page_title: Mitsubishi A6M Zero
section_title: Surviving aircraft
hierarchical_section_title: Mitsubishi A6M Zero / Surviving aircraft
caption_attribution_description: A Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero in the Air Power Gallery at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Dayton, Ohio (USA).
context_page_description: The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the Mitsubishi Navy Type 0 carrier fighter, or the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen. The A6M was usually referred to by its pilots as the Reisen, "0" being the last digit of the imperial year 2600 when it entered service with the Imperial Navy. The official Allied reporting name was "Zeke", although the name "Zero" was used colloquially by the Allies as well.
  The Zero is considered to have been the most capable carrier-based fighter in the world when it was introduced early in World War II, combining excellent maneuverability and very long range. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service also frequently used it as a land-based fighter.
  In early combat operations, the Zero gained a reputation as a dogfighter, achieving an outstanding kill ratio of 12 to 1, but by mid-1942 a combination of new tactics and the introduction of better equipment enabled Allied pilots to engage the Zero on generally equal terms.
context_section_description: Like many surviving World War II Japanese aircraft, most surviving Zeros are made up of parts from multiple airframes. As a result, some are referred to by conflicting manufacturer serial numbers. In other cases, such as those recovered after decades in a wrecked condition, they have been reconstructed to the point that the majority of their structure is made up of modern parts. All of this means the identities of survivors can be difficult to confirm.
  Most flying Zeros have had their engines replaced with similar American units. Only one, the Planes of Fame Museum's A6M5, has the original Sakae engine.
  The rarity of flyable Zeros accounts for the use of single-seat North American T-6 Texans, with heavily modified fuselages and painted in Japanese markings, as substitutes for Zeros in the films Tora! Tora! Tora!, The Final Countdown, and many other television and film depictions of the aircraft, such as Baa Baa Black Sheep (renamed Black Sheep Squadron). One Model 52 was used during the production of Pearl Harbor.
caption: An A6M at the National Museum of the USAF, painted to represent a section leader’s aircraft from the Japanese aircraft carrier Zuihō during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.[97]
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