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Introduction
Engine Performance
Firepower
Maneuverability
Flying the A6M2
Fighting the A6M2
Summary
Engine/Range Info
Fuel Tankage: 35 gallons
1/4
71 gallons 1/2
106 gallons 3/4
141 gallons full
220 gallons DT
Engine Settings:
Military: 2500rpm/39.8mp
181 gall/hr
Normal:
2500rpm/35.8mp 158gall/hr
Max Cruise: 2200rpm/31.9mp 122 gall/hr
Calculated Durations (Internal Fuel
Only, 2x burn):
Military: 47 mins
Normal: 54
mins
Max Cruise: 69 mins
-Soda
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Introduction:
The early war Zero, the A6M2, was designed to dominate in a
tight, turning, style fight, so tradeoffs were made to make the
aircraft as light as possible with a good wing-area. The produced a
very agile aircraft that can dominate at low to medium speed turning
fights, but as with many early war designs, it didn’t take into account
some of the very early lessons from WW2. Possessing outstanding maneuverability, the AH A6M2
has capable firepower, but suffers from a low speed, poor armour
protection, and is mostly outclassed by comparable aircraft. With a good pilot at the helm,
it can actually be fairly dangerous and a bit of surprise, but smart
opponents can exploit the A6M2 and beat it fairly easily.
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Engine Performance:
As with most of the early war aircraft, the A6M2 can’t really
compare to the later war models in terms of engine performance. Sea-level top speed is only
269mph which adds up to long transit times and little chance to out-run
opponents. Speed increases
by about 3 mph/1K of altitude gain, which doesn’t help a lot, but
against era aircraft it isn’t too bad though I wouldn’t waste a lot of
time climbing to find a sweet spot in speed. Realistically, 20K should be the ultimate ceiling as
even over 15K you will start to see performance start to drop off. Climb rate is actually good,
really the result of a very light aircraft and large wing-area,
starting at about 3,300ft/min at sea level and dropping by about
300ft/min per 5K of altitude gain. Fuel duration is excellent, a shame given the slow
transit speeds which can make for long transits between fields, but
even at military power you have around 47 minutes of flight time. That can extend to over an hour
at low power settings.
More typical, an internal fuel load of 50%, with a drop tank
attached for the outbound leg, is more common and about the maximum you
could ever need. Fuel burn
rate remains constant up through 15K, then drops off by 30 gal/hr by
20K, in line with engine performance, so as you can see, excessive
climbing is not really an advantage for performance reasons. Drop tank carriage is unusual,
it adds 79 gallons, equivalent to more than 50% internal, but you’ll be
out of ammo longer before you are out of fuel so unless you are glutton
for punishment of flying around for hours I wouldn’t bother.
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Firepower:
Very good for an early war aircraft, the pair of wing-mounted
20mm Type 99 cannons is better than most aircraft of the era. The issue is more that the low
ammo load (60 rpg) and poor ballistics. That’s only 7 seconds firing time and for anyone
used to hispanos, or other later war cannons, the ballistics of the
Type 99 are very poor.
It’s essential to get very close and take quick, point-blank,
type shots. If done
properly, the cannons can get the job done and might last 2-3 enemy
aircraft, but most people fire away everything with nary a hit. Also included are a pair of
cowl mounted 7.7mm Type 97 machine guns with a whopping 680rpg. This is an insane 45 seconds of
firing time, great for ranging or to spook a target, but fairly
ineffective unless you can get a steady shot and hold it for a few
seconds, or maybe more. I’d suggest that once the cannons are empty
that the fight is considered mostly over and it’s time to head
home. I’ve even seen
people unload vast quantities of 7.7mm ammo while just sitting on the
ground to lighten up even further before a fight. I don’t know that I find it
that useful to do so, the total 7.7mm ammo load is only 90lbs but I
guess it can’t hurt. The
only external option is for a pair of 50kg (110lb) wing mounted bombs,
token at best, and rarely carried.
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Maneuverability:
Outstanding, the A6M2 is probably the leading turner in the game
at low speeds. A
combination of light weight and large wing-area makes for an excellent
turn-rate and radius. This
is one of the most dangerous knife fighters in the game. The Hurricane I may be close in
performance but I think the A6M2 simply feels so stable and at-home in
thses sorts of fights.
With internal fuel and ammo, the A6M2 weighs in at only 4919lbs
at 25% internal fuel, 5131lbs at 50%, and 5555lbs at 100% (which isn’t
really necessary given how far it goes on 50%).. Roll rate is fair and
holds up well at lower speeds where other notable rollers tend to start
to suffer. I wouldn’t
worry too much about roll at the speeds the A6M2 tends to fly. Dive
performance is good, something that the later Zero doesn’t demonstrate
and seems counter to what some people think. Dives to 350mph IAS are not a problem but issues
begin to appear such that by 410mph IAS. Real trouble starts around 500mph IAS when you’ll
start to shed aircraft parts.
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Flying the A6M2
The A6M2 is most often used for short-range defense, especially
where you think you might be cause at low level without time to climb
or build much speed. It’s sometimes used on longer missions but given
the low ammo load it runs out of ammo so quickly that most of your time
will be in transit where faster aircraft would be more suitable. 25% internal fuel is most
common as that gives enough for a one-way trip to almost anywhere.
Offensively, the A6M2 will be challenged against anything but an
equal, early war, opponent.
You have to remember that you will likely be at a disadvantage
in most aspect, be it acceleration, speed or less measurable factors
such as toughness (the A6M2 doesn’t seem all that “tough”). You will have a turn-radius and
rate advantage at lower speeds (almost bordering on very low). They key tends to be to have a
bit of altitude advantage to use to apply pressure to keep opponents
around (i.e. don’t let them run away) when you slow the fight now to
maximize your turn-rate disparity. The other tactic is to come in as a clean-up person,
finding enemies who are low on energy after an engagement to pick
on. If you can get in
close and keep up pressure on an opponent, the A6M2 can knock out even
the best enemy fighters.
Extended turn-fights, or defensive maneuvers from the enemies
perspective, suit the A6M2 well but of course also make you fairly
vulnerable. Once in close,
use your superior turn-radius to close in lead-turns and the effective firepower,
at least at short range, to deliver the knock-out blow. Pick your fights carefully, you
are likely to end up committed to fights to the death as you don’t have
the exit speed you might need to disengage easily. Pick small groups of enemy
fighters, 1-2, that you can engage and knock out one quickly, then work
on the other. More than
that and a smart enemy will break off one fighter to come back with
speed/energy and put you on the defensive.
Defensively, the A6M2 can’t run so you can expect to usually
have to stay and fight.
Climb rate and acceleration aren’t that bad but your top-end
speed is so low that what’s “high end” acceleration to a A6M2 is only
mid-speed to most. Don’t
even attempt to run and diving escapes are not really that good either,
you’re typically better just to stay and fight. Use the A6M2’s excellent
turn-rate and radius as your primary defense, making quick turns to
either side, in darting and somewhat random acts. Don’t use the same
break-turn lest the enemy predict your path, vary up the direction and
those in some change in altitude just to complicate the shot-solution
should the enemy try for a snap-shot. The A6M2 isn’t very strong so be
careful of taking even light hits, medium fire in the .50 cal range
will be bad and cannon hits are really bad news. Pick your place to fight, close
to the friendly edge of the fight, so that you can get some help. A6M2’s do tend to attract
attention and are sometimes used as bait, which can be an advantage
because you’ll also tend to slow enemy aircraft down which tends to
attract friendly help (who want to knock out the guys chasing
you). Your key advantage
is going to be in turn-rate and general handling at low speeds. Enemy aircraft packing speed
tend to overshoot or have difficulty pulling enough lead angle to land
hits, especially where they find themselves at high closing rates. You can also tend to sucker
trailing enemies into very tight turns, far tighter than they should,
where the bleed incredible amounts of speed/energy. The other surprise tends to
come from how quickly the A6M2 can reverse, swinging the nose around to
cause a Head-On (HO) situation. HO’s are not an A6M2 strength but they
can cause the enemy to react to your advantage (I wouldn’t press a HO
attack in a A6M2). Use darting and random maneuvers to avoid the enemy
and slowly lure him in close and slow where your superiority in turn is
likely to pay quick dividends.
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Fighting the A6M2
Don’t get kill fever when you see an A6M2 and treat it a little
cautiously until you get a good feel for your situation and the quality
of the enemy pilot. Some
A6M2 are used as bait to attract attention so you don’t want to get
caught in that trap and find what looks like an easy situation turn
into one that is out of your control.
When attacking an A6M2, expect it to use a lot of turns and
slow-speed maneuvers, reversing on you much faster than you may
expect. The A6M2 can
require a bit of an adjustment if you are used to dealing with faster,
less maneuverable aircraft mostly, so your first couple of attacks may
not be successful as you adjust.
Be patient, unless the A6M2 is hiding a lot of energy, you
should be able to use a superior starting position to stay out of harm
while you execute multiple attacks. Don’t get suckered into a
turn-fight or slow down too much, the A6M2 can make you regret that
quickly. Keep the pressure
on as best you can without being over-aggressive, you want to force the
A6M2 to keep turning and slow, that’s when it presents the easiest
target. Be careful of the
quick vertical performance of the A6M2, looping style fights are no
problem for an A6M2, as well as zoom-climbs to extreme low speeds. You don’t want to get caught
thinking you can out-zoom an A6M2 only to find it climbing right behind
you. Take any shot you
can, the A6M2 is not well protected and tends to take damage
easily. Be aware of the
“Burning-Zero” as if you see one on fire then can continue for some
time before exploding, longer than many other aircraft it seems. Draw less lead on the A6M2 than
you might on other aircraft and if presented with a HO, take the shot
at longer range and break off before you get too close to exploit the
weakness in the cannon ballistics.
If attacked by an A6M2, typically it will be from above or
co-alt, sometimes while or just after a fight. The A6M2 will frequently use
your vulnerability during a fight to jump in and pick you off while you
are slow. Don’t try and
initially gain angles, evaluate your energy situation and see if you
can build up a bit of separation.
Diving maneuvers can be very useful if you have altitude,
split-S type maneuvers can gain you speed and exploit some of the
marginal high-speed performance if the A6M2. If you dive, make sure you actually get quick, over
~380mph IAS, because the A6M2 can tolerate more speed than the A6M5
without to many ill effects.
Even using yo-yo’s to try and gain angles probably isn’t going
to get you into a position with enough lead though if you can lag-turn
to preserve energy you can sometimes build a snapshot after the A6M2
slows down. Be careful of
the inside reversal, where the A6M2 turns such a tight radius it can
actually reverse and still be inside you. Watch for the cannons, they are
about all that can really hurt you in an immediate sense, the 7.7mm’s
rarely cause quick damage so unless you see the wing guns (cannons)
firing, don’t worry too much about the cowl guns. If you can build up some
separation then you are probably out of immediate trouble and can start
to turn the fight to your advantage.
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Summary
The A6M2 used to be very out-matched but in an early-war arena
should be able to cause a bit of havoc. By getting in close and getting the fight slow, the
A6M2 typically can build a favorable fighting situation and win some
fights. Be careful though,
people tend to lick their chops when they see an A6M2 and get
stupid. You never want to
find yourself low and slow with a A6M2, even if it’s almost directly in
front of you, because it’s hard to pull lead on something with such a
small turn-radius. Before
you get 2-3 circles into the fight, the A6M2 will be right behind you.
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