A6M2 'Zero' vs F4F 'Wildcat' - An Unfair Fight in the Pacific?

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Did you know that the Battle of the Coral Sea happened between May 4 - 8, exactly 75 years ago from the posting of this video?
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⚜ Sources ⚜
A6M2 Technical Manual, extracts;
Aerodata International U.S. Navy Carrier Fighters of WWII F2A Buffalo; F4F Wildcat; F6F Hellcat; F4U Corsair; F8F Bearcat;
Anthony G. Williams & Emmanuel Gurin, Flying Guns of World War II, The Crowood Press UK, 2003;
Army Air Forces, Memorandum Report on Japanese Zero Fighter, November 1943;
Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department, Airplane Characteristics & Performance, Model F4F-4, July 1943, extracts;
Don Linn, Perry Manley and Don Greer, F4F Wildcat in Action (Aircraft In Action 1084), Squadron Signal (1988);
Detail specification for Model F4F-3 Airplane, SD-235-3-1B, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, Report No. 1469A;
Detail specification for Model F4F-4 Airplane, SD-235-4-3A, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, Report No. 1471C;
Edward Young and Jim Laurier, F4F Wildcat vs A6M Zero-sen - Pacific Theater 1942, Osprey Publishing (2013);
Francis H. Dean, America's Hundred Thousand: U.S. Production Fighters of World War II, Schiffer Publishing (1996),
Richard Dunn, Exploding Fuel Tanks, extracts, 2011
Inter-office memorandum, Army Air Forces, Performance and Characteristics of the Japanese Zero Model A6M2 Airplane, October 1942;
Intelligence Service U.S. Army Air Forces, Informational Intelligence Summary No.85, Flight characteristics of the Japanese Zero Fighter, December 1942;
John B. Lundstrom, The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2005), 452-453.
J. Horikoshi, A Research on the Improvement of Flying Qualities of Piloted Airplanes, extracts;
Headquarters, Twenty Third Fighter Group, General Technical Data and Flight Characteristics of the Japanese Zero Fighter Airplane, February 1943;
U.S. Naval Air Station, Model F4F-4 Airplane - Miscellaneous Tests (Droppable Fuel Tanks, Performance at Military Power, Combat Comparison), September 1942;
U.S. Naval Air Station, Model F4F-4 Airplane with Full Span Flaps - Performance Tests, September 1942;
R.A.A.F. Headquarters, Directorate of Technical Services - Special Duties and Performance Flight, Report on Brief Flight Trials of Japanese Fighter Type 0, October 1943;
Rene J. Francillon, Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero-Sen (Aircraft Profile 129), Profile Publications Ltd;
Irushi Yememoto, IJN Zero battle Diary: Victories and Losses for Zero over Solomon, Volumes 1 to 3, translated extracts;
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10 май 2017

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Комментарии : 2,7 тыс.

@joaogomes9405 3 года назад

"This caused some allied pilots to think the zero was hit and was going down, when it reality all was fine" *shows footage of a zero on fire with a bailing pilot in a situation that can only be described as "all is not fine"*

@marshaboyd6328 3 года назад

W ê

@u-bum 3 года назад

W ê

@douchebagpatrol7237 3 года назад

maybe feigned bailout with a fake fire?

@kgblagden 3 года назад

He was planning on back flipping on to the wildcat to suplex the pilot and roundhouse kick the plane into space before leaping back into his zero which by then was no longer on fire for reasons. All is perfectly fine.

@bigblockchevy200 3 года назад

@@kgblagden This

@anzaca1 7 лет назад

24:46 The Japanese also made the mistake of never rotating their experienced pilots back home in order to train new pilots. This meant that valuable combat experience was constantly being lost. In contrast, Allied aces were routinely transferred back home, allowing them to give new pilots the benefit of their experience. This meant that Allied pilots fresh out of flight school were effectively experienced pilots already.

@FawfulDied 7 лет назад

It's why a lot of Axis pilots had gigantic kill scores, while Allied pilots rarely do--the top pilots were rotated back before they died, which doesn't lead to great kill scores, but preserves institutional knowledge.

@anzaca1 7 лет назад

The Allies flew to win the war, not always the battle.

@CorsetGrace 6 лет назад

The Japanese also trained their pilots in the squadrons which meant that at any given time a percentage of an operational Japanese squadron was made up of kids straight out of flight school without advanced training.

@McLarenMercedes 6 лет назад

Anzac-A1 Unfortunately rotating experienced pilots back home wasn't an *option* for them as they were all fully engaged. The Americans could easily do this because: A) Their country wasn't on the frontline and not under direct attack. B) Had a large quantity of fuel, aircraft and spare parts to train a large number of pilots. C) Could rely on the airforces of its allies engaging a large number of Japanese too whereas Japan had no allies to relieve them. Japan was well aware they had to gamble by going all out at once. Even before Pearl Harbor the Japanese high command were calculating they could fight effectively about a year, meaning that if they hadn't defeated the brunt of the American, British, Commonwealth and Chinese and dealt several crippling blows they would find themselves in a war they could never win but only slug out by offering the maximum resistance... Not a mistake. Given the realities they faced they never had that option. Example: The British during the Battle of Britain 1940. No time for neither training (training was cut down by half to rush pilots to the battle) nor enough pilots to pilot all the planes. Pilots were known to fly several sorties every day and were close to exhausted.

@McLarenMercedes 6 лет назад

Anzac-A1 "The Allies flew to win the war, not always the battle." And that conveniently ignores that the allies had five(!) times the aluminium the axis had. You can't train pilots if there's not enough planes. Both the British with its Commonwealth and the Soviets manufactured more aircraft on their own than the Germans did. Neither the RAF nor the VVS were ever knocked out during the war and the Luftwaffe had their hands full engaging both. That means that by the time the American pilots arrived in Europe the Luftwaffe already was spread out thin and had its hand full on many different fronts. Needless to say the Wehrmacht discovered during Operation Barbarossa already that their logistics and land forces swallowed oceans of oil - oil they mostly got from Romania and without which they'd be doomed by 1941 already. Superior tactics didn't win allies the war. Both Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan simply didn't have the natural resources (steel, minerals, rubber, oil), the industrial input, the manpower and above all the economy to win a long war of attrition. The USA, USSR and Great Britain produce more aircraft on their own than Nazi Germany. Japan produced even less. The allies won the war chiefly through their overwhelming superiority in numbers, natural resources (THE reason both Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan sought to expand their territory) and economy. Nazi Germany was on the front-line and had to make every single pilot count. It definitely didn't have the luxury the Americans had.

@ThePremiumChicken 4 года назад

The Thatch Weave was such a brilliant dogfighting maneuver.

@MrOlgrumpy 4 года назад

Keeps yer roof on too

@SunnyIlha 4 года назад

It really was, since the adversary risked flying head-on with the Wildcat weave. Head-on against a Wildcat was suicide; The Wildcat was full of plate armor. It had armored glass windscreen. It had self-sealing tanks. It was built nearly like a Mack truck (the construction). It had the extremely potent .50 heavy machine gun (2,900 feet per second projectile velocity). It could be flown at full throttle under total control. And if the opponents were getting on one of the weaving duo's 6 o'clock, the weaving team-mate would be right on the attacker's own 6 o'clock, which was once again, suicide.

@SunnyIlha 4 года назад

It was a weaving-wingman movement, where both were each other's wingman. (The leadman was simultaneously his own wingman's wingman)

@ShortArmOfGod 4 года назад

@@SunnyIlha you're almost 2000 fps too high with that muzzle velocity.

@SunnyIlha 4 года назад

@@ShortArmOfGod ooops! You're correct. My bad; my typo. I stand corrected: 2,900 feet per second. I fingertip-type these comments too fast sometimes! 😬🤣

@Ocrilat 4 года назад

British pilot John Herbert, flying off the carrier Victorious: 'Concerning the Wildcat I echo the line of our best test pilots - it was probably the finest deck-landing aircraft ever built. I once landed a Wildcat with a hole in one wing big enough to put my desk through. I've landed with most of my tail shot away and with holes all over it, and bits dripping out of the engine, and the bloody thing still flew. It was incredibly good.'

@nickhaynie5980 4 года назад

the Royal Navy used the Wildcat in the heavy seas of the N Atlantic flying off and landing on shorter decks. The rugged toughness of the wildcat was legendary

@alexconaghan3486 4 года назад

Damn good quote! Love it.

@Ocrilat 4 года назад

@@nickhaynie5980 They didn't call Grumman 'The Iron Works' for nothing. They built tough planes.

@HaganDave 4 года назад

When Royal Navy replaced Fulmars with Wilcats (Martlets), pilots said it was like move from bus to a racing car.

@roybennett6330 4 года назад

@@HaganDave poor old navy fleet arm,nearly five years behind the yanks..the fulmar, Blackburn ROC,sea gladiator,I could go on,but I shan't put the sword fish in because she defined the odds and punched above her weight. The armored decks were well thought out,and I'm sure the yanks would have liked the concept. But getting back to the naval fleet arm,most of their best plane's were American.

@ajigglywhale5610 7 лет назад

Why can't the "History Channel" just hire people like you and other from RU-vid that have a genuine passion to do pieces like these? This was really well made, entertaining and informative. Keep it up!

@HPaulHonsinger 6 лет назад

If the "History Channel" wanted to make fact-based historical documentaries, there are plenty of people able to make them and make them well (not that Bismarck wouldn't do a fine job, as i suspect he would). The History Channel simply isn't into History any more. It is providing what its audience wants--shows about the prophesies of Nostradamus, UFO abductions, Ancient Astronauts, use of occult forces by the Nazis, and the like. There are more good history documentaries being made by amateurs on shoestring budgets on RU-vid each month than air on the History Channel in any given year. Just look at The Great War Channel or Military History Visualized, if you need an example other than Bismarck. Bring in some real budgetary resources, professional presenters, and a longer format, and you've got yourself a real documentary, like they made back in days of yore when the History Channel was about history and it was Edward Herrmann voiceovers from wall to wall.

@Guilherme-mw3jc 6 лет назад

Because bis didn't talked about the murican superiority 99.9999% of the time

@AsukaLangleyS02 6 лет назад

He did talk about American superiority, .50's over anything else. What country needs it's pilots to have 100's of flight experience when we just shit out planes. "Better everything" is a myth. The Brits in WW1 got their superior army wrecked, and the Germans got beat by a bunch of commies who just threw millions of men at a "superior" enemy! Shermans over Tigers

@garyK.45ACP 6 лет назад

Jiggly, I stopped watching TV in 2004. Don't even own one. RU-vid has MUCH better history videos. Check out "The Great War" series among others.

@Drizzleize 5 лет назад

Because television is for stupids.

@Cheka__ 5 лет назад

Those are amazing graphics, for 1946.

@rudifeichtinger1042 3 года назад

Ah Haha Ha

@gundamnduke0 3 года назад

I know right? The fact that it had color was already impressive enough

@bigbrain2178 3 года назад

@FUWWYgaymerAGAINST TRUMP ya stupid

@hollodollo4771 3 года назад

guessing you mean the photos? the cameras were analog not digital so they were never pixelized, maybe blurred or scored but not pixels.

@Pau_Pau9 3 года назад

And those graphics were calculated/drawn using slide rules!

@cryhavoc9748 4 года назад

My uncle was a U.S. Marine who fought in the Pacific campaign. After taking an island from the Japanese runways were built from scratch or existing runways were repaired. He told me that sometimes the Wildcats and Hellcats would come back from flying a mission, and be so shot full of holes that you could "see daylight on the other side." Yet they were still flying well enough to get our pilots back to base.

@FaCubeItches 5 лет назад

The Wildcat's toughness relative to the Zero can't be undersold - there was an (at the time, at least) famous quote to the effect that "a Wildcat could take 3 minutes from a Zero, but a Zero can't take 3 seconds from a Wildcat."

@I_am_not_a_dog 4 года назад

Pez DeSpencer I understand the sentiment, but how many 20mm HE-I and AP rounds do you think a Wildcat could truly take? Not only that, but they’d also be peppered with MG rounds. I guess I’m saying that I wouldn’t *over-estimate* the Wildcat’s toughness, either.

@johnstewart599 4 года назад

It doesn’t take but one round to The lodge rudder or jam the flap. Let alone a round killing the engine or striking a fuel line or oil line you’re going down.

@john.t645 4 года назад

@cromwell2007 go back to war thunder.

@veyolaski4324 4 года назад

John Stewart drop a burst on the zero and it will rip the wing off

@steviosider2415 4 года назад

I’ve read many books about the war in the Pacific, and with their superior armor, sometimes those Wildcats would successfully return with over a hundred bullet hits on them. Without the armor, no Zero would survive anything even close to that.

@callenclarke371 3 года назад

This video rises to the level of a master-class on historical aircraft performance. I am writing a novel about the Lexington (CV-2.) I consider this video invaluable.

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 7 лет назад

excellent one! You clearly set a new bar!

@info7809 7 лет назад

yes a wunderbar

@RCN2820 7 лет назад

PROBABLY THE ACCENT.

@mitchelll7846 7 лет назад

i thought this was your second channel for a second

@migkillerphantom 7 лет назад

Man with a thick german accent talking about specifications of ww2 aircraft. Certainly rather niche

@clazy8 7 лет назад

migkillerphantom That is the beauty of the Web

@jj-nv1kf 5 лет назад

When I talked to Saboro Saki, he said the biggest problem with the Zero was that it was too maneuverable and an inexperienced pilot would tear the wings off.

@twinturbo8304 3 года назад

Is he still alive?

@jj-nv1kf 3 года назад

@@twinturbo8304 This was in the 1990's and he was pushing 80, and I did hear that he died but a great man and I enjoy the honor of having met him.

@j.dragon651 3 года назад

if your wings are falling off it isn't that maneuverable.

@user-hr1uw4cj2z 3 года назад

@@jj-nv1kf because of G-Force? and having a light weight airframe made it easier to rip the wings off

@RemoveChink 3 месяца назад

What an honor... I'm super jealous!

@mikerostine6253 3 года назад

The Zero was a beautiful magnificent piece of engineering.

@justinpyke1756 7 лет назад

Determining performance of Japanese aircraft is a pain, even today. The Japanese didn't do us any favours by only recording performance on mil power, not WEP.

@tucmakukla 7 лет назад

It is also noteworthy that the test pilots were often prone to focus on a one on one performance and on the flight dynamics (kinda like the US Navy veterans protesting switch to F4F-4 and fitting F4F-3's with self-sealing tanks, as both led to worse flight performance) - and often skip over the more "war winning" factors.

@jamespfp 7 лет назад

You raise an interesting point, but perhaps you don't see how this criticism is also true for the Americans of the period. Why else do you think it took Charles Lindbergh a couple of weeks to train P-38 pilots in the Pacific how to get the most out of their twin engines? This is to say, there's a difference between engineers, and pilots.

@hitoshisawa8479 7 лет назад

Justin Pyke we did some but we burnt it before and the rest is poping up these days after being hidden

@AimForMyHead81 6 лет назад

Ikr

@tnix80 6 лет назад

I think gaijin has stated this as a reason they have taken so long to add certain Japanese equipment.

@JamesSavik 5 лет назад

There is NO SUCH THING as a FAIR FIGHT. You go to war with what you've got.

@herauthon 5 лет назад

two humans with each a stone

@GinEric84 5 лет назад

Sure there is, a fair fight is what you are stuck with when your tactics are terrible.

@ctsteve1967 4 года назад

@@herauthon ONE STONE WILL ALWAYS BE BIGGER AND ONE MAN WILL ALWAYS BE BIGGER AND STRONGER,

@getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917 4 года назад

Thats not the point. "Fair" is used here to purely connote the ability of one unit over another. It has nothing to do with what is literally "fair in life". We all realize that war is not about what is "fair".

@behindthen0thing 4 года назад

Wunderbar

@Me2Lancer 3 года назад

Thank you! This must be the best video I've seen on combat aircraft. It has clearly been impeccably researched and presented in fine detail.

@GodOfWar221 4 года назад

Amazing video, I can tell you put a lot of effort into it. As a fellow history buff, I can appreciate the small details. Great video!

@cannonfodder4376 7 лет назад

A fantastic video and history lesson as always. Loved it.

@thissucs1815 7 лет назад

100th like

@evangomez7451 6 лет назад

Scyther Kovet I

@TheRetu81 7 лет назад

Interesting how American tactics against the Zeros were pretty similar to what Finns devised during and after the Winter War. But I guess when you have a similar problem, then the solution will be similar as well.

@andrewfischer8564 7 лет назад

the finns used the brewster buffalo s plane very similar to the wildcat

@MikeLitoris66 7 лет назад

And they did some great job with them. 26:1 victory ratio. They shot down 477 soviet planes and losing only 19 Brewsters.

@fazole 7 лет назад

The USN had a lot of problems with the quality of the Buffalo. I have read that Brewster had no experience producing fighters and limited experience producing seaplanes for the Navy. The Brewster Buffalo factory was ill suited to aircraft manufacturing, because it was laid out wiht many floors instead of of one floor. This meant assembly line techniques could not be well utilized, the airframes had to be moved by elevator and they had to be partially disassembled when moved around! Production was painfully slow and there also were problems wiht labor unrest. The Buffalos which made it to the carriers, had landing gear retraction problems and this was solved in the squadron by shaving down parts to increase the tolerances in the retraction mechanisms. This also resulted in landing gear collapsing when landing on the carrier. Boyington hated the plane, but did say it was very maneuverable before it was equipped with all the armor and self sealing fuel tanks. Maybe the Finnish Buffalos were like this?

@joemitchell877 7 лет назад

I'd Like to How the Finns where So So Effective ..... With A real mixed Bag of Old Planes ... I can't even Imagine ? Service Parts ? Brave Patriots ...

@pickeljarsforhillary102 7 лет назад

The issue with USN Buffalos vs Dutch and Finn Buffalos was weight. The plane adopted by the USN was very different from the test models in that it had armor, self-sealing fuel tanks and survival gear including a life raft. The test model had no armor, no self-sealing fuel tanks and according to one book I read had no radio installed (take that as you will). With the weight added by the USN, no attention was paid to increasing horse power thus the stories of the poor climb rates and maneuverability. Dutch and Finn Buffalos were nearly identical to the test model. These models because of their lower weight had excellent wing loading and were quite maneuverable and successful.

@acballen2613 5 лет назад

Thank you! Substantive, detailed, all in its proper historical context.

@airmackeeee6792 5 лет назад

@Military Aviation History. Love your channel mate! Keep up the good work. About 2 weeks ago I went to the museum at the Camarillo Airport in Camarillo, California. The museum hangar doors were open to view the ramp. Outside, 3 WW2 era planes were lined up, having their final checks & preflights conducted, prior to flying to Reno for the air races. What 3 old aircraft were lined up before me? A Japanese Zero, an F6F Hellcat, and the ONLY still-flying US NAVY B-25 Mitchell PBJ!! What a sight!! The museum curators not only let us stay after the museum had closed to watch these venerable aircraft, they led us out past the ramp, to along side the taxiway to watch the 3 aircraft takeoff. Amazing experience!!

@pdoylemi 6 лет назад

Very good analysis. Possibly a tad generous to the F4F, but made the very real point that it was not the completely helpless plane it is often portrayed to have been.

@revolrz22 6 лет назад

How was it generous to the F4F?

@pdoylemi 6 лет назад

Note that I said, "possibly a tad generous" - as in not much if any. But the Wildcat did tend to get its ass kicked. It was more durable by far, but could only outperform the Zero (or even the Oscar) in a dive. It couldn't turn with a Zero, couldn't climb with one, couldn't fly as fast.

@revolrz22 6 лет назад

You are correct, but the video itself doesn't really say otherwise. In fact, Bismarck goes to length about how pilots felt about their craft, and only posts historically relevant kill ratios. That said, I really do like the FM-2 model of the Wildcat.

@danielmocsny5066 5 лет назад

Maybe not completely helpless, but obsolete the instant the first F6F rolled off the production line. It's like comparing the P-40 to the P-51. Both the F4F and P-40 stayed in service throughout the war, but once superior fighters became available the older machines were relegated to secondary roles such as ground attack and convoy escort. In warfare you want every advantage you can get - and you can't make your people much better, only their equipment.

@thethirdman225 5 лет назад

+Pat Doyle _"it was not the completely helpless plane it is often portrayed to have been."_ Who said that? I have been reading about this for 40 years and never seen anything suggesting the Wildcat was "helpless".

@KB4th 7 лет назад

While having a comprehension of the F4F-3 & 4 difficulties with the A6M2 Zero, this has been an informative and interesting vid as always Bis. Enjoyed the retro IL2-46 game play.....

@timsullivan4566 4 года назад

Excellent work! Your carefully scripted presentation delivers a clear perspective that is strongly convincing, the width of its scope assuring a thorough investigation with sources supplied for all supporting data. And this on You Tube of all places... who would've thought? Bravo.

@chuckschillingvideos 4 года назад

The aerial combat concept known as "energy" fighting largely came out of the problems of the F4F fighting the Zero and is still the predominant fighter combat methodology taught today.

@jeffreydosdall4481 3 года назад

The predominant fighter combat methodology taught today is shoot missiles at them and have a stealth plane so they can't shoot missiles back... That's why we research WW2 instead of nerding out about today's planes.

@chuckschillingvideos 3 года назад

@@jeffreydosdall4481 They still teach dogfighting. Yes, of course you want to engage at standoff range (preferably outside your enemy's effective range), but they still have to know combat maneuvering.

@adferxis 3 года назад

@@jeffreydosdall4481 Lmao

@ivanthemadvandal8435 3 года назад

Energy fighting was developed in WW1 and both Japanese and Americans used it extensively in WW2. US fighters had had an advantage in energy fighting due to early detection from radar allowing them to gain the altitude atvantage and also the fact the the Zero's ailerons weren't hydraulic which would cause them to be hard to control at high speeds, especially when in a dive

@nickjohnson811 3 года назад

Probably the first use of the concept in WW II was by the Flying Tigers, who were taught to only jump Zeros then dive away, which is why their lowly P40s had a positive kill ratio against them under Claire Chennault.

@bongobrandy6297 7 лет назад

Somewhere, there is an account by a Japanese bomber crew member that watched a New Zealand P40 dive straight down from very high and shoot down the formation's lead Betty. The P40 kept diving staight down and vanished into the cloud deck.

@IrishCarney 3 года назад

Ah yes, back when New Zealand had fighter planes

@benis4958 3 года назад

P40 stronk

@kevinprokopenko7023 3 года назад

Actually I believe Saburo Sakai observed it against his formations zero s. Killed the zero pilot. And thus was learned to zoom and boom vs the zero.

@vegasspaceprogram6623 3 года назад

Nz was once great. Now we're must sad

@benn454 3 года назад

Boom and zoom

@lahma69 7 лет назад

Excellent video with solid information and lacking the bias and emotion often contained in other channel's videos.

@MilitaryAviationHistory 7 лет назад

lahma69 Thanks very much :)

@carowj 6 лет назад

I agree , I will be looking for more of your history lessons. :)

@nickhaynie5980 4 года назад

Great video. Im happy that the wildcat gets some kudos for hanging in there when the fighting was most desperate. at Coral Sea and Midway the wildcat were hard pressed but with practical tactics they were able to hang on.

@Dv087 4 года назад

" I hope you enjoyed this video " are kidding me, I loved it !

@SunnyIlha 11 месяцев назад

I second that!

@azumaya6524 6 лет назад

I work on an a historic aircraft carrier with a FM2 Wildcat. One of my friends here is Lt. Cmdr. Dean "Dizz" Laird. He flew the Wildcat and the Hellcat. He is the only ace in both the European and Pacific. When I started to say the Wildcat was not up to par against the Zero he corrected me . He flew the Wildcat and said that the early experience of the Japanese pilot was told early on. But once the American's got a little experience the Wildcat' "was just fine". So that's the opinion of an actual WW2 ace!

@fuzzydunlop7928 6 лет назад

I would absolutely love to have a job like that. I know this is old now but mind if I ask how you came into that gig?

@danielmocsny5066 5 лет назад

Maybe "just fine" but once the F6F became available, the F4F was taken out of front-line service and relegated to escort carriers for convoy duty and so on where contact with enemy fighters was unlikely. In war it's not enough to be "just fine", you always want an overwhelming technological advantage if you can get it. Remember that only a tiny minority of pilots became aces. Most of your fighting force is going to be average guys. You can't make them better, but you can give them better equipment.

@KevinBreak 5 лет назад

>Battle of Leyte Gulf Do you mean attacking the Japanese warships? Not sure having an -4 over a -3 would matter, can you explain?

@DataumCats 5 лет назад

@@danielmocsny5066 Sure, but counting that as a negative for the f4f is like saying that the spitfire mk V was terrible becasue the RAF produced more capable later designs. This is made a more ridiculous statement because the later grumman cats actually amplified the wildcats weaknesses vs the zero in exchange for increasing it's advantages. It was heavier, turned worse, accelerated slower at low speed, climbed slower at low altitude and so on compared to the wildcat. The f6f didn't show up and suddenly american pilots were all "ok boys, time to go back to low altitude low speed turn fightin, yeee haw!" A hellcat still had zero business engaging a zero in a dogfight. The hellcat dominated the pacific because Grumman took a "just fine" design, and amplified it's strengths.They probably could have even done that off the wildcats airframe if they really had to.

@Jordan-Ramses 5 лет назад

American individualism paid off big. Individual pilots made up new tactics on the fly and adapted. They didn't have to be taught everything and they didn't stick with their training if it wasn't working.

@LPMGSAS 7 лет назад

That was AWESOME, I dont usually comment but thank you very much for this great video!

@MilitaryAviationHistory 7 лет назад

LPMGSAS Thank you very much ;)

@sprngrdave 5 лет назад

Great Video 👍🏼Very Informative. This was as Early Action I was unfamiliar with & you brought it to Life with your entertaining & factual delivery

@neelo79 3 года назад

that seemed like such a well researched and balanced video! I'm very impressed indeed.

@whisperchainsaw102 7 лет назад

these videos are more detailed than most documentaries.

@joshenarvidsano9976 6 лет назад

I feel truly enlighted.

@twerkculeslol4314 4 года назад

this was amazing thank you!

@stevenboykin116 5 лет назад

This is how much of a BADASS Jimmy Thach was, "In early 1940, he was placed in command of Fighting Squadron Three (VF-3). There he met a young ensign just out of flight school, Edward O'Hare, later a Medal of Honorrecipient. Thach made O'Hare his wingmanand taught him everything he knew." That's most of the first paragraph of the WWII section on the wikipedia page of Jimmy Thach. He taught Butch O'Hare (a man who has an air port named after him, A METAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT!!!) everything he knew. MAD RESPECT!!!

@joecapehart5636 7 лет назад

Superb and highly informative video. One of the best videos I have ever seen about WW II combat aircraft.

@MilitaryAviationHistory 7 лет назад

Joe Capehart Thanks a lot! Very happy to hear that you enjoyed it.

@jetski3384 7 лет назад

Great Video Bismarck. You've made some awesome ones before, but I have to say - visual and information was perfection on this video. Really enjoyed it. Hope all is well.

@MilitaryAviationHistory 7 лет назад

JetSki_3384 Cheers! Took a lot of time so good to hear you are enjoying it :)

@jamesmiller1253 6 лет назад

absolutely one of the best presentations I have seen on the Internet (You Tube) I hope all of your other explanations are as objective and thought out as this one, and yes the simulator action is a great backdrop.

@johnwilliamson2276 5 лет назад

Thank you for this very informative video, I really enjoyed it.

@randyallen2771 4 года назад

Love your work Bismark! Very thorough presentation and analysis, really like to see something similar about the American Volunteer Group in China and their use of the P40. I heard a current Brit military avaitor with actual flight hours in several types of WW2 aircraft say that the P40 was not a bad aircraft but It's Allison engine wasn't kept up to spec so it lacked necessary horsepower.

@Artifactsofmars 5 лет назад

Their performance in the Marianas Turkey shoot comes to mind...

@MrElliotc02 3 года назад

Outstanding presentation! As always...must appreciated. Stay well.

@blackdeath4eternity 4 года назад

thanks for the informative video, its quite interesting how the performance & tactics changed to suite the times & machines.

@kyleglenn2434 3 года назад

The lack of self sealing fuel tanks cost the Japanese a large number of pilots

@Ocrilat 2 года назад

Yup, plus no pilot armor and a lack of structural strength. To save weight pilots also removed their (poorly functioning) radio. The plane was designed and flown to practically kill their own pilots.

@richardj9016 Год назад

The problem was, the Japanese didn't have any plot armour..

@JosephHarner 4 года назад

One factor I suspect contributed significantly to the claims of superior marksmanship of US pilots is the homogenous weapon layout of many US fighters. Because all of the guns of the Wildcat shared the same ballistic properties, pilots could more easily follow their tracers and lead a target with the full complement of their weapons. In contrast the pairing of 20mm cannons with smaller machineguns caused two separate points that the pilot would have to aim to at to correctly lead the target, and additional clutter to the stream of tracers that the pilot must watch to align guns on target. Given that many of the 20mm cannons aircraft mounted had significantly lower projectile velocities than their machineguns, I suspect that a disproportionate number of hits would have been made with the smaller guns any time both were fired at once.

@apfelsnutz 3 года назад

Thank you, excellent video and research done.

@slehar 3 года назад

Awesome! AWESOME!!! Explanations with visual simulations! Wow! This is truly AWESOME!!!

@tsmgguy 6 лет назад

Thank you for helping to dispel many of the myths that have been around for so long. Marvelous presentation!

@xx_insert_cool_username_he6876 2 года назад

"Why have armor if you are hard to hit?" That's what all lightly armored plane engineers say until the plane gets hit by 4 or more M2 Browning 50 cals

@CarlosPF94 2 года назад

This is beautiful. This channel and your research is unmatched 🙌🏾

@kenner720 5 лет назад

Very good video. A lot of thought and research went into this. Thanks.

@goneham4015 7 лет назад

Another great Bismarck video! Keep it up!

@MilitaryAviationHistory 7 лет назад

Gone Ham Cheers, I will

@patsmith8523 4 года назад

One important fact you seem to have omitted was the Zero's construction: Lack of armour and self sealing fuel tanks doomed alot of pilots when their plane was hit. Allied pilots were taught to shoot at the wing root of the zero, once in flames, it would be destroyed.

@morskojvolk 4 года назад

Third or fourth time watching this. Wonderful commentary on the air war in the Pacific. Well researched and well presented. Thank you.

@andrewmorke 3 года назад

Excellent analysis. You have done well.

@saidkakesedibinga2140 5 лет назад

Awesome presentation. The weakness of the Wildcat was its tendency to stalling in a climb allowing the Zero to shoot the Wildcat as it headed to the ground. The Thach Weave allowed Wildcat to have a high kill rate against the Zero. The Wildcats lessons were applied to the faster F6F Hellcat which shocked the Zero pilot when the Hellcat would out climb the Zero and not stall. I’ll join your Patreon this week.

@jerry5876 10 месяцев назад

Thach weave was just another tool. No tactic increased kill as " If A then B"

@johnypitman2368 4 года назад

Had the pleasure of knowing James (Jim) Elms Swett Ww2 corsair pilot, triple ace i believe. Medal Of Honor in south pacific

@crystalglass7106 3 года назад

He initially flew a f4f off of guadal canal. Went from 0 kills to an ace in one outing

@johnypitman2368 3 года назад

@@crystalglass7106 yes that is true. He had a signed by all litho of him and squadron in his livingroom . His cb handle was " bald eagle"

@Experten5 5 лет назад

Excellent analysis and video. It also supports the results that we've seen in our tabletop miniatures game, Kamikaze 1946. Glad to see that despite the simplifications required by any simulation, proper handling of the aircraft give historic results.

@jonmajarucon51 2 года назад

Well done!! Love this work!!! Thank you

@MAG3_Hiromachi 7 лет назад

I just got back from work, heard I'm famous. Saw the video. I like it a lot Bis ;)

@Cybermat47 7 лет назад

Hiromachi 篠原弘道 love your profile pic mate :D

@MAG3_Hiromachi 7 лет назад

I love boomerang :)

@somehecucunt3194 7 лет назад

Cybermat47 same!

@steelin666 7 лет назад

Great video. Not surprised Hiromachi had his hand in it, he's the best.

@realtruth4260 3 года назад

Most enjoyable video. Expert commentary with quotes for reference and brilliant graphics.

@noahj008 4 года назад

This video has been in my suggestion feed for two straight weeks!! Fine RU-vid ill watch it! God damn!

@joevignolor4u949 4 года назад

I realize it was only a movie, but in the film "The Final Countdown" it sure was fun watching those two F-14's splash those two Zeros.

@KuroHebi 3 года назад

That sounds like such an unfair fight.

@benn454 3 года назад

@@KuroHebi The Tomcats nearly stalled during the dogfight scene trying to fly slow enough to stay in frame with the "Zeroes" (actually Texans, I think). One of the pilots almost crashed.

@5000mahmud 3 года назад

@@benn454 same thing happened in korea, a north korean Po-2 biplane scored a manuver kill against a F9F by making the F9F stall out.

@rconger24 3 года назад

Abd, I wonder what it would have been like to see A10s take on the ME262s.

@joevignolor4u949 3 года назад

@@rconger24 Here is a hint. I once saw an A-10 in a practice dog fight against an F-4. Surprisingly the A-10 did pretty well. Whenever the Phantom got on the A-10's tail it would simply out turn it and the F-4 would fly right by it. And in our unit we had one A-10 that had shot down an F-15 during a practice dog fight. It had an small F-15 painted on its nose to give it credit for the kill. Although the A-10's primary mission is ground attack they still practice dog fighting so that if need be they can defend themselves.

@fredceely 5 лет назад

I've read so much about this topic that I passed on this video, until today. I figured that I would watch it eventually, so today was the day. It all meshed nicely with my reading. (It is likely that we have consulted many of the same sources.) You've done a great job of fitting the big picture into only one half of an hour. I salute you!

@bosatsu91 2 года назад

Really enjoyed this breakdown. Great job!

@kyuntotyopeshin6289 4 года назад

thank you very much friend for posting such an interesting video.

@broncosgjn 7 лет назад

Great video sir. The ultimate effectiveness of the wildcat confused the British. They beat wildcats in friendly dogfights of hurricanes vs Wildcats very handily and spitfires ate wildcats for breakfast. Brit pilots had two years of battle experience while US pilots were green. but Hurricanes were smashed by Zeros and early spitfires did poorly as well so the Brits were surprised at that. The answer I think is that they were used to fighting 109s which were an excellent energy (zoom and boom) fighter while the Brit fighters were superior turning fighters. Their effective turning fight tactics against 109s were exactly the tactics to get shot down by a Zero. Their experience was against them in this case. This shows the maxim know your enemy is so important. This my guess anyhow.

@fazole 7 лет назад

When and where did these duels take place. The "First Team" who flew the Wildcat from the start of US involvement in WW2 up until ajust after Guadalcanal campaign, were very experienced pilots mostly. Not green at all.

@broncosgjn 7 лет назад

Not green? except that RAF pilots had been fighting the Luftwaffe for 2 years and the US had been at peace. I can not recall the exact details. I read a lot of military history and I could find it again however I am sure you can google Wildcat vs Hurricane air combat testing just as well as I can. I don't need to I already read it once and it was in something that was serious. I don't take notice of or spread posters opinions only serious sources with bibliographies that can be checked. By the way the British operated the F4 off escort carriers and called it the Martlet. I would be shocked if they didn't test the aircraft against all known types before they acquired it wouldn't you? I do know the British got their first F4s shortly after the fall of France in 1940. The aircraft were ordered by France but were diverted to Britain when France fell to the Germans. On second thoughts maybe Martlet v Hurricane air combat testing might be a better search.

@fazole 7 лет назад

Green means pilots right out of training. So I still would not say the pilots were "green". I am aware of the Martlet. I think the British took it, because they had no choice. There simply was no other decent carrier fighter available. I use as my rferecnes, "The First Team" by Lundstrom, "Carrier Clash" by Hammel, Bruce Gamble's books on the pacific air war, and the Stackpole books on military history. I am also aware of Google, but I asked simply to narrow down the search. Finally, it isn't my intention to prove anything to anyone, merely to inform, and learn. So I will, thanks.

@broncosgjn 7 лет назад

Ok, my meaning of green is no combat experience. My point was that the combat experience the British had was against the 109 which was a very good fighter but an energy fighter. A zoom and boom fighter. It was a climb and dive specialist and the best at this game at the time. Hurricanes were great turning fighters and turned better than Spitfires. Spitfires turned better than 109 s. The Hurricane was clearly outclassed in climb and top speed by a 109. Spitfire not so much. However Hurricanes shot down a lot of 109 s, more than Spitfires in the Battle of Britain in fact , because German pilots got into turning dogfights with Hurricanes and often lost. A 109 should have used its superior speed acceleration climb and dive. But boys will be boys and even experienced German fighter pilots tried to dogfight with the wrong aircraft and lost. I think that is the reason Hurricanes did so poorly against Zeros. The aircraft was not that bad but the pilots were using the tactics that had worked against 109 s and it was worst thing you could do against a Zero. They had no prior experience with Zeros and Oscars and paid the price. US Navy pilots on the other hand although having no combat experience against other aircraft were informed by army pilots of the Zero and the Oscars performance envelope and they developed suitable tactics. The 109 and the Zero were opposite types of fighter. If both aircraft were 1942 models and the 109 pilot stuck to his dive zoom up tactic as taught by his instructors I believe the Zero would be looser in most engagements.

@fazole 7 лет назад

I don't know much about the British experience dogfighting the Japanese, so I can't comment on that. I can say that what the AVG (Flying Tigers) were learning while dogfighting the Japanese was not being transmitted to the USN. The AVG did not engage in any dogfights against the Japanese until after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. They were on the other end of the world and communication back then was slow. Also their leade, Claire Chennault was not well liked or respected by the USAAC, and had been forced out of that service in 1937 as just a major. From the combat reports I have read, the USN and USMC had to learn how to dogfight the Japanese on their own. It must also be noted, however, that the Japanese up until the advent of the AVG, had been fighting poorly trained Chinese pilots in old obsolete Russian aircraft. In short, they had a field day and had never faced an opponent of the quality of the USN and USMC pilots.

@MrBirdonawire 7 лет назад

Great video! Loved all the facts. Would you mind doing a comparison of the Corsair and the Zero? Thanks for the great insight!

@emmamerritt7133 5 лет назад

I'm new to this channel but so far I love you content informative and detailed great work

@matthewferro4449 3 года назад

Nice breakdown, thank you.

@Firespectrum122 7 лет назад

One of the best videos on the subject I've seen! Can't praise it highly enough. As to the question of an unfair fight, it seems much like the old Bf-109/Spitfire debate, where each of he planes have their own strengths and weaknesses and success comes from exploitation of both. A highly experienced F-4 pilot could beat a Zero with little experience, and vice versa. I would conclude that it isn't the machines that win the battles but the pilots and their skills! Thank you again for the superb vid.

@fazole 7 лет назад

The big difference is the USN fighter design philosophy of robustness over maneuverablity meant that a new pilot could make mistakes in combat and likely still get back home. A Zero pilot had almost 0 margin for error, a few hits and he was gone in a burst of flame.

@AudieHolland 7 лет назад

Nah, Spitfire and BF-109 were much more closely matched. BF-109s had superior diving and climbing speed, they could start fights and break off at will. Spitfire pilots could turn more closely but that was probably more due to BF-109 pilots fearing they would break the wings of their plane if they turned too tightly. Biggest disadvantage for the BF-109: it could only remain 15-20 minutes in British airspace before having to turn back to base. Many had to ditch in the Channel after spending too much fuel in dogfights with Spitfires. Biggest disadvantage for the Spitfire was it couldn't dive too steeply or else its carburator would seize up and its engine would sputter. As a workaround, Spitfire pilots first rolled upside down then 'pulled up' to dive down.

@paddy864 7 лет назад

And of course all of this depends on which mark of each aircraft you're talking about and at what period in the war. The carburettor problem with the Spit. was solved, or at least minimalised, pretty early on as I recall, with "Miss Shilling's Orifice"? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Shilling%27s_orifice

@bergasms 7 лет назад

US also had a very good policy of rotating pilots back into training, whereas Japanese pilots were often kept on the frontline until death. This meant arriving US airmen had heard a lot of tips and tricks about real combat, also they were given very thorough training in terms of hours.

@fazole 7 лет назад

Japan also made the huge mistake of actually increasing training time in 1942-43 AND not having training squadrons for new aviators. Once they finished initial training, the pilot was placed in a squadron no matter where that squadron was assigned. If the squadron was assigned to the home islands or maybe China, then the pilot had some time to apply what he learned, if the squadron was assigned to front line locations like Rabaul, then the pilot had to learn in the worst place possible-combat. So after investing even more time and treasure in producing aviators, Japan squandered them by putting them into the front line too soon.

@sargemarine3709 7 лет назад

I am a Marine who was in VMA 223 in the late 70's. your information is not bad at all, and matched up with the history as it was taught to me. I was a tron chaser on A-4's. One note, America was not at that time a war like nation and had to learn quick the ways of war. Peace,Sarge

@fazole 7 лет назад

I have often read and seen in documentaries, that the USN and USAF threw away dogfighting tactics leading up to and during part of the Vietnam War due to the belief in AA missles (particularly nuclear tipped ones which don't need to be too accurate). As far as I know only the F-8 jocks kept the ACM doctrine alive. IS this actually the case and were the old fighter tactics of WW2 re-adopted? Any idea if the individual ACM tactics from squadrons like VF-17 and VMF-214 were looked at and applied at the Fighter Weapons School? Thanks in advance.

@fuzzydunlop7928 6 лет назад

Well, diplomatic isolationism. They sure as hell weren't economically isolationist. No use having all that industry without engaging in mucho international trade to fully utilize its potential. Isolationism was more like a mindset then a concrete policy. It was a "get out of dealing with bullshit free" card.

@belowaverage11bvet25 6 лет назад

+Sarge Marine See WW1 and the Civil War when saying in 1941 we weren't war like.

@jayeisenhardt1337 6 лет назад

That's exactly he reason why. After WW1 everyone was not warlike and wanted nothing to do with Germany. "Rich mans war, poor mans fight" even back in the civil war days for both sides. Let Europe kill itself, and not sending help to the almost starving British was almost in the cards to just letting the war end. Lucky huh?

@jimd1944 6 лет назад

BelowAverage 11BVet: Prior to our entry into WWI, the US was indeed isolationist (militarily) and, even after the sinking of the lusitania (It actually was a legitimate target carrying munitions), If war like at that time, wouldn't we have better prepared our armed forces rther than always disarm after each war (civil War and Spanish American War)? . Pres. Wilson promised not to "send our boys overseas" In fact, that was basically his reelection campaign promise. When we did declare war our military was woefully under equipped and manned. After sending troops under pershing, the Allies had to supply, and train, us with artillery, tanks, machine guns and aircraft. After WWI the military was again reduced to minimum and, an isolationist policy ensued for the next two decades. Many people try to mention ... but your NAVY....! yes, that is the ONLY service authorized to be maintained by the constitution due to the necessity of protecting rights of sea. and, it only reached parity with England, France, Japan and germany in the 1900's.

@michaelhatch6418 4 года назад

Excellent video! More please.

@wallybrown9509 5 лет назад

This is what makes the History Channel AWESOME

@Fenixs11 7 лет назад

boom'n'zoom vs turn'n'burn

@LyleFrancisDelp 3 года назад

Even the "clumsy" Wildcat had a kill ratio of about 4:1 against the Zero. Zero was so agile because it lacked armor. Once the Corsair and the Hellcat entered the fray, the Zero was hopelessly outmatched. Of course, by that time, most of their experience pilots were dead. The Wildcat, Lightning, Warhawk, and Tomahawk all had great success against the Zero, due to superior pilot tactics.

@christopherfischer6998 3 года назад

It was actually 6.9:1

@atarijaguarsgarage8873 2 года назад

Not in 1942.

@michaeltelson9798 2 года назад

Add to the fact mentioned in the article that the Japanese had lost most of their seasoned pilots after the Guadalcanal/Coral Sea battles. The new green pilots had less than 6 months training while ours were getting up to 2 years worth.

@rElliot09 2 года назад

In 1942, the F4F shot down an actual 129 Zero's vs 111 losses to Zero. Its kill ratio was 1.1 to 1.

@rElliot09 2 года назад

@@christopherfischer6998 No it was not, that was its overall kill ratio against medium bombers, torpedo planes, dive bombers and fighters and in reality, it was lower than that.

@raysmith7543 3 года назад

Great video! Your research and presentation are spot on.

@extremelycareless2541 4 года назад

I enjoyed the video. Thank you.

@theswordguy5269 4 года назад

The F4F could actually outturn the Zero in a high speed dive, turning to the left, opposite the Zero's prop direction. This "trick" was learned in China, and by the time of Coral Sea US Navy pilots were generally aware of it. Used properly, assuming it had the altitude advantage and not trying to turn with the Zero at low speeds and low altitudes, the F4F could more than hold its own with the Zero. Toss in armor and a much better gunsight, and the odds start to equal. Also, virtually all Zeros didn't carry armor, let alone a radio in an attempt to lessen weight so communications were always going to be problematic. As Coach Bauer said to the Marines at Guadalcanal, the Japanese plane was faster, could climb higher and was more maneuverable. "Other than that, you've got the better airplane."

@leeham6230 Год назад

The zero wasn't faster, it just accelerated faster. The top speed of the American planes was always higher, but their early tactics didn't match their planes.

@jerry5876 3 месяца назад

Coach Bauer was coping hard

@Charsept 4 года назад

7:34 The "x" is not read as "times" but rather as "by". For example: "The AK fires the seven six two by thirty nine cartridge."

@johnrettig1880 3 года назад

There's two things that are important . Close to the end or even earlier the central line drop tank was carved out of wood on the Zero " Zeke " . A modified version of the F4 F - M had a " Dirty Trick " just waiting for a Zero to jump an " Under powered F4 F . The "Dirty Trick " was the F4 F- M had the more powerful engine from the F6 F " under the hood " as we Americans like to say . That on more than one occasion surprised the Zero Pilots . The younger and less trained and experienced Pilots would see what they thought was the " Older " F4 - F for an easy kill only to have the F4 - F -M's pull away and then wind up with the Zero the one being shot down .

@theRealtensigh 3 года назад

Great video! Very clear and interesting, thanks!

@davidwinslager6266 5 лет назад

Great video! The Thatch Weave was developed in 1942

@progx8679 6 лет назад

I would much rather be in a Wildcat, use it's strengths, don't fight the Zero's fight and come home alive, that is well proven !!!

@ohger1 5 лет назад

Exactly. If you fight the Zeke at low speed (it's strength), you'll lose. The A6M was a terrible plane above 300mph. Keep your speed up and it's a better than even fight. Don't fight to the A6M strength.

@jesspayne5548 4 года назад

John-Del well it isn’t designed to go much faster than 300mph

@101jir 3 года назад

I'd rather be in a Wildcat because I would be fighting on the side of the US. Much better for a number of reasons, not least of which is their comparative boot camps.

@benn454 3 года назад

@@jesspayne5548 Neither was the Wildcat, but it had hydraulic-assisted controls, and was just as easy to fly at top speed as it was at cruising speed.

@jesspayne5548 3 года назад

@@101jir the early war Japanese pilots were actually really well trained and experienced and had more hours in their planes than the US ones

@FranktheDachshund 3 года назад

Glad to find this excellent channel.

@ausdoug974 4 года назад

excellent video. I really enjoyed it

@rotorheadv8 5 лет назад

The Zero was a great fighter until it found itself in front of the 6 M2 .50 Brownings firing armor piercing incendiary rounds.

@terrywbreedlove 2 года назад

Or the Eight 50 Caliber guns on the Thunderbolt

@Nachtsider 2 года назад

Actually the Zero didn't even hold up against .30 calibre fire from Spitfires and Hurricanes. The April 1942 Ceylon battles between Kido Butai and the RAF had Zeros 'disintegrating' upon being hit.

@jerry5876 3 месяца назад

The wildcat was strong until it took a couple 20mm HE/I

@bakters 7 лет назад

So, in summary: 1. The Zeke was not as slow as people tend to believe. 2. It was not as bad in a dive as people tend to believe. 3. It didn't stiffen up at usual combat speeds much at all. 4. Not even as fragile as commonly stated, when we compare claims to actual losses. And you managed to say it all without making anyone particularly angry... What can I say? Your best work so far doesn't exactly convey the feeling of genuine appreciation. Really good stuff, that. I only wish you'll outdo it quickly and often. :-)

@Nikarus2370 7 лет назад

3. Actually they do point out that it stiffens up above 300mph. ~16:00 And that wildcats were to exploit the plane's limitations at high speed to gain an edge. This is corroborated by pilot reports in various aircraft. Interestingly, Hiromachi (who helped Bis with this video) brought up a while back in the War Thunder forums information about the controls of the Zero. The plane in early development was found to be far too touchy at higher speeds, so the controls were made a bit "flexible". At higher speeds, control lines would stretch, and even though one was pulling back on the stick the same distance, the plane wouldn't be maneuvering so hard. Course this causes a problem, if you really NEED to do a roll at high speed or a hard turn, you can't because the control lines are stretched, and you can't move the stick farther to apply more control input. If I can find the actual post I'll link it to you, was a very interesting read.

@bakters 7 лет назад

+Nika Rus - Oh, Hiromachi was helping? That explains a bit. This guy knows a lot, especially about Japanese planes. Anyway, I probably have seen the report you are quoting, and a few others. The Zeke stiffened up at higher speeds, but all planes of the era behaved the same. Was it particularly bad? Significantly worse than others? From what I have read, not really. Regarding stretching control cables - it may be counterintuitive, but it actually should lessen the force required to move the control surface the same degree when compared to the same plane with cables that didn't stretch at all. It works like a lever. Big movement of the stick translates into a small movement of the control surface, which multiplies the force *and* prevents the pilot from overstretching the airframe. So it was a conscious engineering choice, with advantages and disadvantages, not an easily exploitable flaw as often portrayed.

@Nikarus2370 7 лет назад

>Big movement of the stick translates into a small movement of the control surface This is true of a stretchy control system, but you run into 2 problems. 1 You can only move the stick so far. And 2. >which multiplies the force Makes absolutely 0 sense. None of the levers involved in the controls have lengthened or shortened, so you're not getting a force multiplication there. The plane hasn't suddenly gained a new pulley system as part of it's controls. Geometry of any bell cranks involved haven't changed. So... where is the force multiplication coming from? Moving the stick twice as far? If I have 2 equal weights, 1 that I'm holding up with a 1m long rope, the other is a 1m long spring. I pick them both up until the weights are off the ground, the spring one has stretched to 2m. Does it suddenly require half the force to lift or something? Also plenty of pilot reports emphasize outmaneuvering zeros in high speed maneuvers due to the plane's limitations at high speeds. So clearly it was an exploitable flaw, one that only got worse as US aircraft became faster.

@bakters 7 лет назад

+Nika Rus - "Makes absolutely 0 sense." - You are right. I made a mistake here. I forgot that the energy required to stretch a spring is converted to heat. My bad. Though, regarding "plenty of pilot reports emphasize outmaneuvering zeros in high speed maneuvers" I stick to my guns. I read quite a lot and quotes like "*Never* dogfight a Zero!", "If you dive on a Zero, keep on diving!", "If you see 1 Zero, run! You are being outnumbered!" stuck to my mind. I even remember one report made by RAF or RAAF (whatever), where they actually managed to "outmaneuver" a Zero in a diving spiral. You know how? By pulling more Gs, because they used an early G-suit. The Zero pilot blacked out earlier. He wasn't provided with a suit. Outmaneuvering a Zero was never *easy*. It if was even possible at all... (assuming a decent pilot, of course).

@fazole 7 лет назад

You have to remember those quotes were for new fighter pilots. I read "The Jolly Rogers" and the "Black Sheep" biographies and experienced pilots did dogfight with Zeroes in Corsairs, BUT only on their terms. This means high speed runs, yo-yo's and exploiting the Zeroes weaknesses. The Black Sheep and The Jolly Rogers arrived in the Solomons in later 1943, so by that time, the about half the Japanese pilots in theater were inexperienced.

@mikehinkle1505 5 лет назад

Very good! Enjoyed this video - informative!

@PaulSmith-pl7fo 3 года назад

Excellent video - so informative.

@xtar7786 7 лет назад

This vídeo is amazing Bis. The quality of the content and the perfect commentary made it an awesome video. Love it!!

@MilitaryAviationHistory 7 лет назад

Danke :)

@adamsmith3413 3 года назад

The Zero reflected the emphasis on the offensive phase of aerial combat and it had exceptional range.

@Slavov_Ukraini Год назад

But was as fragile as an Easter egg .

@michaelcuff5780 5 лет назад

Very informative. Thank you.

@karlhans6678 5 лет назад

First I watch one of your videos, I loved it! Subscribed.

@fazole 7 лет назад

Very good evaluation of the A6M Zero! You did a very good job describing the shortcomings of the armament. I would add the nose guns were also said to have produced a lot of smoke in the cockpit when firing. Also, the lack of radios in the Zero, severely limited the pilots ability to coordinate attacks and defense. In the book "The First Team", the actual combat radius of the F4F as listed as only 200 miles! This is what must be considered in evaluating range. Official numbers are, I believe, exaggerated. There is also the difference between patrol range and combat range. The Zero was designed as both a patrol plane and a fighter. At very low power settings it was designed to reach the very long ranges you stated, however, in combat, the frequent power changes and high power settings would reduce that range considerably. Even with drop tanks, the Zero could not fly roundtrip from Rabaul to Guadalcanal--a distance of about 1200 miles. They could barely return it to the Shortland Islands, south of Bougainville.

@carbon1255 6 лет назад

uhhhhhhhhhh Are you serious? Range is simple point to point. Rabul to Guagalcanal is 666 miles. Radius of action is one-third the distance an aircraft can fly in a straight line on a full load of fuel - so in a F4F would be 276 miles. Perfectly accurate for an 800 mile range aircraft. This puts the Zero at a combat range of 643 miles. is 643 greater or less than 666, Fazole? I really do have a problem with your level of ignorance though... Of course zeros had radios. Jesus Christ, at least SEE a zero first before talking about them.

@101jir 7 лет назад

A6M2 and F4F both had their areas where they shined IRL, but in most videogames the F4F can't make use of its ceiling altitude, and the A6M2 wrecks it. IRL, enough battles were fought at high altitude (but not as many as some would make it out to be, after all torpedo bombers and attackers need to be considered as well) that the F4F had its usefulness. Also, in games like War Thunder the Thach Weave isn't going to help a solo queue player. If you fly too close together, you can't turn into each other properly. Too far apart, and the Zero can finish off the target before they come in range (if the Zero pilot is a good shot). Also, a snap roll can allow a Zero to persist in their attack on the same target, if done well.