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- #81
I am not well versed in regards to the PTO, but it looks to me that the Zero was more or less the only capable fighter aircraft the Japanese had. As such the scores obtained by Zero pilots wouldn't come as a surprise. After the Zero they had nothing in the pipeline that could match any contemporary Allied aircraft.
BTW; what does Zero stand for - or why did the US/UK call it as such?
The dot like the star on the US birds. The Dot was a zero so that was what it was nicknamed early on.
And it wasn't the only capable fighter. The Kate KI-27 was just as good. The Zero A6M was Navy while the Kate was Army. Both were construct very similar.
N1K2-J First introduce late 1942. Had this been introduced earlier, the Carrier Wars would have been a disaster for the US. This thing smoked both the F6F and the F4U and even would fight the P-51 toe to toe and win in an attrition fight. It got the bullet proofed glass, armor around the pilot, self sealing tanks and more. And a top speed of over 400 mph. Had they been introduced just months before.........