@@goliaten2778 You know how to make people to not get shot very seriously? Just say to them that the repairs cost is expansive than they will have the instincts to survive.
Hello. I am a 116 year old Japanese pilot that flew many A6M aeroplanes during the war. I mostly flew in arcade and have survived many kamikaze runs despite my aircraft exploding. I also flew over Britain and bombed 20 anti-air vehicles in one flight, with my magically reappearing bomb. Having flown a Zero myself, I find it to be the best plane ever. I have never flown a different plane.
After watching "The wind rises" I immediately installed war thunder just to fly a zero. It didn't disappoint me and zero becomes my all time favorite plane.
I’m glad to hear you like it, I for one just because I have to face it 90 percent of the time at Soviet 5.0 absolutely abhor it and it’s ki 84 brethren and a7m brethren, because whenever the fight starts there’s three of them on my tail instantly and they climb as if they were angels rising above after succeeding in their deeds.
@@v0idwalker489 Yet if you meet them head-on, a single round of your 20 mm cannon will go through all three Zeros, setting them on fire if you have incendiary rounds. ;)
The Zero....such an excellent fighter....a plane so agile that feels like its part of you, if you respect it..... Respect (simp) your Zero,and you will become an ace with it....
The very same aluminum alloy that made the Zero (and a number of other Japanese planes) so light yet relatively sturdy in construction is also what makes it so difficult to preserve their planes, as they're highly susceptible to corrosion, or at least that's what I've been told by a guy I know who'd worked on restoring an A6M5. As for the Zero in the game, I think I'm especially partial to the A6M3 Model 32 (the clipped-wing variant). That was my go-to fighter for golden battle wagers for a long time.
As a (Hardcore) Spitfire player myself, I get so pissed when I see Spitfire players trying to dogfight zeroes. You'd think players would learn after some time, but nope. This is why allied teams are horrible.
Maneuverable, agile, king of the dog fight. It's one of my favorite plane ever. If you really wanna become an ace, this bad boy will definitely provide it for you.
@@kanister60l39 No, it wasn't. The US tech tree already had the F-86 Sabre, the Russian tech tree had the Mig 15, and none of these aircrafts were WW2.
To play devils advocate at least we didnt have fancy guided missiles.I think gaijin should have made seperate game for modern jets and tanks.People love jets usually dont like propeller planes
"The a6m5 otsu is the only zero in the game with some armor." You to mention, that it is the only fighter in the tech tree that has repair cost of 26k Silver Lions.
@@handle6547 well then how about another one? Ever wonder why it goes from mod 11 -> mod 21 -> mod 32 -> mod 22 etc? Because mod 11 isn't mod eleven. It stands for mod 1-1. The first number stands for the airframe revision and the second stands for the engine revision. So for the mod 32 zero, its the 3rd version of the airframe (1st ver. Was standard zero, 2nd ver. Added folding wingtips, bigger tanks and droptanks upping the range to a ludicous 1000nm - almost P-51D levels of range. 3rd ver. was wing mods, clipped, bigger ammo bays, less fuel etc.), and 2nd iteration of the engine (new sakae 21 over the old sakae 12).
Making an aircraft lighter doesn't make it faster, although it improves acceleration since it has less inertia. Reducing drag and increasing engine power and the way to go to improve top speed. The Japanese wanted planes that could keep speed over opponents in a dogfight whilst the Americans countered this by making planes that stayed much faster out of a dogfight.
@@anonymousstout4759 Wrong. Power to weight ratio itself has no effect on top speed. Decreasing weight only marginally increases top speed because of the lowered lift-induced drag. But this effect is really insignificant compared to the effect of increasing power and decreasing parasitic drag (and it's only really applicable to low indicated airspeeds, such as high altitude or if your plane is really slow to begin with). Weight itself has very little effect on straight-line top speed for most combat scenarios.
The only way in which being lighter helps the speed of an aircraft is with Newton's first law of motion, that being inertia, it will gain speed more quickly. An aircraft's top speed is reached when drag forces equal the propelling forces produced by the engine, to increase the top speed you must either reduce the aerodynamic profile(reduce drag) and/or increase the power of the engine(s). So the weight of an aircraft has no impact on top speed. Making an aircraft more lightweight can also hurt it's speed performance in that it will decelerate faster as well. Heavy aircraft like the P-47 Thunderbolt have high inertia meaning that they lose speed less quickly when above their top speed(for the angle of climb/dive). But zeroes lose speed much faster after a dive which makes it unviable for them to dive in and make a getaway in a straight line or zoom climb.
@@jamesshaw3500 If you have some sl laying around I highly suggest you buy the expert qualification, and believe me it helps, plus it doesn't cost too much for mid tiers
I just flew the A6M5 Ko variant of the zero a few days ago and oh lord I loved it, the fire power, the maneuverability I immediately watched the other video you guys made on how to use the zero and I got into an head on with it then I drew a square in my sights then all the bullets flew past then while still inside of the head on I started to use my rudder to spin circles around the P-38 and then I went into a vertical left turn then he made a right turn and it put him right into my sights. I fired and bam he was a fire ball. So fun, if you haven't I recommend the zero to someone that can master it.
the numeric designation model (11, 21, 22, 32, 52, 53, 63) was read as two separate numbers because it meant "airframe and engine combination". model 11 ("model one one") meant airframe 1, sakae 12 engine (engine 1). this was the variant that flew in china, and fun fact its prototype flew with a two bladed propeller. model two one was a model one one with folding wingtips. model three two had the folding tips removed and had a new sakae 21 motor. model two two is a three two with folding wingtips. this is the A6M3 mod. 32 and is one of the most beautiful aircraft ever made. the five twos are the late war models. five two introduced the directed exhaust stacks on the motor, belt fed 20s, armor and self sealing fuel tanks, extra 13mm machine guns, and bomb racks. model six two and six three were fighter-bombers. and the last one is the model six four, with a mitsubishi kinsei motor.
Well~~Zero is the first plane that I ever fall in love to. It’s agile, fast and deadly for its Battle Rate, it’s so awesome that I couldn’t but to fully master it. But before that, I ran into the Bf-109 to try some different types of techniques. But after that, I was very unadaptable to the brain new type of play style. Than when I decided to comeback to Zero, it was just like a sweet home for me. Until now, Zero is still my favorite plane. Both game and reality.
I love this plane, it`s by far one of the best in the game, the only 2 problems that I can see with it are the weak high altitude engine and the repair cost.... I really hope you will make a Legends video on it
@@snowykaze I know right!! The movie was a masterpiece. I watched it here on UA-cam itself a couple of years ago. *For others reading my comment* If you're reading this and haven't watched it, I just can't recommend you enough.
Hey, what do you do when the entire enemy team huddles into a ball of aerodynamic death ? Like, I can't even get into a proper dogfight or light chase without getting beamed and turned into a burning paper plane. I just got my line up of A6M3's and I wanna go nuts on the enemy but before I can even get a chance I look behind me or above and realize there's 2 to 4 different fighters heading towards me. And if they're P-40+ its GG cuz those dudes will snipe yo ass if you ain't looking...
First time I flew a zero I felt like an acrobat, like I could dance and ended up taking first place while stock in both rb and ab. Words cannot describe how I could contort my zero around in a mere seconds.
The A6M3 is my absolute favourite plane in War Thunder. I'm moving up the Japanese tech tree in terms of BR, but I will never remove my A6M3 from its spot, no matter how high up in BR I get. It holds a special place in my heart.
I started flying Zeros three days ago and I must say; this sushi powered plane is very very good if you can shooting 20mm guns and don't get hitted at low speeds.
I LOVE flying as the Zero. It's satisfying having a P-51, Bf-109, Spitfire, and Yak-9 think I'm an easy target only for them not to realize that they've encountered a true Sky Samurai that can turn them into roaring balls of flame in less than 30 seconds
What I like about this game is that no vehicle is game-breaking and can counter everyone else. It's a balance that can help a br 1.0 shoot down a br 10.0
As a long-time users of Reisen, i'll give a note to you guys Do NOT uses Reisen for head-on engagement, even more against those who are good at it (especially US planes that has many .50 cals (with/without 20 mm))
always loved the zero, proves that speed is not always everything when used correctly, and armor or no armor, planes will always go down if it gets enough hits
And there's another sub-variant of the A6M5 that is not in the game (that I hope will be added): the A6M5c "hei". That third sub-variant had *3* heavy machine guns installed (13.2mm caliber; one in each wing & one in fuselage, ditching the other 7.7mm) It also had increased armored glass thickness of 55mm, thicker wing skin for increased dive speed *&* self-sealing fuel tanks.
Hi Gaijin, i was just wondering about Something: When me and my brother are dueling, if one of us dies, a glitch can occur where we can't spawn in before the bar at the top of the screen empties. So i was wondering if you could give the option to disable the bar at the top of the screen for custom battles, that would mean that capture points would be irrelevent but if someone wants a simple tank, ship or aircraft duel, it could make it much more simple. I'd love to hear back from you about this. I know this is a core gameplay machanic but i trust Gaijin to know what to do.
So all you need to do is increase player number to 4 and hit "include bots". This means that there'll always be at least one aircraft on either team, so long as you don't kill the bots. I actually had the exact same problem before I figured this out.
Make the match a ground battle instead and spawn in as many tank bots as possible. You two can duke it out in the skies while the tanks just kinda derp around. It takes a long time for all of them on one team to die. It’s not ideal but it’s a workaround.
@@pranavarvind4281 Well, I still get some problems when me and a buddy are testing what silly things we can do in GRB. The bots will (most of the time) just crash their aircraft into the ground. It's not very usefull... But it's still the only way to achieve fun in custom battles with a buddy.
I have shot down more than 28 aircraft in the past with the Zero Fighter. The battle at that time was ferocious. Besides me, there were only eight survivors. So, on the way back, I fell asleep due to fatigue. But it was fatal. The next moment, I was shot by a Mustang that appeared out of nowhere. My vision grew dark and when I opened my eyes again, I was in my bed at home. please let me know if you understand
I can tell you how they perform on arcade: they turn extremely well, they climb well too. The low ammo count for the cannons isn't a problem because of the aerial reload. They can't take too much damage (just as you would expect), however, if you get hit , but not shoot down, you usually can usually still fly quite well (perhaps I was just lucky, but damaged zeros fly better then damaged spitfires). Never do head-on against anything with cannons - even if you'll get the kill, he'll probably get you too. Attacking bombers might be tricky, because their defensive fire can kill yous pilot or set you on fire. Dog-fighting in a group might also get you killed fast. Your best option is to hunt down lone fighters (or any plane without defensive weapons) as you can usually out-turn most planes.
Sorry for complaining again. BUT WE NEED the ability to test fly all aircraft so we could see if we like them or not otherwise it would be a waste of time grinding to get an aircraft just to realize it’s horrible and you wasted you time
But here's the thing, test flying a completely stalk aircraft that you have never flown before or even fully modified, it doesn't always give a full representation. There are many aircraft that perform highly well in certain roles but at the end of the day, it all comes down to who you are facing at that specific vehicles BR.
The Zero was potent in big dogfights. Its upgrade to 13mm nose machine guns and improved 20mm cannon did short work of more robust US /Allied Fighters. Practically all the missions documented with information from both sides. The win loss ratio were near 1 to 1. Sometimes the Allies/US were more successful sometimes the Japanese. Thre wer a good number of Zeros still in the Japanese inventory at the end of the hostilities.
Zero's Mod name is worng. First in service's A6M2 is A6M2a "零式艦上戦闘機一一型" ,in game name's "A6M2 Mod.11". "零式艦上戦闘機" mean "A6M"2a "A"6M mean carrier-based fighter (but A6M2a isn't the carrier-based fighter, missing Tailhook and folding wingtips) A6"M" mean Mitsubishi A"6"M mean the sixth model built for the Imperial Navy "一一型" mean A6M"2a" "2"a mean engine code, Second "一" 2"a" mean Body type in early A6M(A6M2), first "一" later version like A6M3 A6M5, suffix (a b c) is weapon's or body's small improve, not like A6M2. small improve on code is a mean Ko "甲"(Kou) b mean Otsu "乙"(Otu) c mean Hei "丙"(Hei) A6M2-N's"N" mean Fighter/Floatplane If use Japan's Kanji Mod. code, "零式艦上戦闘機一一型" =A6M Mod.11 (Mod. one-one, not Mod. eleven). also Mod.22 isn't Mod. twenty-one, is Mod. two-one. First 1 (one) is Body code, Second 1 (one) is engine code.(important) In game name(english) >IJN code >(Japan's Kanji Mod. code) A6M2 Mod.11 is A6M2a (A6M Mod.11) A6M2 is A6M2b (A6M Mod.21) A6M3 is A6M3 (A6M Mod.32) A6M3 Mod.22 is A6M3 (A6M Mod.22) (here is problem. A6M3 are use on Mod.32 and Mod.22 both.) A6M3 Mod.22Ko is A6M3a (A6M Mod.22 Kou) A6M5 is A6M5 (A6M Mod.52) A6M5 Ko is A6M5a (A6M Mod.52 Kou) A6M5 Otsu is A6M5b (A6M Mod.52 Otu) (Just some wiki work. Hope my bad english is just ok.)
I love the Mitsubishi Zero! I just wish they had self-sealing fuel tanks. So many fires... I also have the A7M1, which is a mix between the turn-fighting A6M and the energy fighters that followed the Zero. It will still out-turn most aircraft (it's on par with most Spitfires at similar BR), but can also be used as an energy fighter, "zoom, boom, and zoom"-style.
I started playing War Thunder more than 6 years ago just because the game had Zeros in it, and I fly Zeros til this day. It is one of, if not The one, fighter that I love the most.
The zeroes are amazing to fly you can easily get on your opponent's tail due to it's high maneuverability and is quite unshakable I often have to break off then come back so I can get my guns on target The most remarkable thing of the zero is it's high energy retention you can do any maneuver and still have energy to do more things
@@bodenplatte1360 altough I wouldnt mind seeing A6M3 with 30mm cannons or A6M6c which was very similar to A6M7 yet it was a fighter while A6M7 was dive bomber.
The zero is one of my favorite places in war thunder. With extreme focus and strategy it's an amazing deadly fighter. That said, when 50 Cal's get buffed it's not fun because you can get set on fire by stray bullets.
FYI: This was the "Type 0 Navy Fighter" because it was accepted for service in 1940, or 2,600 years after the mythical foundation of the Japanese imperial dynasty. "Tenno Hella Banzai!"
Ever since Emperor Showa disclaimed the divinity of the Imperial Family, I don't know if they still stick to the 660 B.C.E. dynasty founding story. However, it was still in force in 1940, you bet.
My uncle Yukihiko was one of the relatively few Japanese pilots that survived the Pacific War. He was a Yokkaren and joined at just age 16. His war ended in Taiwan. www.yokaren-heiwa.jp/07english/index.html
And this aircraft built by Mitsubishi was called the Zero because it had 0 armor for a trade-off for light weight, manueverable, and heavy armament, also nicknamed the Japanese glass-cannon.
I started this tech tree today so it's funny the video came out today. I love them. Could never do well with boom and zoom, and I much prefer the turn fighting.
The zero is the ONLY plane that when I go up against enemy fighters I don't have to worry about what they are flying. I have no fear going into any dogfight. When I fly other fighters, my worst fear is going up against a well piloted zero.
I love preying on those foolish allied pilots that try to turn fight me in any of my Zeroes.Though, I do somewhat pity them, I do not regret killing those that look down on my Zero 😁😁😁
Hurlock alpha the Anti-Globalist any capable Zero pilot won’t get beat by a Yak3 that turn fights it. That’s my point. But good for you! I do enjoy fighting capable pilots more than foolish ones that think they can turn fight me in a P47
the repair cost makes it painful to just earn SL for new planes/tanks. Every single nation except the Soviets and maybe the Chinese is suffering from this.
Without a Premium account, you will spend a lot of time grinding anything past Rank III-IV. While things improve between Rank I and its low rewards (sometimes 10% SL) and Ranks III-IV and their more balanced economics, it tends to stop improving beyond that point. No matter the Rank and as far as I know, no vehicle rewards you with more than 150% SL for battle time and actions (except in Realistic or Simulation Air Battles, which have additional SL bonuses), yet the repair costs keep increasing with every additional 0.3 BR your unlocked vehicles boast. Playing a good match at 6.0 gives you a lot more rewards than playing a similarly good match at 4.0, but play a bad match at 8.0 and your losses will be on par with five equally bad matches at 6.0! If you're an average player like I am, you're in for a long grind. So you can either be very, very patient... or get a Premium account (I purchased 180 days when it was on sale for US$20). In the latter case, your losses for the bad matches I mentioned above will now look "acceptable" (you might even turn in a little SL profit) and your victories will help you get to that great aircraft or tank you desire 33% faster. By the way... I played the game for about 1000 hours, now (including two weeks with a Premium account); I played a LOT since January, as I wasn't working because of the Covid-19 pandemic. I only researched the vehicles of Germany, Great Britain, Japan, U.S.A., and U.S.S.R. so far, and I'm at these Battle Ranks (all "spaded" vehicles with expert crew): Ground Forces: 4.0 to 6.3, depending on the nation (including purchased 4.0 and 6.0 Japan) Naval Force: 1.3 to 2.7, depending on the nation (plus Event 3.0 GB gunboat) Air Force: 2.7 to 4.0, depending on the nation (plus Event 5.7 US attacker and purchased 5.0 Japan) I'm still a long way from getting a modern MBT, let alone a jet...
Best reference for the ZERO is the book "ZERO" edited by Martin Caiden but authored by the man who designed it and oversaw it's production AND a High Ranking Japanese Air Staff officer who commanded ZERO squadrons in the field. This book falls right smack in the middle of a whole genre of Histories "NOT-Written-By-The-Winners". There are a lot more of them than most people would believe. The ZERO did become a weaker plane over time in The Pacific. But it's main downfall lay it two areas absolutely irrelevant to War Thunder. Pilot Training, and Production. While the narrator is quite correct that the ZERO dominated The Pacific Skies from Jan 1940 in China through 1942 and into 1943 as well in many places. The Imperial Japanese Navy never had more than 450 of them. Fewer Zeros than the RAF had fighters defending Great Britain in the summer of 1940. But Japanese production, overall, was still largely based on Feudal Japanese customs . It was a problem never overcome, thus it became impossible to create enough production to do anything more than replace losses. They could never build up larger numbers of the Zero. There was an even larger problem than that. Pilot Training. As Early as 1939 the Imperial Japanese Navy saw the need for a Pilot Training program fare more vast than what they had. Their training in China 1937, with the advent of the A5M, type 96 Claude, was superb, but it took to train a pilot just to the level of "new guy" in the squadron. It took almost 6 months of combat to properly "season" that "new guy" into a "combat pilot". During 1940 and 41 the IJN worked desperately to build that training program up. But they failed. Part of the failure was that the Japanese ARMY controlled the government. The Army higher ups, all the way to Gen TOJO himself viewed aviation as a mere adjunct to land forces and actually hindered the program to train pilots. There were other reasons as well, but go read that book to get the full picture. The ZERO dominated the skies from Jan 40, through to Jan 43 at least. But those three years took a very heavy toll on This one of the biggest reasons the battles of The Coral Sea and Midway were so significant. Japan lost hundreds of well seasoned and well trained combat aviators, not just "shot down" not really many of those at all. Rather it was "search and rescue" that failed. An entire compliment of aircraft and pilots of one Aircraft Carrier were lost after their ship was sunk and they had to ditch in the sea near another one. Rescue efforts failed to recover over half of them. This happened at Midway as well. With the three carriers sunk on the first day there was no place for those airplanes in the air, which was almost all of the ZEROs, to land. They ditched and many if not most were never recovered. Many bomber and torpedo plane aircrew were lost because they were still readying for takeoff on the decks. More than anything else it was the lack of properly trained Combat Pilots that doomed the ZERO. A Good pilot in one could still lay waste as one did on IWO JIMA much later in the war, even against overwhelming odds against the F6F. In that fight he got two, dragged the rest into the flak over IWO. Two more were downed by the flak. He landed, and his ground crew were spooked by him. There were no bullet holes in his airplane. This is the story of the Japanese Ace Saburo Sakai, who survived the war, including his years in CHINA pre Pearl Harbor, with 62 confirmed kills. Confirmed by his own hand, he photographed them all with a 35mm camera he kept for the purpose. War Thunder does not include any scenarios wherein the true qualities of the ZERO are ever used. Yes it was an awesome dogfighter. But Dogfighting is a "dead man's game". What gave the ZERO dominance were it's other qualities. Better Climb. It was faster than any of it's enemies except in level flight with the Spit V and the later P-40s, but their advantage was very very small, often wiped out by really poor maintenance. But the real killer advantage was There were no fighters in the world with a 6 hour endurance in those years except the P-38, and there just were not a lot of those until late 43 and 44. So most of the ZERO's virtues do not come into play in War Thunder at all. Have fun. I am currently grinding the research tree to my A6M2 type 00, carrier fighter.
Zero fighters are fun at lower BR but the higher BR Zero planes are just outclassed. It's all good and well being able to outturn your opponent but the weak firepower and facing constant boom and zoom attacks makes this plane only fun when fighting less experienced players.
Me: Gives the Zero a dirty look
The Zero: *Bursts into flames*
@Ahmed Sayed not only spitfire but the Mustang
The trick to playing A6M is to not get shot at all.
@@josephpapilson7224 Same I got knocked out than my wings shot to pieces.
It's unnatural how fast this plane is burning...
@@goliaten2778 You know how to make people to not get shot very seriously? Just say to them that the repairs cost is expansive than they will have the instincts to survive.
“Have you ever flown a Zero yourself?”
I took that too seriously
Me: why you asking
Him: you came back
Hello. I am a 116 year old Japanese pilot that flew many A6M aeroplanes during the war. I mostly flew in arcade and have survived many kamikaze runs despite my aircraft exploding. I also flew over Britain and bombed 20 anti-air vehicles in one flight, with my magically reappearing bomb. Having flown a Zero myself, I find it to be the best plane ever. I have never flown a different plane.
But you can only fly once
@@crab1973 are you mad?
Selasie killed me😂
All of these top tier stuff when I just want the rest of my beloved Zero variants
Gib A6M7 in 1.99 gaijin plox
Yo I watch you
Kamikaze variants when. I want it for the memes in naval
@@thelaotianaviator Gaijin: *Yes*
@@supersoldier2887 new PREMIUM vechicle for only 9k golden eagles!
After watching "The wind rises" I immediately installed war thunder just to fly a zero. It didn't disappoint me and zero becomes my all time favorite plane.
Tis a good movie
I’m glad to hear you like it, I for one just because I have to face it 90 percent of the time at Soviet 5.0 absolutely abhor it and it’s ki 84 brethren and a7m brethren, because whenever the fight starts there’s three of them on my tail instantly and they climb as if they were angels rising above after succeeding in their deeds.
"The wind rises" i think is the most beautiful and valuable film by Miyazaki
@@v0idwalker489 Yet if you meet them head-on, a single round of your 20 mm cannon will go through all three Zeros, setting them on fire if you have incendiary rounds. ;)
Jean-François Blais yeah I should probably do that but I personally don’t like head ons, because it never ended out well in the long run
The Zero....such an excellent fighter....a plane so agile that feels like its part of you, if you respect it.....
Respect (simp) your Zero,and you will become an ace with it....
You must allow the plane to be an extension of yourself...and if you do you will learn that 50 cal hurts and must be maneuvered around skillfully
UwU
Using nose counters basically makes you immortal
The very same aluminum alloy that made the Zero (and a number of other Japanese planes) so light yet relatively sturdy in construction is also what makes it so difficult to preserve their planes, as they're highly susceptible to corrosion, or at least that's what I've been told by a guy I know who'd worked on restoring an A6M5.
As for the Zero in the game, I think I'm especially partial to the A6M3 Model 32 (the clipped-wing variant). That was my go-to fighter for golden battle wagers for a long time.
Us sailor: don’t worry recruit buddy u will be fine, this carrier is unsinkable.
Zero: im going to Decommission this ships whole career
you better get top like for this lol
The Oerlikon, Bofors, F6F, F4U: *Oh no, you DONT*
Enterprise: *ill never forgive youn*
@@DividedByZeero lol
@@ahblyat4296 you forgot something like the 50. cal and dual 5 inch gun in mk.32 turret
It was fun to see the confusion of Spitfire players when they realized they cant just outturn you, like anyone else.
Can spits outrun at least?
@@pedrosabino8751 yea, spits are faster
Yeah lol
As a (Hardcore) Spitfire player myself, I get so pissed when I see Spitfire players trying to dogfight zeroes. You'd think players would learn after some time, but nope. This is why allied teams are horrible.
@@lclbowling5575 I seen P-47s try to turn fight a A6M series Zero
Maneuverable, agile, king of the dog fight. It's one of my favorite plane ever. If you really wanna become an ace, this bad boy will definitely provide it for you.
Got too many kills with the A6M2 - I agree it's ace-worthy
Last time I was this early War Thunder was a WW2 game
It never was just WW2
@@Subspacer15 bfffft 2013 it whas
@@kanister60l39 No, it wasn't. The US tech tree already had the F-86 Sabre, the Russian tech tree had the Mig 15, and none of these aircrafts were WW2.
To play devils advocate at least we didnt have fancy guided missiles.I think gaijin should have made seperate game for modern jets and tanks.People love jets usually dont like propeller planes
@@smyrnamarauder1328 They don't have to make a different game, just split the post war vehicles
"The a6m5 otsu is the only zero in the game with some armor."
You to mention, that it is the only fighter in the tech tree that has repair cost of 26k Silver Lions.
Ikr. Wtf those its cost so high. Did they use some expensive armor?
@@togerthetigerking951 Maybe but i dont really care about repair costs bcuz i dont care about silver lions
Someone: flicks pebble at zero
Zero: burst into flames
More like getting sniped with just a bullet I got Sniped than being burst into flames or have my wings fall of.
“Have you ever flown a Zero yourself?” Yeah Bruce every day to college
pathetic, I've been flying zeroes since kindergarden
@@anm10wolvorinenotapanther32 dude pathetic, i flew everyday to playschool
@@tkthegk_1394 Bruh, I never even attended those weakling
@@anm10wolvorinenotapanther32 well because your parents didn’t even care abt u ( joking joking)
@@tkthegk_1394 my parents died 7 years before I was born
Fun fact? or Coincidence?
The Designer of A6M is Jiro Horikoshi
Jiro sounds like Zero..
Ah yes
zero came from type 0 naval carrier fighter, the actual designation for the A6M series.
It's just a joke
The wind rising.
@@handle6547 well then how about another one? Ever wonder why it goes from mod 11 -> mod 21 -> mod 32 -> mod 22 etc? Because mod 11 isn't mod eleven. It stands for mod 1-1. The first number stands for the airframe revision and the second stands for the engine revision.
So for the mod 32 zero, its the 3rd version of the airframe (1st ver. Was standard zero, 2nd ver. Added folding wingtips, bigger tanks and droptanks upping the range to a ludicous 1000nm - almost P-51D levels of range. 3rd ver. was wing mods, clipped, bigger ammo bays, less fuel etc.), and 2nd iteration of the engine (new sakae 21 over the old sakae 12).
The zero is by far my favorite aircraft to fly in war thunder
Ok weeb
Definitely a nice plane to fly, I really like it
I really do like agile plane turning the plane that have low turning speed is a pain in the arse.
The zero Chan u mean
what japanese see: ohh the legendary A6m zero!!
what americans see: god dammit it's kamikazes... it's okinawa all over again!!
Squire
*Fax* still at the early war the American pilots were scared too face the Japanese A6M cause they are very agile and very hard to fight againts.
@@togerthetigerking951 also most Zero pilots during early war were aces or experienced pilots previously serving in China
0:03 pilot: im out of here lol
Japan wanting to go faster: hmmm. lets make it lighter.
USA wanting to go faster: MoAr PoWeR!!
Making an aircraft lighter doesn't make it faster, although it improves acceleration since it has less inertia. Reducing drag and increasing engine power and the way to go to improve top speed. The Japanese wanted planes that could keep speed over opponents in a dogfight whilst the Americans countered this by making planes that stayed much faster out of a dogfight.
Making something lighter definitely make it faster because its mean increasing power to weight ratio
loL,totally right
@@anonymousstout4759 Wrong. Power to weight ratio itself has no effect on top speed. Decreasing weight only marginally increases top speed because of the lowered lift-induced drag. But this effect is really insignificant compared to the effect of increasing power and decreasing parasitic drag (and it's only really applicable to low indicated airspeeds, such as high altitude or if your plane is really slow to begin with). Weight itself has very little effect on straight-line top speed for most combat scenarios.
The only way in which being lighter helps the speed of an aircraft is with Newton's first law of motion, that being inertia, it will gain speed more quickly. An aircraft's top speed is reached when drag forces equal the propelling forces produced by the engine, to increase the top speed you must either reduce the aerodynamic profile(reduce drag) and/or increase the power of the engine(s). So the weight of an aircraft has no impact on top speed.
Making an aircraft more lightweight can also hurt it's speed performance in that it will decelerate faster as well. Heavy aircraft like the P-47 Thunderbolt have high inertia meaning that they lose speed less quickly when above their top speed(for the angle of climb/dive). But zeroes lose speed much faster after a dive which makes it unviable for them to dive in and make a getaway in a straight line or zoom climb.
When you're a Mitsubishi Zero Pilot in the Pacific and you spot an American warship
*"It's Showtime"*
BANZAIIIIIII
TENNO HEIKA BANZAI!!!!!!!!
yes yes YES
ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ
don't forget to put the explosives in your plane!
The Zero is one of my favorite planes in the game. That's what I think of it. Great maneuverability and climb rate. I love them.
I love my zero. When someone is on my tail, my first instinct is to turn, so the zero is my best friend.
Just need to upgrade crew to catch up with the planes maneuverability
@@JGM72 I black out all the time.
my only suggestion is to try and bleed speed.
@@jamesshaw3500 If you have some sl laying around I highly suggest you buy the expert qualification, and believe me it helps, plus it doesn't cost too much for mid tiers
@@jamesshaw3500 friking black out I hate that sh*t next time they need to wear a astronaut suit than they won't black out.
I just flew the A6M5 Ko variant of the zero a few days ago and oh lord I loved it, the fire power, the maneuverability I immediately watched the other video you guys made on how to use the zero and I got into an head on with it then I drew a square in my sights then all the bullets flew past then while still inside of the head on I started to use my rudder to spin circles around the P-38 and then I went into a vertical left turn then he made a right turn and it put him right into my sights. I fired and bam he was a fire ball. So fun, if you haven't I recommend the zero to someone that can master it.
The A6M2-N is pretty good for its BR when u just rip the floaties off
i recall some dude in my match said "why are those plane dragging their balls on the airfield"
That is a strategy I guess
It’s just become the 3.3 version of the A6M2 just no landing gear
Yeah but I’m pretty sure the fuel is stored in the floats lol
@@basementdustproductions1069 It’s like an extra fuel tank stored in the floats so you just drop down to whatever would be stored in the wings
the numeric designation model (11, 21, 22, 32, 52, 53, 63) was read as two separate numbers because it meant "airframe and engine combination".
model 11 ("model one one") meant airframe 1, sakae 12 engine (engine 1). this was the variant that flew in china, and fun fact its prototype flew with a two bladed propeller.
model two one was a model one one with folding wingtips.
model three two had the folding tips removed and had a new sakae 21 motor.
model two two is a three two with folding wingtips. this is the A6M3 mod. 32 and is one of the most beautiful aircraft ever made.
the five twos are the late war models. five two introduced the directed exhaust stacks on the motor, belt fed 20s, armor and self sealing fuel tanks, extra 13mm machine guns, and bomb racks.
model six two and six three were fighter-bombers.
and the last one is the model six four, with a mitsubishi kinsei motor.
Huh I just finished a 5-hour long documentary on the zero and now this pops up. Another 5 minutes won't hurt I guess.
thank you for the continuation of the Legends series... really some awesome work you did there
Ps. Zero would be a very fitting Plane for a Legends video
@@Oberst_Jager they did one a week ago
I absolutely love the Zero. Perfect plane it ain't but such a pleasure to fly.
Well~~Zero is the first plane that I ever fall in love to. It’s agile, fast and deadly for its Battle Rate, it’s so awesome that I couldn’t but to fully master it. But before that, I ran into the Bf-109 to try some different types of techniques. But after that, I was very unadaptable to the brain new type of play style. Than when I decided to comeback to Zero, it was just like a sweet home for me. Until now, Zero is still my favorite plane. Both game and reality.
I love this plane, it`s by far one of the best in the game, the only 2 problems that I can see with it are the weak high altitude engine and the repair cost.... I really hope you will make a Legends video on it
“Top secret aluminum alloy”
aka paper
Lmao but for real?
Not gonna miss this ep
Funnily enough I'm currently playing the Chinese zero waiting for a match and it has been 6mins so far. :(
You’re lucky, I once got 14 mins in US Tank RB
nah bois,YOURE LUCKY...
because i had 20 mins and lag
And I got kicked out due to the server not responding 2mins into the match and now I have a 6min crew lock and a 6k repair cost
@RyuzoSan _19
Oof
@f f
OOOOF
Zero is one of my favorite airplanes of all time, what a wonderful machine
There is an animated movie called "The Wind Rises" based on the true story of Jiro Horikoshi, the designer of A6M. Fun fact: he was just 24 back then.
I watched it! Wonderful film
Yes! It’s produced by Studio Ghibli too! One of the best classic anime companies ever!
@@snowykaze Strongly agree
@@snowykaze I know right!! The movie was a masterpiece. I watched it here on UA-cam itself a couple of years ago. *For others reading my comment* If you're reading this and haven't watched it, I just can't recommend you enough.
The zero is underrated if you use it right it’s extremely good
Hey, what do you do when the entire enemy team huddles into a ball of aerodynamic death ? Like, I can't even get into a proper dogfight or light chase without getting beamed and turned into a burning paper plane. I just got my line up of A6M3's and I wanna go nuts on the enemy but before I can even get a chance I look behind me or above and realize there's 2 to 4 different fighters heading towards me. And if they're P-40+ its GG cuz those dudes will snipe yo ass if you ain't looking...
First time I flew a zero I felt like an acrobat, like I could dance and ended up taking first place while stock in both rb and ab. Words cannot describe how I could contort my zero around in a mere seconds.
The A6M3 is my absolute favourite plane in War Thunder. I'm moving up the Japanese tech tree in terms of BR, but I will never remove my A6M3 from its spot, no matter how high up in BR I get. It holds a special place in my heart.
I started flying Zeros three days ago and I must say; this sushi powered plane is very very good if you can shooting 20mm guns and don't get hitted at low speeds.
When you accidentally fight zero: damm i misse... whoah that was quick *and back in hangar*
I LOVE flying as the Zero.
It's satisfying having a P-51, Bf-109, Spitfire, and Yak-9 think I'm an easy target only for them not to realize that they've encountered a true Sky Samurai that can turn them into roaring balls of flame in less than 30 seconds
I'd love to see a "Legends" video about this
What I like about this game is that no vehicle is game-breaking and can counter everyone else. It's a balance that can help a br 1.0 shoot down a br 10.0
you forgot that multiple variants of the zero get unguided air to air rockets
As a long-time users of Reisen, i'll give a note to you guys
Do NOT uses Reisen for head-on engagement, even more against those who are good at it (especially US planes that has many .50 cals (with/without 20 mm))
Can’t wait till the 109 family video.
I played some WT last night and I got the A5M4 and I am currently researching the A6M2-N, God I love this game!!!
buddy just wait until late tier 3
always loved the zero, proves that speed is not always everything when used correctly, and armor or no armor, planes will always go down if it gets enough hits
And there's another sub-variant of the A6M5 that is not in the game (that I hope will be added): the A6M5c "hei". That third sub-variant had *3* heavy machine guns installed (13.2mm caliber; one in each wing & one in fuselage, ditching the other 7.7mm)
It also had increased armored glass thickness of 55mm, thicker wing skin for increased dive speed *&* self-sealing fuel tanks.
Hi Gaijin, i was just wondering about Something: When me and my brother are dueling, if one of us dies, a glitch can occur where we can't spawn in before the bar at the top of the screen empties. So i was wondering if you could give the option to disable the bar at the top of the screen for custom battles, that would mean that capture points would be irrelevent but if someone wants a simple tank, ship or aircraft duel, it could make it much more simple. I'd love to hear back from you about this. I know this is a core gameplay machanic but i trust Gaijin to know what to do.
this
So all you need to do is increase player number to 4 and hit "include bots". This means that there'll always be at least one aircraft on either team, so long as you don't kill the bots. I actually had the exact same problem before I figured this out.
That won't work, the bots will just kill each other and take 30 seconds to respawn, and i prefer a duel, not a 2v2. But i thank you for your opinion.
Make the match a ground battle instead and spawn in as many tank bots as possible. You two can duke it out in the skies while the tanks just kinda derp around. It takes a long time for all of them on one team to die. It’s not ideal but it’s a workaround.
@@pranavarvind4281 Well, I still get some problems when me and a buddy are testing what silly things we can do in GRB. The bots will (most of the time) just crash their aircraft into the ground. It's not very usefull... But it's still the only way to achieve fun in custom battles with a buddy.
im so proud to have masterd that beast.
I am also proud to learn how to walk
@@jaiell2049 Nice
@@jaiell2049 you family must've being sooo proud.
I have shot down more than 28 aircraft in the past with the Zero Fighter. The battle at that time was ferocious. Besides me, there were only eight survivors. So, on the way back, I fell asleep due to fatigue. But it was fatal. The next moment, I was shot by a Mustang that appeared out of nowhere. My vision grew dark and when I opened my eyes again, I was in my bed at home. please let me know if you understand
I can tell you how they perform on arcade: they turn extremely well, they climb well too. The low ammo count for the cannons isn't a problem because of the aerial reload. They can't take too much damage (just as you would expect), however, if you get hit , but not shoot down, you usually can usually still fly quite well (perhaps I was just lucky, but damaged zeros fly better then damaged spitfires). Never do head-on against anything with cannons - even if you'll get the kill, he'll probably get you too. Attacking bombers might be tricky, because their defensive fire can kill yous pilot or set you on fire. Dog-fighting in a group might also get you killed fast. Your best option is to hunt down lone fighters (or any plane without defensive weapons) as you can usually out-turn most planes.
Sorry for complaining again. BUT WE NEED the ability to test fly all aircraft so we could see if we like them or not otherwise it would be a waste of time grinding to get an aircraft just to realize it’s horrible and you wasted you time
Agree
Could not agree more
But here's the thing, test flying a completely stalk aircraft that you have never flown before or even fully modified, it doesn't always give a full representation. There are many aircraft that perform highly well in certain roles but at the end of the day, it all comes down to who you are facing at that specific vehicles BR.
Seth Jansson but having the ability to test fly it you can get a better idea of what it would be like because you can access all weapons but yeah
Tavi its bad you wast your money on something that you dont like it’s taking a big gamble. But I guess its how they make money 🤷🏻♂️
The Zero was potent in big dogfights. Its upgrade to 13mm nose machine guns and improved 20mm cannon did short work of more robust US /Allied Fighters. Practically all the missions documented with information from both sides. The win loss ratio were near 1 to 1. Sometimes the Allies/US were more successful sometimes the Japanese. Thre wer a good number of Zeros still in the Japanese inventory at the end of the hostilities.
Bruce: Here is the last and final zero variant, it surprisingly has no armaments!
Then how do you fire at the enemy?
Bruce: You are the bullet!
One of my Fav fighters. I love the A6M3 version more. Hope we see more zero variants maybe even A6M8?
Zero's Mod name is worng.
First in service's A6M2 is
A6M2a "零式艦上戦闘機一一型"
,in game name's "A6M2 Mod.11".
"零式艦上戦闘機" mean "A6M"2a
"A"6M mean carrier-based fighter (but A6M2a isn't the carrier-based fighter, missing Tailhook and folding wingtips)
A6"M" mean Mitsubishi
A"6"M mean the sixth model built for the Imperial Navy
"一一型" mean A6M"2a"
"2"a mean engine code, Second "一"
2"a" mean Body type in early A6M(A6M2), first "一"
later version like A6M3 A6M5,
suffix (a b c) is weapon's or body's small improve, not like A6M2.
small improve on code is
a mean Ko "甲"(Kou)
b mean Otsu "乙"(Otu)
c mean Hei "丙"(Hei)
A6M2-N's"N" mean Fighter/Floatplane
If use Japan's Kanji Mod. code, "零式艦上戦闘機一一型" =A6M Mod.11 (Mod. one-one, not Mod. eleven).
also Mod.22 isn't Mod. twenty-one, is Mod. two-one.
First 1 (one) is Body code, Second 1 (one) is engine code.(important)
In game name(english) >IJN code >(Japan's Kanji Mod. code)
A6M2 Mod.11 is A6M2a (A6M Mod.11)
A6M2 is A6M2b (A6M Mod.21)
A6M3 is A6M3 (A6M Mod.32)
A6M3 Mod.22 is A6M3 (A6M Mod.22)
(here is problem. A6M3 are use on Mod.32 and Mod.22 both.)
A6M3 Mod.22Ko is A6M3a (A6M Mod.22 Kou)
A6M5 is A6M5 (A6M Mod.52)
A6M5 Ko is A6M5a (A6M Mod.52 Kou)
A6M5 Otsu is A6M5b (A6M Mod.52 Otu)
(Just some wiki work. Hope my bad english is just ok.)
Got all Zeros except the last in tech tree. If I have to describe Zero by one word it would be a serpent. Between it's my favorite fighter.
Zero:exist
Japanese Emperor:I want you to go kaboom
Zeros are strong as hell I can out turn like 80% of all the biplanes in the game and it’s just a great plane in general
A zero is invincible in one on one combats, but vulnerable in mixed battles. Which is a painful lesson learnt by myself.
Complete the family, A6M7 and A6M8 is long overdue
If I had a dollar for every time Zeroes had their BR raised I'd have enough for a top tier premium pack
I love the Mitsubishi Zero! I just wish they had self-sealing fuel tanks. So many fires...
I also have the A7M1, which is a mix between the turn-fighting A6M and the energy fighters that followed the Zero. It will still out-turn most aircraft (it's on par with most Spitfires at similar BR), but can also be used as an energy fighter, "zoom, boom, and zoom"-style.
I really don't know why Japan didn't invest in self-sealing gas tanks bruh. Then the Zero wouldn't be as weak as it is when fired upon.
P51 Mustang Pilot: Hey what is that thing in the sky *points at zero*
Zero pilot: OMAEWA MO SINDEIRU
Zeros when they see a bomber: TENNO HIAKA BANZI
Ah, the Zero, the "Very deadly in close quarter battle, but why the heck are you that close in the first place".
where is a Legends Zero
They dont need to. We have Eternal Zero and The Wind Rises . In fact adding A6M5c and A6M8 is a better way of contribution for the legendary Reisen
Ahmet Arslan I fully support the addition of the a6m8
@@smyrnamarauder1328 nie gelmesin aga Reisen e ayı olur yoksa
I started playing War Thunder more than 6 years ago just because the game had Zeros in it, and I fly Zeros til this day. It is one of, if not The one, fighter that I love the most.
The zeroes are amazing to fly you can easily get on your opponent's tail due to it's high maneuverability and is quite unshakable I often have to break off then come back so I can get my guns on target The most remarkable thing of the zero is it's high energy retention you can do any maneuver and still have energy to do more things
Stall fighting 😂
The updates keep coming,so could we finally get more versions of A6M's? Its ridiculous they didnt add them yet..
A6M5c, A6M7, and A6M8 I presume?
@@bodenplatte1360 yes sir.
@@bodenplatte1360 altough I wouldnt mind seeing A6M3 with 30mm cannons or A6M6c which was very similar to A6M7 yet it was a fighter while A6M7 was dive bomber.
@@MrLampes You know Zero Family can equip bombs at there wings meaning they can be a fighter/ Bomber .
Loved his giggle after he said the zero gave up all of its armor for all its agileness lol
Drop really low,
and only bombed yourself.
Zero, the most consistent performance Tech tree
The zero is one of my favorite places in war thunder. With extreme focus and strategy it's an amazing deadly fighter. That said, when 50 Cal's get buffed it's not fun because you can get set on fire by stray bullets.
I just need to work on my shot placement, trigger finger, and awareness. Once I get these 3 last specifics down I'll become a god...
I'm currently flying the American Zero and it's a joy to hunt enemy planes with its maneuvrability
have been waiting for this video ngl
FYI: This was the "Type 0 Navy Fighter" because it was accepted for service in 1940, or 2,600 years after the mythical foundation of the Japanese imperial dynasty. "Tenno Hella Banzai!"
Tenno Heika*
Banzai!
@@zerofighter283 That was a joke. I'm a Japanese-American California Girl.
Ever since Emperor Showa disclaimed the divinity of the Imperial Family, I don't know if they still stick to the 660 B.C.E. dynasty founding story. However, it was still in force in 1940, you bet.
My uncle Yukihiko was one of the relatively few Japanese pilots that survived the Pacific War. He was a Yokkaren and joined at just age 16. His war ended in Taiwan.
www.yokaren-heiwa.jp/07english/index.html
Its a shame the ki series of the IJA does not get any recognition and must live in the shadows of the Zero.
i love the zero. it is my favourite plane in WW2 i have like 10 different models of it.
I was wating for a Zero legend video
First ever guided missile
I think the german friz x's rocket powered cousin allready claims that title
TOYOTA PRIUS IS ASGM NOW.
ASGM means : anti store guided missile
And this aircraft built by Mitsubishi was called the Zero because it had 0 armor for a trade-off for light weight, manueverable, and heavy armament, also nicknamed the Japanese glass-cannon.
Gaijin: "Hehe, they all get moved up BR now"
I started this tech tree today so it's funny the video came out today. I love them. Could never do well with boom and zoom, and I much prefer the turn fighting.
This plane really listens to you
Absolute favorite ww2 war plane, also Ki -43 oscar is amazing maneuverable and agile one either
Explain Japanese.planes are too overrated
The zero is the ONLY plane that when I go up against enemy fighters I don't have to worry about what they are flying. I have no fear going into any dogfight. When I fly other fighters, my worst fear is going up against a well piloted zero.
Weebs after they discover the Japanese Tech Tree in War Thunder
Hmm yes I gonna put some Winter Camouflage on my A6M its gonna be good.
@@togerthetigerking951 lmao
Their main is probably just the AH-1 from the Japanese tech tree
'been waiting for this, very nice
I love preying on those foolish allied pilots that try to turn fight me in any of my Zeroes.Though, I do somewhat pity them, I do not regret killing those that look down on my Zero 😁😁😁
Getting kills on players who turnfight against a zero isnt really an acomplishment
Any capable pilot can beat the zero though. Played with my Yak 3 today. They can't touch me... most of the time.
Yeah It feels better when you kill an actually skilled player rather than some noobs from arcade
Hurlock alpha the Anti-Globalist Clubbed a Japanese team yesterday in my P51 H5. Barely peppered a J7W1 with 50 rounds and he caught on fire.
Hurlock alpha the Anti-Globalist any capable Zero pilot won’t get beat by a Yak3 that turn fights it. That’s my point. But good for you! I do enjoy fighting capable pilots more than foolish ones that think they can turn fight me in a P47
It'silly to see how many players try to go head on and then insist to follow your A6M in turn instead of flying straight in speed.
Sorry having trouble typing I I meant to say it was amazing
Imagine not being able to cap points on a plane in naval battles
This post was made by the seaplane Zero
I own a A6M5 my self. Its a nice amd easy to fly aircraft that every one in my country looks at and thinks “looser, not flying a Messerschmidt Bf 109“
Do something about the grind... It's getting out of hand. I'm not rich :(
Same two years for the bomber B57 n thats all i played was bombers for console.
Same 3 years playing and just unlocked the f-80 today no joke
the repair cost makes it painful to just earn SL for new planes/tanks. Every single nation except the Soviets and maybe the Chinese is suffering from this.
@@_Messerschmitt Higher BRs the enemy becomes the RPs. Silver lions become generous.
Without a Premium account, you will spend a lot of time grinding anything past Rank III-IV. While things improve between Rank I and its low rewards (sometimes 10% SL) and Ranks III-IV and their more balanced economics, it tends to stop improving beyond that point. No matter the Rank and as far as I know, no vehicle rewards you with more than 150% SL for battle time and actions (except in Realistic or Simulation Air Battles, which have additional SL bonuses), yet the repair costs keep increasing with every additional 0.3 BR your unlocked vehicles boast. Playing a good match at 6.0 gives you a lot more rewards than playing a similarly good match at 4.0, but play a bad match at 8.0 and your losses will be on par with five equally bad matches at 6.0! If you're an average player like I am, you're in for a long grind.
So you can either be very, very patient... or get a Premium account (I purchased 180 days when it was on sale for US$20). In the latter case, your losses for the bad matches I mentioned above will now look "acceptable" (you might even turn in a little SL profit) and your victories will help you get to that great aircraft or tank you desire 33% faster.
By the way...
I played the game for about 1000 hours, now (including two weeks with a Premium account); I played a LOT since January, as I wasn't working because of the Covid-19 pandemic. I only researched the vehicles of Germany, Great Britain, Japan, U.S.A., and U.S.S.R. so far, and I'm at these Battle Ranks (all "spaded" vehicles with expert crew):
Ground Forces: 4.0 to 6.3, depending on the nation (including purchased 4.0 and 6.0 Japan)
Naval Force: 1.3 to 2.7, depending on the nation (plus Event 3.0 GB gunboat)
Air Force: 2.7 to 4.0, depending on the nation (plus Event 5.7 US attacker and purchased 5.0 Japan)
I'm still a long way from getting a modern MBT, let alone a jet...
I love the kanji they painted on the earlier versions, feels less of a warplane and more like a sports car.
Don’t they still have kanji on their fighters?
Best reference for the ZERO is the book "ZERO" edited by Martin Caiden but authored by the man who designed it and oversaw it's production AND a High Ranking Japanese Air Staff officer who commanded ZERO squadrons in the field.
This book falls right smack in the middle of a whole genre of Histories "NOT-Written-By-The-Winners". There are a lot more of them than most people would believe.
The ZERO did become a weaker plane over time in The Pacific. But it's main downfall lay it two areas absolutely irrelevant to War Thunder.
Pilot Training, and Production.
While the narrator is quite correct that the ZERO dominated The Pacific Skies from Jan 1940 in China through 1942 and into 1943 as well in many places. The Imperial Japanese Navy never had more than 450 of them. Fewer Zeros than the RAF had fighters defending Great Britain in the summer of 1940. But Japanese production, overall, was still largely based on Feudal Japanese customs . It was a problem never overcome, thus it became impossible to create enough production to do anything more than replace losses. They could never build up larger numbers of the Zero.
There was an even larger problem than that. Pilot Training. As Early as 1939 the Imperial Japanese Navy saw the need for a Pilot Training program fare more vast than what they had. Their training in China 1937, with the advent of the A5M, type 96 Claude, was superb, but it took to train a pilot just to the level of "new guy" in the squadron. It took almost 6 months of combat to properly "season" that "new guy" into a "combat pilot".
During 1940 and 41 the IJN worked desperately to build that training program up. But they failed. Part of the failure was that the Japanese ARMY controlled the government. The Army higher ups, all the way to Gen TOJO himself viewed aviation as a mere adjunct to land forces and actually hindered the program to train pilots. There were other reasons as well, but go read that book to get the full picture.
The ZERO dominated the skies from Jan 40, through to Jan 43 at least. But those three years took a very heavy toll on This one of the biggest reasons the battles of The Coral Sea and Midway were so significant. Japan lost hundreds of well seasoned and well trained combat aviators, not just "shot down" not really many of those at all. Rather it was "search and rescue" that failed. An entire compliment of aircraft and pilots of one Aircraft Carrier were lost after their ship was sunk and they had to ditch in the sea near another one. Rescue efforts failed to recover over half of them.
This happened at Midway as well. With the three carriers sunk on the first day there was no place for those airplanes in the air, which was almost all of the ZEROs, to land. They ditched and many if not most were never recovered. Many bomber and torpedo plane aircrew were lost because they were still readying for takeoff on the decks.
More than anything else it was the lack of properly trained Combat Pilots that doomed the ZERO. A Good pilot in one could still lay waste as one did on IWO JIMA much later in the war, even against overwhelming odds against the F6F. In that fight he got two, dragged the rest into the flak over IWO. Two more were downed by the flak. He landed, and his ground crew were spooked by him.
There were no bullet holes in his airplane. This is the story of the Japanese Ace Saburo Sakai, who survived the war, including his years in CHINA pre Pearl Harbor, with 62 confirmed kills. Confirmed by his own hand, he photographed them all with a 35mm camera he kept for the purpose.
War Thunder does not include any scenarios wherein the true qualities of the ZERO are ever used. Yes it was an awesome dogfighter. But Dogfighting is a "dead man's game". What gave the ZERO dominance were it's other qualities. Better Climb. It was faster than any of it's enemies except in level flight with the Spit V and the later P-40s, but their advantage was very very small, often wiped out by really poor maintenance. But the real killer advantage was There were no fighters in the world with a 6 hour endurance in those years except the P-38, and there just were not a lot of those until late 43 and 44.
So most of the ZERO's virtues do not come into play in War Thunder at all. Have fun.
I am currently grinding the research tree to my A6M2 type 00, carrier fighter.
Can't Wait For The A6M8 to appear in this game
Fav fighter of all time!
Zero fighters are fun at lower BR but the higher BR Zero planes are just outclassed. It's all good and well being able to outturn your opponent but the weak firepower and facing constant boom and zoom attacks makes this plane only fun when fighting less experienced players.
Presenting the Zero! It's named after your chances of beating it in a dogfight.