Mitsubishi A6M Zero — 2 museum-grade prints, engineered to a wall. The Mitsubishi A6M Zero defined Japanese carrier aviation from 1940 through the mid-Pacific campaign, combining extreme range and agility in an airframe that shocked Allied pilots who initially dismissed Japanese fighter design. The A6M5 Model 52 represented the final major production refinement before dedicated interceptors and late-war jet projects diverted factory capacity. The Mitsubishi A6M Zero — known in Japanese service as the Reisen — entered combat in 1940 and became the Imperial Japanese Navy's signature carrier fighter, prized for extraordinary range and agility in the war's opening years. Allied pilots initially underestimated its turning performance until improved tactics, rugged airframes, and greater firepower shifted the balance in campaigns from the Coral Sea and Midway through the Solomons and beyond.