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Info Eduard - September 2010
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the Zeke in the hands of a capable Japanese pilot,
had a denite advantage. The Japanese ghter pilots
were aware of this fact and did not consider the Airacobra
in the same league. The skies over New Guinea were not
much safer even in 1944, when the Japanese air forces
presented no great danger. Between January and August,
the 71st TRG
3
lost a minimum of nine Airacobras over the
space held by the enemy.
The Reisen, aka Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M, better known as the ‘Zero’ and ‘Zeke’,
are known to even those that have little or no interest in the
events that dened the far east and southwest Pacic wars.
During the service career of these aircraft, they were called
the ‘Reisen’, which is short for Rei Shiki Kanjo Sentoki,
or Carrier Based Fighter Aircraft Type 0. Airacobras had
the opportunity to go into combat against three versions
of the Reisen - A6M2 Model 21, A6M3 Model 22 and the
A6M3 Model 32.
The most interesting of these was the A6M3 Model 32.
It decended directly from the A6M2 Model 21, and differed
in the installation of the more powerful Sakae 21, and
a redesigned wing with a wingspan shortened by 1.0m
(3 ft).These changes were intended to improve certain
characteristics, notably speed at
medium altitudes. This did happen,
as the speed increased
to 545 km/hr at 6,000m,
as opposed to 533km/hr at 4,550m.
There were some penalties to pay,
such as turn rate which the Japanese
pilots preferred, and range, which
put Guadalcanal at the limit of the
Model 32’s reach, but did allow
it to take part in important operations
over the island. At the end of 1942,
the designers returned to the
original span, a better turn rate, and
greater fuel carriage, bringing on
the A6M3 Model 22. The armament
remained the same, consisting
of two 7.7mm machine guns in the
fuselage, and two 20mm cannon
HISTORY
At the beginning of 1943, Japanese Army Air Force aircraft began to appear over New Guinea with the aim of supporting their naval
colleagues. The squadrons were equipped with limited numbers of the Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (Swallow), and predominantly the Nakajima
Ki-43 Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon). The photo shows a Ki-43-II Otsu of the 248th Sentai, the wreckage of which is being examined
by American soldiers at Aitape. This entity joined in the ghting over New Guinea in November, 1943, and in July, 1944 was, for reasons
of fatal losses of men and equipment, disbanded.
American intelligence had a eld day at Buna. There were at least thirteen Reisens on the ramp in various states of disrepair. Two of them
were passed on to a second opinion in Australia. Aircraft „Q-102“ was inspected right on the premises at Buna. The photo shows the Sakai
21 engine that has clearly seen better days, and the oil tank is visible on the fuselage bulkhead.