A maximum speed of 565 km/h (351 mph) at 6,000 m (20,000 ft), reaching that altitude in 7:01 minutes. Subsequent variants included: Some Model 21 and 52 aircraft were converted to "bakusen" ( fighter-bombers ) by mounting a bomb rack and 250 kg (550 lb) bomb in place of the centerline drop tank. Up to seven Model 52 planes were ostensibly converted into A6M5-K two-seat trainers. Mass production
1730-536: A mystery. Three other downed Zeros were available to the Allies before the Akutan Zero was recovered. In February 1942, a Zero (serial number 5349) piloted by Hajime Toyoshima crashed on Melville Island in Australia after the bombing of Darwin ; it was heavily damaged. Another Zero, piloted by Yoshimitsu Maeda, crashed near Cape Rodney, New Guinea . The team sent to recover the plane erred when they chopped off
1903-537: A near-equivalent number of separate languages, which makes New Guinea the most linguistically diverse area in the world. Ethnologue 's 14th edition lists 826 languages of Papua New Guinea and 257 languages of Western New Guinea , total 1073 languages, with 12 languages overlapping. They can be divided into two groups, the Austronesian languages , and all the others placed in the catch-all category of Papuan languages , most of which are unrelated. The separation
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#17327810693832076-638: A new name because of the negative association of Papua . Frans Kaisiepo , the committee leader, suggested the name from Mansren Koreri myths, Iri-an from the Biak language of Biak Island , meaning "hot land" (referring to the climate), but also from Iryan which means heated process as a metaphor for a land that is entering a new era. In Serui Iri-an ( lit. "land-nation") means "pillar of nation", while in Merauke Iri-an ( lit. "placed higher-nation") means "rising spirit" or "to rise". The name
2249-711: A part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries . It was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the Mitsubishi Navy Type 0 carrier fighter ( 零式艦上戦闘機 , rei-shiki-kanjō-sentōki ) , or the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen. The A6M was usually referred to by its pilots as the Reisen ( 零戦 , zero fighter), "0" being the last digit of the imperial year 2600 (1940) when it entered service with
2422-505: A prototype plane exists. It shows a turbo unit mounted in the forward left fuselage. Lack of suitable alloys for use in the manufacture of a turbo-supercharger and its related ducting caused numerous ruptures, resulting in fires and poor performance. Consequently, further development of a turbo-supercharged A6M was cancelled. The lack of acceptance by the Navy suggests that it did not bestow model number 41 or 42 formally, although it appears that
2595-453: A small loop of high wing over which placed them out of reach and in position for another attack. By reversing the turn sharply after each attack the leader may get a shot at the enemy while he is climbing away or head on into a scissor if the Jap turns to meet it. In contrast, Allied fighters were designed with ruggedness and pilot protection in mind. The Japanese ace Saburō Sakai described how
2768-568: A two-blade propeller. It first flew on 1 April, and passed testing within a remarkably short period. 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. While the Navy was testing the first two prototypes, they suggested that the third be fitted with the 700 kW (940 hp) Nakajima Sakae 12 engine instead. Mitsubishi had its own engine of this class in
2941-429: Is divided politically into roughly equal halves across a north–south line: The current population of the island of New Guinea is about fifteen million. Archaeological evidence indicates that humans may have inhabited the island continuously since 50,000 BCE, and first settlement possibly dating back to 60,000 years ago has been proposed. The island is presently populated by almost a thousand different tribal groups and
3114-437: Is around 4,000 m (13,100 ft) elevation, and the tallest peaks contain equatorial glaciers —which have been retreating since at least 1936 . Various other smaller mountain ranges occur both north and west of the central ranges. Except in high elevations, most areas possess a warm humid climate throughout the year, with some seasonal variation associated with the northeast monsoon season. Another major habitat feature
3287-711: Is home to an estimated 44 uncontacted tribal groups . With some 786,000 km of tropical land—less than one-half of one percent (0.5%) of the Earth's surface—New Guinea has an immense biodiversity , containing between 5 and 10 percent of the total species on the planet. This percentage is about the same amount as that found in the United States or Australia. A high percentage of New Guinea's species are endemic , and thousands are still unknown to science: probably well over 200,000 species of insect, between 11,000 and 20,000 plant species, and over 650 resident bird species. Most of these species are shared, at least in their origin, with
3460-703: Is known as the Battle of the Coral Sea ), Milne Bay and for the Kokoda track . Papuans often gave vital assistance to the Allies , fighting alongside Australian troops, and carrying equipment and injured men across New Guinea. Approximately 216,000 Japanese, Australian and U.S. soldiers, sailors and airmen died during the New Guinea Campaign. Following the return to civil administration after World War II,
3633-529: Is most often used for a wider region that includes lands, such as New Zealand , which are not on the same continental shelf. In the early 1970s, they introduced the term Greater Australia for the Pleistocene continent. Then, at a 1975 conference and consequent publication, they extended the name Sahul from its previous use for just the Sahul Shelf to cover the continent. The island of New Guinea
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#17327810693833806-451: Is not merely linguistic; warfare among societies was a factor in the evolution of the men's house : separate housing for groups of adult men, away from the single-family houses of women and children. Pig-based trade between groups and pig-based feasts form a common tradition with the other peoples of southeast Asia and Oceania. Most Papuan societies practice agriculture, supplemented by hunting and gathering. Current evidence indicates that
3979-526: Is that the F4F-4 is even more sluggish and slow than the F4F-3. It is also felt that it was a mistake to put 6 guns on the F4F-4 and thus to reduce the rounds per gun. Many of our fighters ran out of ammunition even before the Jap dive bombers arrived over our forces; these were experienced pilots, not novices. They were astounded by the Zero's superiority: In the Coral Sea, they made all their approaches from
4152-478: Is the vast southern and northern lowlands. Stretching for hundreds of kilometres, these include lowland rainforests, extensive wetlands, savanna grasslands, and some of the largest expanses of mangrove forest in the world. The southern lowlands are the site of Lorentz National Park , a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The northern lowlands are drained principally by the Mamberamo River and its tributaries on
4325-542: The Battle of the Coral Sea , such as Jim Flatley , and the Battle of Midway, such as Jimmy Thach ; their input was obtained during a meeting with Grumman Vice President Jake Swirbul at Pearl Harbor on 23 June 1942. The first production F6F-3 made its first flight just over three months later, on October 3, 1942. While the captured Zero's tests did not drastically influence the Hellcat's design, they did impart knowledge of
4498-553: The Biak phrase sup i babwa , which means "the land below [the sunset]", and refers to the Raja Ampat Islands . When Portuguese and Spanish explorers arrived via the Spice Islands , they also used the name Papua . However, Westerners, beginning with Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez in 1545, used the name New Guinea , due to the resemblance between the indigenous peoples of the island and Africans of
4671-650: The China Burma India Theater by the " Flying Tigers " of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) against similarly maneuverable Japanese Army aircraft such as the Nakajima Ki-27 "Nate" and Nakajima Ki-43 "Oscar" . AVG pilots were trained by their commander Claire Chennault to exploit the advantages of their P-40 Warhawks , which were very sturdy, heavily armed, generally faster in a dive, and level flight at low altitude, with
4844-580: The Grand Valley of the Baliem River, which had 50,000 yet-undiscovered Stone Age farmers living in orderly villages. The people, known as the Dani , were the last society of its size to make first contact with the rest of the world. A 1930 expedition led by the prospector Michael Lehay also encountered an indigenous group in the highlands. The inhabitants, believing themselves to be the only people in
5017-579: The Guinea region . The name is one of several toponyms sharing similar etymologies , ultimately meaning "land of the blacks" or similar meanings. The Dutch, who arrived later under Jacob Le Maire and Willem Schouten , called it Schouten island . They later used this name only to refer to islands off the north coast of Papua proper, the Schouten Islands or Biak Island. When the Dutch colonized
5190-598: The Gulf of Papua form a single delta complex. The rivers of the island are extremely rich in water due to the annual rainfall of 2,000–10,000 mm. According to a modest calculation, the New Guinea River carries about 1,500 km /a (48,000 m /s) of water into the sea. Fly alone carries more water 238 km /a (7,500 m /s) than all the rivers in Australia combined. The island of New Guinea lies to
5363-599: The Indonesian archipelago , it lies north of Australia's Top End , the Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape York Peninsula , and west of the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands archipelago . Politically, the western half of the island comprises six provinces of Indonesia : Papua , Central Papua , Highland Papua , South Papua , West Papua and Southwest Papua . The eastern half forms
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5536-532: The Mamberamo River , near which he landed on 20 June, naming the island 'Nueva Guinea'. The first known map of the island was made by F. Hoeiu in 1600 and shows it as 'Nova Guinea'. In 1606, Luís Vaz de Torres explored the southern coast of New Guinea from Milne Bay to the Gulf of Papua including Orangerie Bay , which he named Bahía de San Lorenzo . His expedition also discovered Basilaki Island naming it Tierra de San Buenaventura , which he claimed for Spain in July 1606. On 18 October, his expedition reached
5709-623: The Papuan Peninsula ). A spine of east–west mountains, the New Guinea Highlands , dominates the geography of New Guinea, stretching over 1,600 km (1,000 mi) across the island, with many mountains over 4,000 m (13,100 ft). The western half of the island contains the highest mountains in Oceania , with its highest point, Puncak Jaya , reaching an elevation of 4,884 m (16,023 ft). The tree line
5882-738: The Polikarpov I-16s and I-153s that had been such a problem for the A5Ms when 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 slowly filtered back to the US. They were met with scepticism by most US military officials, who thought it impossible for
6055-541: The Shumagin Islands , he reoriented his plane and began to return to Dutch Harbor by the most direct course: over Akutan Island. Machinist Mate Albert Knack, who was the plane captain (note: the term "plane captain" in US Navy usage refers to an aircraft's assigned maintenance crew chief, not the pilot-in-command), spotted Koga's wreck. Thies's plane circled the crash site for several minutes, noted its position on
6228-583: The Territory of New Guinea , to be administered by Australia under a League of Nations mandate . The territories under Australian administration became collectively known as The Territories of Papua and New Guinea (until February 1942). Before about 1930, European maps showed the highlands as uninhabited forests. When first flown over by aircraft, numerous settlements with agricultural terraces and stockades were observed. The most startling discovery took place on 4 August 1938, when Richard Archbold discovered
6401-596: The 1/2 hour-long dogfight over Chongqing. By the time they were redeployed a year later, the Zeros had shot down 99 Chinese aircraft (up to 266 according to other sources). At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor , 521 Zeros were active in the Pacific, 328 in first-line units. The carrier-borne Model 21 was the type encountered by the Americans. Its tremendous range of over 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) allowed it to range farther from its carrier than expected, appearing over distant battlefronts and giving Allied commanders
6574-488: The A6M during the Second Sino-Japanese War . Inevitably some aircraft were lost, with at least two falling more-or-less intact into Chinese hands. The first known example, an A6M2 (the 12th of the 15 pre-production aircraft, Serial V-110), fell near Fainan Island. On 18 September 1940 a team, including Western volunteers assisting the Chinese, examined the wreck. It was largely intact, and a detailed report
6747-516: The A6M's levels of maneuverability and consistently exceeding its firepower, armor, and speed, the A6M had largely become outdated as a fighter aircraft. However, as design delays and production difficulties hampered the introduction of newer Japanese aircraft models, the Zero continued to serve in a front-line role until the end of the war in the Pacific . During the final phases, it was also adapted for use in kamikaze operations. Japan produced more Zeros than any other model of combat aircraft during
6920-656: The Akutan Zero and recently commissioned USN pilots flying newer Navy aircraft. Later in 1943, the aircraft was displayed at Washington National Airport as a war prize. In 1944, it was recalled to North Island for use as a training plane for rookie pilots being sent to the Pacific. A model 52 Zero, captured during the liberation of Guam , was later used as well. Data and conclusions from these tests were published in Informational Intelligence Summary 59 , Technical Aviation Intelligence Brief #3 , Tactical and Technical Trends #5 (published prior to
7093-613: The Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit at Eagle Farm Airport in Australia), who wanted quick, distinctive, easy-to-remember names. The Allied code for Japanese aircraft was introduced in 1942, and McCoy chose "Zeke" for the "Zero". Later, two variants of the fighter received their own code names. The Nakajima A6M2-N floatplane version of the Zero was called "Rufe", and the A6M3-32 variant
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7266-589: The American method that built them separately and joined the two parts together. The Japanese method was much slower but resulted in a very strong structure and improved close maneuverability. American test pilots found that the Zero's controls were "very light" at 320 km/h (200 mph) but stiffened at speeds above 348 km/h (216 mph) to safeguard against wing failure. The Zero could not keep up with Allied aircraft in high-speed maneuvers, and its low " never exceed speed " (V NE ) made it vulnerable in
7439-669: The Australian section was known as the Territory of Papua-New Guinea from 1945 to 1949 and then as Territory of Papua and New Guinea . Although the rest of the Dutch East Indies achieved independence as Indonesia on 27 December 1949, the Netherlands regained control of western New Guinea. During the 1950s, the Dutch government began to prepare Netherlands New Guinea for full independence and allowed elections in 1959;
7612-542: The Battle of Midway Allied pilots expressed a high level of dissatisfaction with the F4F Wildcat . Captain Elliott Buckmaster , commanding officer of USS Yorktown notes: The fighter pilots are very disappointed with the performance and length of sustained fire power of the F4F-4 airplanes. The Zero fighters could easily outmaneuver and out-climb the F4F-3, and the consensus of fighter pilot opinion
7785-474: The Dutch promoted Tidore as suzerain of Papua. By 1849, Tidore's borders had been extended to the proximity of the current international border between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea , as it formed extensive trade pact and custom of Uli-Siwa ( federation of nine ). In 1883, following a short-lived French annexation of New Ireland , the British colony of Queensland annexed south-eastern New Guinea. However,
7958-617: The F6F airframe to incorporate the 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) R-2800-10 engine, driving a three-bladed Hamilton Standard propeller. With this combination, Grumman estimated the XF6F-3's performance would surpass that of the XF6F-1 by 25%. This first Double Wasp-equipped Hellcat airframe, bearing BuAer serial number 02982, first flew on 30 July 1942. The F6F-3 subtype had been designed with specific "Wildcat vs Zero" input from F4F pilots who fought in
8131-523: 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
8304-540: The IJN. The official Allied reporting name was " Zeke ", although the name "Zero" was used colloquially as well. The Zero is considered to have been the most capable carrier-based fighter in the world when it was introduced early in World War II , combining excellent maneuverability and very long range. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service also frequently used it as a land-based fighter. In early combat operations,
8477-514: The Imperial Navy, and "M" indicated Mitsubishi as the manufacturer. The official Allied code name was "Zeke", in keeping with the practice of giving male names to Japanese fighters, female names to bombers , bird names to gliders , and tree names to trainers . "Zeke" was part of the first batch of "hillbilly" code names assigned by Captain Frank T. McCoy of Nashville, Tennessee (assigned to
8650-563: The Indonesian portion of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands is estimated to have 9,518 species of vascular plants, of which 4,380 are endemic. In 2020, an international study conducted by a team of 99 experts cataloged 13,634 species representing 1,742 genera and 264 families of vascular plants for New Guinea and its associated islands ( Aru Islands , Bismarck Archipelago , D'Entrecasteaux Islands , Louisiade Archipelago ), making it
8823-608: 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 (September 10, 1922 – June 4, 1942), a 19-year-old flight petty officer first class , was launched from the Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō as part of
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#17327810693838996-438: The Japanese to build such an aircraft. After the delivery of the 65th aircraft, 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. A feature was the improved range with 520 L (140 US gal) wing tank and 320 L (85 US gal) drop tank. When
9169-496: 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, and are believed to be the three Zeroes that shot down an American PBY-5A Catalina flying boat piloted by Bud Mitchell, and strafed its survivors in the water, killing Mitchell and all six of his crewmen. In the process, Koga's plane (serial number 4593)
9342-620: The Model 32 was unsuited to that campaign and was used mainly for shorter range offensive missions and interception. This variant was flown by only a small number of units, and only 343 were built. One example survives today, and is on display at the Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum in Tachiarai, Fukuoka . In order to correct the deficiencies of the Model 32, a new version with folding wingtips and redesigned wing
9515-414: The Model 52. Mitsubishi is unable to state with certainty that it ever used the designation "A6M4" or model numbers for it. However, "A6M4" does appear in a translation of a captured Japanese memo from a Naval Air Technical Arsenal, titled Quarterly Report on Research Experiments, dated 1 October 1942. It mentions a "cross-section of the A6M4 intercooler" then being designed. Some researchers believe "A6M4"
9688-408: The Morning Star flag) and via the formation of the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM, or Free Papua Movement) in 1965. Amnesty International has estimated more than 100,000 Papuans, one-sixth of the population, have died as a result of government-sponsored violence against West Papuans. Reports published by TRT World and De Gruyter Oldenbourg have put the number of killed Papuans since the start of
9861-401: The Navy, it was flight tested by Frederick M. Trapnell , the Anacostia Naval Air Station director of flight testing. He flew the Akutan Zero in performance maneuvers while Sanders simultaneously flew American planes performing identical maneuvers, simulating aerial combat. Following these, USN test pilot Lieutenant Melvin C. "Boogey" Hoffman conducted more dogfighting tests between himself flying
10034-412: The PBY Catalina squadron that discovered the Zero and later rose to the rank of admiral, said that Koga's Zero was "of tremendous historical significance". William N. Leonard concurred: "The captured Zero was a treasure. To my knowledge, no other captured machine has ever unlocked so many secrets at a time when the need was so great." Some historians dispute the degree to which the Akutan Zero influenced
10207-421: The Papuans (who constitute the majority of the island's peoples) are descended from the earliest human inhabitants of New Guinea. These original inhabitants first arrived in New Guinea at a time around the Last Glacial Maximum (c. 21,000 years ago) when the island was connected to the Australian continent via a land bridge , forming the landmass of Sahul . These peoples had made the (shortened) sea-crossing from
10380-400: The Queensland government's superiors in the United Kingdom revoked the claim, and (formally) assumed direct responsibility in 1884, when Germany claimed north-eastern New Guinea as the protectorate of German New Guinea (also called Kaiser-Wilhelmsland ). The first Dutch government posts were established in 1898 and in 1902: Manokwari on the north coast, Fak-Fak in the west and Merauke in
10553-402: The Sakae 21 engine, which used a two-speed supercharger for better altitude performance, and increased power to 831 kW (1,130 hp). A prototype Zero with the new engine was first flown on 15 July 1941. 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,
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#173278106938310726-430: The United States. The Second Sino-Japanese War began in 1937. Attacks by Chinese fighter planes on Japanese bombers led the Japanese to develop the concept of fighter escorts . The limited range of the Mitsubishi A5M "Claude" fighter used to escort the bombers caused the Japanese Navy Air staff to commission the Mitsubishi A6M Zero as a long-range land- and carrier-based fighter. The Zero, which first flew in 1939,
10899-403: The XF6F-1's first flight, and based on combat accounts of encounters between the F4F Wildcat and A6M Zero, on 26 April 1942, BuAer directed Grumman to install the more powerful 18-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine—already powering Chance Vought's Corsair design since its beginnings in 1940—in the second XF6F-1 prototype. Grumman complied by redesigning and strengthening
11072-568: The Zero gained a reputation as a dogfighter , achieving an outstanding kill ratio of 12 to 1, but by mid-1942 a combination of new tactics and the introduction of better equipment enabled Allied pilots to engage the Zero on generally equal terms. By 1943, the Zero was less effective against newer Allied fighters. The Zero lacked hydraulic boosting for its ailerons and rudder, rendering it difficult to maneuver at high speeds. Lack of self-sealing fuel tanks also made it more vulnerable than its contemporaries. By 1944, with Allied fighters approaching
11245-591: The Zero in most respects, except range, without sacrificing pilot armor, self-sealing fuel tanks, and a sturdy 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 made 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
11418-481: The Zero was an aerodynamic impossibility. With the coming of war, the U.S. fighting services learned better; the Zero's maneuverability outperformed any Allied fighter it encountered for the first two years of the war. According to American flying ace William N. Leonard , "In these early encounters and on our own we were learning the folly of dogfighting with the Zero". To achieve this dogfighting agility, however, Japanese engineers had traded off durability. The Zero
11591-415: The Zero was one of the most modern carrier-based aircraft in the world at the time of its introduction. It had a fairly high-lift, low-speed wing with very low wing loading . Combined with its light weight, this resulted in a very low stalling speed of well below 60 kn (110 km/h; 69 mph). This was the main reason for its phenomenal maneuverability, allowing it to out-turn any Allied fighter of
11764-410: 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
11937-420: The Zero's handling characteristics, including its limitations in rolling right and diving. That information, together with the improved capabilities of the Hellcat, were credited with helping American pilots "tip the balance in the Pacific". American aces Kenneth A. Walsh and R. Robert Porter, among others, credited tactics derived from this knowledge with saving their lives. James Sargent Russell , who commanded
12110-493: The Zero. American author Jim Rearden led a search on Akutan in 1988 in an attempt to repatriate Koga's body. He located Koga's grave, but found it empty. Rearden and Japanese businessman Minoru Kawamoto conducted a records search. They found that Koga's body had been exhumed by an American Graves Registration Service team in 1947, and re-buried on Adak Island , further down the Aleutian chain. The team, unaware of Koga's identity, marked his body as unidentified. The Adak cemetery
12283-439: 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". Nonetheless, historian John Lundstrom and others 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
12456-479: The acrobatic Japs", as Lieutenant General Claire Lee Chennault noted. Although not as fast as the British fighter, the Zero could out-turn the Spitfire with ease, sustain a climb at a very steep angle, and stay in the air for three times as long. Allied pilots soon developed tactics to cope with the Zero. Because of its extreme agility, engaging a Zero in a traditional turning dogfight was likely to be fatal. It
12629-470: 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. In early 1943, the Zero was transferred from Naval Air Station North Island to Anacostia Naval Air Station . The Navy wished to make use of
12802-506: The area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the end of the last glacial period . Anthropologically, New Guinea is considered part of Melanesia . New Guinea is differentiated from its drier, flatter, and less fertile southern counterpart, Australia, by its much higher rainfall and its active volcanic geology. Yet the two land masses share a similar animal fauna, with marsupials , including wallabies and possums , and
12975-454: The arsenal did use the designation "A6M4". The prototype engines nevertheless provided useful experience for future engine designs. Sometimes considered as the most effective variant, the Model 52 was developed to again shorten the wings to increase speed and dispense with the folding wing mechanism. In addition, ailerons, aileron trim tab and flaps were revised. Produced first by Mitsubishi, most Model 52s were made by Nakajima. The prototype
13148-405: 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
13321-570: The attack in December 1941, and United States Office of Naval Intelligence , along with BuAer had them studied, and then shipped to the Experimental Engineering Department at Dayton, Ohio in 1942. It was noted that the experimental Grumman XF6F-1s then undergoing testing in June 1942 and the Zero had "wings integrated with the fuselage," an unusual design feature in American aircraft of the day. The Akutan Zero
13494-552: The chief naval test pilot of the Royal Navy , recalled being impressed by the Zero during tests of captured aircraft. "I don't think I have ever flown a fighter that could match the rate of turn of the Zero. The Zero had ruled the roost totally and was the finest fighter in the world until mid-1943." The first two A6M1 prototypes were completed in March 1939, powered by the 580 kW (780 hp) Mitsubishi Zuisei 13 engine with
13667-403: The coastal areas and islands of New Guinea. They also introduced pigs and dogs . These Austronesian migrants are considered the ancestors of most people in insular Southeast Asia, from Sumatra and Java to Borneo and Sulawesi , as well as coastal new Guinea. The western part of the island was in contact with kingdoms in other parts of modern-day Indonesia. The Negarakertagama mentioned
13840-507: The coastal fringes of the main island in places. Human habitation of New Guinea over tens of thousands of years has led to a great deal of diversity, which was further increased by the later arrival of the Austronesians and the more recent history of European and Asian settlement through events like transmigration . Large areas of New Guinea are yet to be explored by scientists and anthropologists. The Indonesian province of West Papua
14013-442: The conflict at roughly 500,000. From 1971, the name Papua New Guinea was used for the Australian territory. On 16 September 1975, Australia granted full independence to Papua New Guinea. In 2000, Irian Jaya was formally renamed "The Province of Papua" and a Law on Special Autonomy was passed in 2001. The Law established a Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) with representatives of the different indigenous cultures of Papua. The MRP
14186-630: The continent of Australia, which was until fairly recent geological times part of the same landmass (see Australia-New Guinea for an overview). The island is so large that it is considered 'nearly a continent' in terms of its biological distinctiveness. In the period from 1998 to 2008, conservationists identified 1,060 new species in New Guinea, including 218 plants, 43 reptiles, 12 mammals, 580 invertebrates, 134 amphibians, 2 birds and 71 fish. Between 2011 and 2017, researchers described 465 previously undocumented plant species in New Guinea. As of 2019,
14359-490: The destroyer USS Williamson . ( Note : The description above is solely based on "Koga's Zero" by American author Jim Rearden. See .) The crash site, which was out of sight of standard flight lanes and not visible by ship, remained undetected and undisturbed for over a month. On July 10, 1942, an American PBY Catalina piloted by Lieutenant William "Bill" Thies spotted the wreckage. Thies's Catalina had been patrolling by dead reckoning and had become lost. On spotting
14532-524: The east of the Malay Archipelago , with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago. Geologically it is a part of the same tectonic plate as Australia. When world sea levels were low, the two shared shorelines (which now lie 100 to 140 metres below sea level), and combined with lands now inundated into the tectonic continent of Sahul , also known as Greater Australia. The two landmasses became separated when
14705-474: The egg-laying monotreme , the echidna . Other than bats and some two dozen indigenous rodent genera, there are no pre-human indigenous placental mammals . Pigs, several additional species of rats, and the ancestor of the New Guinea singing dog were introduced with human colonization. Prior to the 1970s, archaeologists called the single Pleistocene landmass by the name Australasia , although this word
14878-427: The engine mountings were cut back by 185 mm (7.3 in) to move the engine toward the cockpit. This had the side effect of reducing the size of the main fuselage fuel tank (located between the engine and the cockpit) from 518 L (137 US gal) to 470 L (120 US gal). The cowling was redesigned to enlarge the cowl flaps, revise the oil cooler air intake, and move the carburetor air intake to
15051-438: The estuary, making it the longest river in New Guinea. The winding, muddy, sluggish river can be navigated for 500 km. Ramu is a 650 km long river. Its lower section is navigable, but its upper flow is high-falling, fast-flowing. The energy of the river is used by a power plant near the city of Kainantu . On the south side, the most significant rivers are Pulau , Digul, Fly, Kikori and Purari . The largest river in
15224-686: The experiences of the A5M in China, the IJN sent out updated requirements in October, calling for a speed of 270 kn (310 mph; 500 km/h) at 4,000 m (13,000 ft) and a climb to 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 9.5 minutes. With drop tanks , the IJN 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 60 kg (130 lb) bombs . A complete radio set
15397-623: The expertise of the NACA Langley Research Center in flight instrumentation, and it was flown to Langley on March 5, 1943, for the installation of the instrumentation. While there, it underwent aerodynamic tests in the Full-Scale Wind Tunnel under conditions of strict secrecy. This work included wake surveys to determine the drag of aircraft components; tunnel scale measurements of lift, drag, control effectiveness; and sideslip tests. After its return to
15570-480: 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'. Nine wrecked Mitsubishi A6M Zeros were recovered from Pearl Harbor shortly after
15743-752: The first test flight), and Informational Intelligence Summary 85 . These results tend to somewhat understate the Zero's capabilities. Data from the captured aircraft were submitted to the BuAer and Grumman for study in 1942. The U.S. carrier -borne fighter plane that succeeded the Grumman F4F Wildcat , the F6F Hellcat , was tested in its first experimental mode as the XF6F-1 prototype with an under-powered Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone 14-cylinder, two-row radial engine on 26 June 1942. Shortly before
15916-765: 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 Chongqing in August. There they proved to be completely untouchable by
16089-589: The highlands were an early and independent center of agriculture, with evidence of irrigation going back at least 10,000 years. Sugarcane was cultivated in New Guinea around 6000 BCE. The gardens of the New Guinea Highlands are ancient, intensive permacultures , adapted to high population densities, very high rainfalls (as high as 10,000 mm per year (400 in/yr)), earthquakes, hilly land, and occasional frost. Complex mulches, crop rotations and tillages are used in rotation on terraces with complex irrigation systems. Western agronomists still do not understand all of
16262-587: 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 unsurpassed maneuverability—compared to contemporary Axis fighters—and excellent firepower, it easily disposed of Allied aircraft sent against it in the Pacific in 1941. It proved a difficult opponent even for the Supermarine Spitfire . "The RAF pilots were trained in methods that were excellent against German and Italian equipment but suicide against
16435-583: The island and the province. The name Irian , which was originally favored by natives, is now considered to be a name imposed by the authority of Jakarta . New Guinea is an island to the north of the Australian mainland , south of the equator. It is isolated by the Arafura Sea to the west, and the Torres Strait and Coral Sea to the east. Sometimes considered to be the easternmost island of
16608-416: The island is the major land mass of the nation of Papua New Guinea . The western half, known as Western New Guinea , forms a part of Indonesia and is organized as the provinces of Papua , Central Papua , Highland Papua , South Papua , Southwest Papua , and West Papua . The two major cities on the island are Port Moresby and Jayapura . The island has been known by various names: The name Papua
16781-424: 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
16954-543: The islands of Wallacea and Sundaland (the present Malay Archipelago ) by at least 40,000 years ago. The ancestral Austronesian peoples are believed to have arrived considerably later, approximately 3,500 years ago, as part of a gradual seafaring migration from Southeast Asia , possibly originating in Taiwan. Austronesian-speaking peoples colonized many of the offshore islands to the north and east of New Guinea, such as New Ireland and New Britain , with settlements also on
17127-431: The lack of heavy equipment (which they had been unable to unload after the delivery ship lost two anchors) frustrated their efforts. On July 15, a third recovery team was dispatched. This time, with proper heavy equipment, the team was able to free the Zero from the mud and haul it overland to a nearby barge , without further damaging it. The Zero was taken to Dutch Harbor, turned right-side up, and cleaned. The Akutan Zero
17300-468: The last digit of the Imperial year 2600 (1940) when it entered service. In Japan, it was unofficially referred to as both Rei-sen and Zero-sen ; Japanese pilots most commonly called it Zero-sen, where sen is the first syllable of sentōki, Japanese for "fighter plane". In the official designation "A6M", the "A" signified a carrier-based fighter, "6" meant that it was the sixth such model built for
17473-624: 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. In 1941, Nakajima introduced
17646-435: The main exports of the island during this period were resins, spices, slaves and the highly priced feathers of the bird-of-paradise . In a period of constant conflict called 'hongi wars', in which rival villages or kingdoms would invoke the name of Tidore Sultan, rightly, for punitive expeditions for not fulfilling their tributary obligations, or opportunitively for competitions over resources and prestige. Sultan Nuku , one of
17819-548: The main island as part of the Dutch East Indies , they called it Nieuw Guinea . The name Irian was used in the Indonesian language to refer to the island and Indonesian province, as Irian Barat (West Irian) Province and later Irian Jaya Province. The name Irian was suggested during a tribal committee meeting in Tobati, Jayapura, formed by Soegoro Atmoprasodjo under governor JP van Eechoed, to decide on
17992-594: The mainland of the country of Papua New Guinea . The shape of New Guinea is often compared to that of a bird-of-paradise (indigenous to the island), and this results in the usual names for the two extremes of the island: the Bird's Head Peninsula in the northwest ( Vogelkop in Dutch, Kepala Burung in Indonesian; also known as the Doberai Peninsula), and the Bird's Tail Peninsula in the southeast (also known as
18165-472: The mammal species (69%) are endemic. New Guinea has 578 species of breeding birds, of which 324 species are endemic. The island's frogs are one of the most poorly known vertebrate groups, totalling 282 species, but this number is expected to double or even triple when all species have been documented. New Guinea has a rich diversity of coral life and 1,200 species of fish have been found. Also about 600 species of reef-building coral—the latter equal to 75 percent of
18338-433: The map, and returned to Dutch Harbor to report it. Thies persuaded his commanding officer, Paul Foley , to let him return with a salvage team. The next day (July 11), the team flew out to inspect the wreck. Navy photographer's mate Arthur W. Bauman took pictures as they worked. Thies's team extracted Koga's body from the plane by having Knack (the smallest crew member) crawl up inside the plane and cut his safety harness with
18511-539: The most famous Tidore sultans who rebelled against Dutch colonization, called himself "Sultan of Tidore and Papua", during his revolt in 1780s. He commanded loyalty from both Moluccan and Papuan chiefs, especially those of Raja Ampat Islands, from his base in Gebe . Following Tidore's subjugation as Dutch tributary, much of the territory it claimed in western part of New Guinea came under Dutch rule as part of Dutch East Indies. The first known European contact with New Guinea
18684-553: The mouth of the river in 1845. The total length of the river is 1,050 km. Smaller boats can sail 900 km on the river. The estuary section, which decomposes into islands, is 70 km wide. The tide of the sea can have an effect of up to 300 kilometers. Strickland , a tributary of the Fly, reaches the Papuan Plain through wild gorges. Fly and Strickland together form the largest river in New Guinea. The many rivers flowing into
18857-515: The new design type was accepted formally by the Navy, the A6M3 Model 22 already stood ready for service in December 1942. Approximately 560 aircraft of the new type had been produced in the meantime by Mitsubishi Jukogyo K.K. According to a theory, the very late production Model 22 might have had wings similar to the shortened, rounded-tip wing of the Model 52. One plane of such arrangement was photographed at Lakunai Airfield ("Rabaul East") in
19030-405: The new style of exhaust commenced with number 3904. Whether this is correct, indicates retrofitting intentions, refers to the prototype but not to all subsequent planes, or is in error, is unclear.) From production number 4274, the wing fuel tanks received carbon dioxide fire extinguishers . From number 4354, the radio became the Model 3, aerial Mark 1, and at that point it is said the antenna mast
19203-495: 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. Because of shortages of high-powered aviation engines and problems with planned successor models, namely the superior Mitsubishi A7M2 Reppū , the Zero remained in production until 1945, with over 10,000 of all variants produced. The Japanese deployed
19376-469: 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 before 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
19549-561: The partial elected New Guinea Council took office on 5 April 1961. The Council decided on the name of West Papua ( Papua Barat ) for the territory, along with an emblem, flag , and anthem to complement those of the Netherlands. On 1 October 1962, after some military interventions and negotiations, the Dutch handed over the territory to the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority , until 1 May 1963, when Indonesia took control. The territory
19722-426: 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 for 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
19895-480: The practices, and it has been noted that native gardeners are as, or even more, successful than most scientific farmers in raising certain crops. There is evidence that New Guinea gardeners invented crop rotation well before western Europeans. A unique feature of New Guinea permaculture is the silviculture of Casuarina oligodon , a tall, sturdy native ironwood tree, suited to use for timber and fuel, with root nodules that fix nitrogen. Pollen studies show that it
20068-543: The quality of the aircraft, less so by the performance—although this was later put down to using 85 octane fuel rather than the 100 octane required by the Sakae engine. The American military discovered many of the A6M's unique attributes when they recovered a largely intact specimen of an A6M2, the Akutan Zero , on Akutan Island in the Aleutians . During an air raid over Dutch Harbor on 4 June 1942, one A6M fighter
20241-596: The rear or high side and did relatively little damage because of our armor. It also is desired to call attention to the fact that there was an absence of the fancy stunting during pull outs or approaches for attacks. In this battle, the Japs dove in, made the attack and then immediately pulled out, taking advantage of their superior climb and maneuverability. In attacking fighters, the Zeros usually attacked from above rear at high speed and recovered by climbing vertically until they lost some speed and then pulled on through to complete
20414-522: The reduced drag allowed the diving speed to be increased to 670 km/h (415 mph). On the downside, turning and range, which were the strengths of the Model 21, suffered due to smaller ailerons, decreased lift and greater fuel consumption. The shorter range proved a significant limitation during the Solomons Campaign, during which Zeros based at Rabaul had to travel nearly to their maximum range to reach Guadalcanal and return. Consequently,
20587-627: The region of Wanin and Sran, in eastern Nusantara as part of Majapahit 's tributary. This 'Wanin' has been identified with the Onin Peninsula, part of the Bomberai Peninsula near the city of Fakfak . while ' Sran ' had been identified as region of Kowiai , just south of Onin peninsula. The sultans of Tidore , in the Maluku Islands , claimed sovereignty over various coastal parts of the island. During Tidore's rule,
20760-469: The requirements could be met, but only if the aircraft were 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 aluminium alloy developed by Sumitomo Metal Industries in 1936. Called " extra super duralumin ", it was lighter, stronger and more ductile than other alloys used at the time but was prone to corrosive attack, which made it brittle. This detrimental effect
20933-544: The richest coral reefs on the planet. The entire length of the New Guinea Highlands system passes through New Guinea as a vast watershed. The northern rivers flow into the Pacific Ocean , the southern rivers into the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Papua . On the north side, the largest rivers are the Mamberamo, Sepik and Ramu. Mamberamo was born from the confluence of two large inland rivers. Tariku comes from
21106-560: The same continental shelf , and were united during episodes of low sea level in the Pleistocene glaciations as the combined landmass of Sahul . Numerous smaller islands are located to the west and east. The island's name was given by Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez during his maritime expedition of 1545 due to the resemblance of the indigenous peoples of the island to those in the African region of Guinea . The eastern half of
21279-471: The seas bordering New Guinea: The first inhabitants Indigenous people of New Guinea , from whom the Papuan people are probably descended, adapted to the range of ecologies and, in time, developed one of the earliest known agricultures. Remains of this agricultural system, in the form of ancient irrigation systems in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, are being studied by archaeologists. Research indicates that
21452-473: The second half of 1943, and has been published widely in a number of Japanese books. While the engine cowling is the same of previous Model 32 and 22, the theory proposes that the plane is an early production Model 52. The Model 32, 22, 22 Kō, 52, 52 Kō and 52 Otsu were all powered by the Nakajima Sakae Mod. 21 engine. That engine kept its designation in spite of changes in the exhaust system for
21625-442: 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
21798-427: The shot that brought down Koga's plane, although 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
21971-568: The south at the border with British New Guinea . The German, Dutch and British colonial administrators each attempted to suppress the still-widespread practices of inter-village warfare and headhunting within their respective territories. In 1905, the British government transferred some administrative responsibility over southeast New Guinea to Australia (which renamed the area " Territory of Papua "); and, in 1906, transferred all remaining responsibility to Australia. During World War I , Australian forces seized German New Guinea, which in 1920 became
22144-400: The standard United States Navy fighter of the time. The A6M's airframe was "built like a fine watch"; the Zero was constructed with flush rivets , and even the guns were flush with the wings. The instrument panel was a "marvel of simplicity… with no superfluities to distract [the pilot]". What most impressed the experts was that the Zero's fuselage and wings were constructed in one piece, unlike
22317-520: The time. Early models were fitted with servo tabs on the ailerons after pilots complained that control forces became too heavy at speeds above 300 kilometres per hour (190 mph). 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. The A6M is usually known as the "Zero" from its Japanese Navy aircraft_type designation , Type 0 carrier fighter ( Rei shiki Kanjō sentōki , 零式艦上戦闘機 ), taken from
22490-435: The toughness 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
22663-517: The upper half of the cowling. The wings were redesigned to reduce span, eliminate the folding tips, and square off the wingtips. The inboard edge of the aileron was moved outboard by one rib, and the wing fuel tanks were enlarged accordingly to 420 L (110 US gal). The two 20 mm wing cannon were upgraded from the Type 99 Mark 1 to the Mark 2, which required a bulge in the sheet metal of
22836-481: The war. The Mitsubishi A5M fighter was just entering service in early 1937, when the Imperial Japanese Navy started looking for its eventual replacement. On 5 October 1937, it issued "Planning Requirements for the Prototype 12-shi Carrier-based Fighter", sending them to Nakajima and Mitsubishi. Both firms started preliminary design work while awaiting more definitive requirements a few months later. Based on
23009-615: 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
23182-555: The west to the east and Taritatu from the east. These rivers meander through swamps with huge internal descents and then merge. The Mamberamo thus formed reaches the ocean by breaking through the Coastal Mountains. Mamberamo River is navigable to Marine Falls. The Sepik is a much more important river. Similarly, it collects water from a spacious pool. It is 1,100 kilometers from the Victor Emanuel Range to
23355-519: The western part of the island in present-day Indonesia, and also claimed the territory for the King of Spain. A successive European claim occurred in 1828, when the Netherlands formally claimed the western half of the island as Netherlands New Guinea . Dutch colonial authority built Fort Du Bus an administrative and trading post established near Lobo, Triton Bay, but by 1835 had been abandoned. Considering that New Guinea had little economic value for them,
23528-622: The western part of the island is Digul . It originates from the Star Mountains , which rise to an altitude of 4,700 m. The coastal plain is bordered by a swamp world hundreds of kilometers wide. Digul is the main transport route to the fertile hills and mountains within the island. The river Fly is born near the eastern branches of the Digul. It is named after one of the ships of the English Royal Fleet, which first sailed into
23701-687: The western side, and by the Sepik on the eastern side. The more extensive southern lowlands are drained by a larger number of rivers, principally the Digul in the west and the Fly in the east. The largest island offshore, Dolak , lies near the Digul estuary, separated by a strait so narrow it has been named a "creek". New Guinea contains many of the world's ecosystem types: glacial, alpine tundra , savanna , montane and lowland rainforest, mangroves , wetlands , lake and river ecosystems , seagrasses , and some of
23874-483: The wing below each cannon. The wings also included larger ammunition boxes and thus allowing 100 rounds per cannon. The Sakae 21 engine and other changes increased maximum speed by only 11 km/h (6.8 mph) compared to the Model 21, but sacrificed nearly 1,000 km (620 miles) of range. Nevertheless, the Navy accepted the type and it entered production in April 1942. The shorter wingspan led to better roll, and
24047-419: The wings, severing the wing spars and rendering the hulk unflyable. The third came from China, where Gerhard Neumann reconstructed a working aircraft from a partly intact Zero (serial number 3372) that had landed in Chinese territory plus salvaged pieces from other downed Zeros. Neumann's aircraft did not reach the United States for testing until after the recovery of the Akutan Zero. In June 1942, as part of
24220-498: The words papo ("to unite") and ua (negation), which means "not united", i.e. an outlying possession of Tidore. Anton Ploeg reports that the word papua is often said to be derived from the Malay word papua or pua-pua , meaning "frizzly-haired", referring to the very curly hair of the island's inhabitants. However Sollewijn Gelpke in 1993 considered this unlikely as it had been used earlier, and he instead derived it from
24393-459: The world and, having never seen Europeans before, initially believed the explorers to be spirits of the dead due to the local belief that a person's skin turned white when they died and crossed into the land of the dead. Netherlands New Guinea and the Australian territories (the eastern half ) were invaded in 1942 by the Japanese . The Netherlands were defeated by that stage and did not put up
24566-669: The world's known total. The entire coral area covers 18 million hectares off a peninsula in northwest New Guinea. As of 2020, the Western portion of New Guinea, Papua and West Papua, accounts for 54% of the island's primary forest and about 51% of the island's total tree cover, according to satellite data. According to the WWF , New Guinea can be divided into twelve terrestrial ecoregions : The WWF and Nature Conservancy divide New Guinea into five freshwater ecoregions : The WWF and Nature Conservancy identify several marine ecoregions in
24739-534: The world's most floristically diverse island, surpassing Madagascar (11,488), Borneo (11,165), Java (4,598), and the Philippines (9,432). Biogeographically , New Guinea is part of Australasia rather than the Indomalayan realm, although New Guinea's flora has many more affinities with Asia than its fauna, which is overwhelmingly Australian. Botanically, New Guinea is considered part of Malesia ,
24912-535: Was adopted during an ancient period of extreme deforestation. In more recent millennia, another wave of people arrived on the shores of New Guinea. These were the Austronesian people , who had spread down from Taiwan , through the South-east Asian archipelago , colonising many of the islands on the way. The Austronesian people had technology and skills extremely well adapted to ocean voyaging and Austronesian language speaking people are present along much of
25085-518: Was applied to one or two prototype planes fitted with an experimental turbo-supercharged Sakae engine designed for high altitude. Mitsubishi's involvement in the project was probably quite limited or nil; the unmodified Sakae engine was made by Nakajima. The design and testing of the turbo-supercharger was the responsibility of the First Naval Air [Technical] Arsenal ( 第一海軍航空廠 , Dai Ichi Kaigun Kōkūshō ) at Yokosuka. At least one photo of
25258-505: Was better to swoop down from above in a high-speed pass, fire a quick burst, then climb quickly back up to altitude. A short burst of fire from heavy machine guns or cannon was often enough to bring down the fragile Zero. These tactics were regularly employed by Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters during Guadalcanal defense through high-altitude ambush, which was possible with an early warning system consisting of coastwatchers and radar . Such "boom-and-zoom" tactics were also successfully used in
25431-456: Was by Portuguese and Spanish sailors in the 16th century. In 1526–27, Portuguese explorer Jorge de Meneses saw the western tip of New Guinea and named it ilhas dos Papuas . In 1528, the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Saavedra also recorded its sighting when trying to return from Tidore to New Spain . In 1545, Spaniard Íñigo Ortíz de Retes sailed along the north coast of New Guinea as far as
25604-433: Was compiled and sent to the U.S. The second, an A6M2-21 (Serial V-173), made a forced landing near Tietsan airfield 17 February 1941. The pilot was shot before he could destroy his plane, the fuel system fixed, and it was taken into Chinese service. The plane was extensively flown and studied by a team which included Gerhard Neumann , and a detailed and illustrated report was sent to Washington. Overall they were impressed with
25777-506: Was contemplated by Hitachi, but not undertaken. The A6M6 was developed to use the Sakae 31a engine, featuring water-methanol engine boost and self-sealing wing tanks. During preliminary testing, its performance was considered unsatisfactory due to the additional engine power failing to materialize and the unreliability of the fuel injection system. Testing continued on the A6M6 but the end of war stopped further development. Only one prototype
25950-799: Was countered with a zinc chromate anti-corrosion coating applied after fabrication. No armour protection was provided for the pilot, engine or other critical points of the aircraft, and self-sealing fuel tanks , which were becoming common among other combatants, were not used. This made the Zero lighter, more maneuverable, and one of the longest-ranged single-engine fighters of World War II, which made it capable of searching out an enemy hundreds of kilometres away, bringing it to battle, then returning to its base or aircraft carrier. However, that tradeoff in weight and construction also made it prone to catching fire and exploding when struck by enemy fire. With its low-wing cantilever monoplane layout, retractable wide-set conventional landing gear , and enclosed cockpit,
26123-461: 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
26296-720: Was destroyed during a training accident in February 1945. While the Zero was taxiing for a take-off, a Curtiss SB2C Helldiver lost control and rammed into it. The Helldiver's propeller sliced the Zero into pieces. From the wreckage, William N. Leonard salvaged several gauges, which he donated to the National Museum of the United States Navy . The Alaska Heritage Museum and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum also have small pieces of
26469-547: Was dressed and re-used." The Zero's red Hinomaru roundel was repainted with the American blue-circle-white-star insignia. The whole time, the plane was kept under 24-hour military police guard in order to deter would-be souvenir hunters from damaging the plane. The Zero was fit to fly again on September 20. 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 design an aircraft that could match or surpass
26642-505: Was empowered to protect the rights of Papuans, raise the status of women in Papua, and to ease religious tensions in Papua; block grants were given for the implementation of the Law as much as $ 266 million in 2004. The Indonesian courts ' enforcement of the Law on Special Autonomy blocked further creation of subdivisions of Papua: although President Megawati Sukarnoputri was able to create
26815-602: Was excavated in 1953, and 236 bodies were returned to Japan. The body buried next to Koga (Shigeyoshi Shindo) was one of 13 identified; the remaining 223 unidentified remains were cremated and interred in Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery in Japan. It is probable that Koga was one of them. Mitsubishi A6M Zero The Mitsubishi A6M " Zero " is a long-range carrier-capable fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company ,
26988-523: Was exceedingly agile and lightweight, with maneuverability and range superior to any other fighter in the world at that time. In 1940 Claire Lee Chennault , leader of the Flying Tigers , wrote a report to warn his home country of the Zero's performance. However, United States Department of War analysts rejected the Chennault report as "arrant nonsense" and concluded the performance attributed to
27161-609: Was first used to good effect during the Battle of Midway and later over the Solomon Islands . Many highly experienced Japanese aviators were lost in combat, resulting in a progressive decline in pilot quality, which became a significant factor in Allied successes. Unexpected heavy losses of pilots at the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway dealt the Japanese carrier air force a blow from which it never fully recovered. Throughout
27334-471: Was found over a month later by an American salvage team and was shipped to Naval Air Station North Island , where testing flights of the repaired A6M revealed both strengths and deficiencies in design and performance. The experts who evaluated the captured Zero found that the plane weighed about 2,360 kg (5,200 lb) fully loaded, some 1,260 kg (2,780 lb) lighter than the F4F Wildcat,
27507-484: Was hit by ground-based anti-aircraft fire. Losing oil, Flight Petty Officer Tadayoshi Koga attempted an emergency landing on Akutan Island about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Dutch Harbor, but his Zero flipped over on soft ground in a sudden crash-landing. Koga died instantly of head injuries (his neck was broken by the tremendous impact), but his wingmen hoped he had survived and so went against Japanese doctrine to destroy disabled Zeros. The relatively undamaged fighter
27680-519: Was initially called "Hap". General "Hap" Arnold , commander of the United States Army Air Forces , objected to that name, however, so it was changed to "Hamp". The first Zeros (pre-series of 15 A6M2) went into operation with the 12th Rengo Kōkūtai in July 1940. On 13 September 1940, the Zeros scored their first air-to-air victories when 13 A6M2s led by Lieutenant Saburo Shindo, escorting 27 G3M "Nell" medium-heavy bombers on
27853-410: Was introduced. The fuel tanks were moved to the outer wings, fuel lines for a 330 L (87 US gal) drop tank were installed under each wing and the internal fuel capacity was increased to 570 L (150 US gal). More importantly, it regained its capabilities for long operating ranges, similar to the previous A6M2 Model 21, which was vastly shortened by the Model 32. However, before
28026-488: Was loaded onto the USS ; St. Mihiel and transported to Seattle, arriving on August 1. From there, it was transported by barge to Naval Air Station North Island near San Diego where repairs were carefully carried out. These repairs "consisted mostly of straightening the vertical stabilizer, rudder, wing tips, flaps, and canopy. The sheared-off landing struts needed more extensive work. The three-blade Sumitomo propeller
28199-538: Was made in June 1943 by modifying an A6M3 and was first flown in August 1943. The first Model 52 is said in the handling manual to have production number 3904, which apparently refers to the prototype. Research by Mr. Bunzo Komine published by Mr. Kenji Miyazaki states that aircraft 3904 through 4103 had the same exhaust system and cowl flaps as on the Model 22. This is partially corroborated by two wrecks researched by Mr. Stan Gajda and Mr. L. G. Halls, production number 4007 and 4043, respectively. (The upper cowling
28372-536: Was produced. New Guinea New Guinea ( Tok Pisin : Niugini ; Hiri Motu : Niu Gini ; Indonesian : Papua , fossilized Nugini , or historically Irian ) is the world's second-largest island , with an area of 785,753 km (303,381 sq mi). Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean , the island is separated from Australia by the 150-kilometre (81-nautical-mile; 93-mile) wide Torres Strait , though both landmasses lie on
28545-456: Was promoted in 1945 by Marcus Kaisiepo, brother of Frans Kaisiepo . The name was politicized later by Corinus Krey, Marthen Indey , Silas Papare , and others with the Indonesian backronym Ikut Republik Indonesia Anti Nederland ("Join the Republic of Indonesia Oppose the Netherlands"). Irian was used somewhat in 1972. The name was used until 2001, when Papua was again used for
28718-469: Was renamed West Irian ( Irian Barat ) and then Irian Jaya. In 1969, Indonesia, under the 1962 New York Agreement , organised a referendum named the Act of Free Choice , in which the military hand picked Papuan tribal elders to vote for integration with Indonesia. There has been significant reported resistance to Indonesian integration and occupation, both through civil disobedience (such as publicly raising
28891-543: 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 and JASDF lieutenant general Masatake Okumiya stated that
29064-418: Was shortened slightly. Through production number 4550, the lowest exhaust stacks were approximately the same length as those immediately above them. This caused hot exhaust to burn the forward edge of the landing gear doors and heat the tires. Therefore, from number 4551 Mitsubishi began to install shorter bottom stacks. Nakajima manufactured the Model 52 at its Koizumi plant in Gunma Prefecture . The A6M5 had
29237-439: Was slightly redesigned from that of the Model 22. ) An early production A6M5 Zero with non-separated exhaust, with an A6M3 Model 22 in the background. A new exhaust system provided an increment of thrust by aiming the stacks aft and distributing them around the forward fuselage. The new exhaust system required "notched" cowl flaps and heat shields just aft of the stacks. (Note, however, that the handling manual translation states that
29410-430: Was the primary Japanese Navy fighter throughout the war. During the war, the Japanese manufactured roughly 10,500 Zeros. Nine Zeros were shot down during the attack on Pearl Harbor . 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
29583-435: 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 wingspan had to be less than 12 m (39 ft) to allow for use on aircraft carriers. Nakajima's team considered the new requirements unachievable and pulled out of the competition in January. Mitsubishi's chief designer, Jiro Horikoshi , thought that
29756-578: Was used to refer to parts of the island before contact with the West. Its etymology is unclear; one theory states that it derived from Tidore , the language used by the Sultanate of Tidore . An expedition by the Sultan of Tidore , together with Sahmardan, the Sangaji of Patani , and the Papuan Gurabesi , managed to conquer some areas in New Guinea, which was then reorganised to form Korano Ngaruha ("Four Kings") or Raja Ampat , Papoua Gam Sio ( lit. "The Papua Nine Negeri "), and Mafor Soa Raha ( lit. The Mafor "Four Soa "). The name comes from
29929-410: Was very lightly built; it had no armor and no self-sealing fuel tanks . According to American author Jim Rearden , "The Zero was probably the easiest fighter of any in World War II to bring down when hit ... The Japanese ... were not prepared to or weren't capable of building more advanced fighters in the numbers needed to cope with increasing numbers and quality of American fighters". The Zero
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