Mitsubishi A6M Zero

The Mitsubishi A6M dominated the skies over the Pacific in the early years of World War II.  Called the Type O or Zero-sen by the Japanese and 'Zeke' by the Allies, the A6M was designed to meet a Imperial Japanese Navy requirement for a replacement for the Mitsubishi A5M.

The prototype first flew in 1939.  Zero fighters guaranteed air superiority for the Japanese at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.  By 1943 Allied fighters had gained supremacy.