#699-702 Terror of The Zero

 Fun Fact Week: Terror Of the Zero

Fun Fact #699

Terror of the Zero

In November 1941, The Japanese were concentrating their 2nd and 3rd fleets and roughly 1/3rd of their Submarines nearby Manila. To all it appeared that the dreaded war which had been on the horizon with Japan since the 1937 sinking of the USS Panay was about to begin. So it was no big surprise when US intelligence lost track of 4 Japanese Carriers on the night of November 27th. Possible locations they could head to were considered –including The Naval Station of Pearl Harbor– with the projected arrival there (if that was their destination) being projected for December 10th. However it seemed far more likely the carriers would join the already gathered force. 

What they could not account for at the time, was the range of the Japanese Zero. You see when looking back upon the Aircraft of World War 2 the planes that most commonly come to mind are the Giants of history such as The Supermarine Spitfire (UK), The Messserschmitt (DE), or even bombers like the B-17 Flying Fortress (US). Yet The Zero should not be discounted, as while its design would be overcome by superior tactics and engineering by the war’s end, on the morning of December 7th 1941 The Japanese Zero was the most capable carrier based Aircraft in operation. For instance their Light wings and weight allowed them to exceed 332mph (Straight line flight) while sitting on the longest combat range of any aircraft (at the time) with a 600 mile combat radius (1900 mile range). This allowed them to attack Pearl Harbor 3 days ahead of what was thought possible. Worse yet defending planes quickly learned that the Zero had one of the tightest turning radiuses of any plane, while its speed could allow them to catch up to fleeing planes rendering traditional digfights or even retreat near suicide. Despite this Several US Airmen did survive this initial combat and the invasion of the Philippines on December 8th, and so began the legend of the “Invincible” Japanese Zero.

(PS: Just a sneak peak, This Week’s Theme is “Terror of The Zero” and will explore how the US Learned to combat  and engineered around them. It's really cool so I hope you enjoy it. Thanks!)

Fun Fact #700

Never Divide by Zeros

Unbeknownst to the Allies prior to 1941, the tactics given to pilots to counter European planes (approaching from below, staying within 130-180 mph, and doing tight turns to escape) were the exact kind of tactics the Zero was designed to combat, giving it a kill rate of 12:1 on Allied fighters. Thus the hunt for any information on the planes arose with the smoke from Pearl Harbor.

The first real answer to the Zero was devised by The American Volunteer Group: Flying Tigers over in China. They devised a tactic where pilots –alerted by forward ground based observers– would fly high in the air, then divebomb Zeros from above before climbing back up to an altitude inaccessible to Zeros. Dubbed “The Boom and Zoom” it quickly improved survival rates within allied territory. But failed to be effective in places without observers who could alert Allies to get in the air beforehand, and worse if a plane failed to rise back above the Zero’s flight ceiling then they’d often be shot down.

Thus to go on the attack a different tactic had to be invented by John S. Thach. At the time, Japanese Pilots were taught to operate as individuals as soon as they entered combat then reform upon leaving. This made for a hectic massive cloud where tracking formations of the fast zeros became almost impossible leading to many reports of Zero Formations holding “endless numbers”. Thach’s plan was to put an end to Individual combat and instead had Wingmen fly 200 ft apart as often as possible. If an enemy latched onto the rear of a plane the two wingmen would turn to intercept each other exposing the “Bait’s Zero” to the “Hook”  who would shoot down the enemy. Due to its simplicity it was quick to implement even among rookie pilots and proved highly effective (“When encountering Zeros, never divide your formation”). Better yet, by having wingmen fly alongside each other like this it allowed wingmen to mark down locations where their fellow airmen were shot down, drastically increasing the successful recovery of fallen pilots. The Thatch weave would prove Pivotal at its first major Battle (Midway) and is still so effective that it is still taught to this day in countries all over the world. 

Fun Fact #701

The Undead Wing.

While the US Airmen in World War 2 had their nightmares haunted by Zeros, The Japanese faced a different terror held by the Americans. You see at the time, Japanese Air doctrine favored combat readiness over training, resulting in numerous tradeoffs sacrificing pilot survivability for combat effectiveness. The Zeros had no armor protection for the Pilot, no self sealing tanks to prevent Fires from leaking fuel, and their wings were held by a single set of wing spars. The worst offender however was the material the planes were made from: Extra Super Duralumin (AA7075). This was lighter, stronger, and more ductile than other Aluminum Alloys at the time, but was discovered later to be highly susceptible to corrosion turning it brittle. In order to survive combat it was trained for Pilots to break from their Wings (large formation of Military Aircraft) and fly as individuals so they could maneuver as needed. This was further worsened by the fact that Veteran Pilots would rarely discuss their tactics outside of reports, meaning that many of Japan’s best tactics died with their pilots before anyone else could learn them.

Meanwhile the Americans flew in planes that just refused to die. There are countless reports from the Japanese of planes they had filled with upwards of 600 rounds, only for the planes to keep attacking with parts of their wings and fuselage trailing behind them. Worse yet, the pilots as a whole seemed to improve after every battle, which they later learned was due to the US military pulling successful pilots back to The US in order to train the next class of Airmen. Even in the cases where they successfully shot down US airplanes, many pilots were safely recovered and given new planes to reenter combat. Resulting in many cases where American Pilots and commanders reappeared in intelligence briefings after the Japanese had declared them dead (this was particularly common with members of AVG Flying Tigers whose average pilot was shot down 3 times over the course of WW2). Leading to the Japanese nicknaming The American Airforce as “The Undead Airmen”.

Fun Fact #702

Catch Lightning in a bottle.

In 1937, after the “accidental” sinking of the US Panay the US recognized the need for a faster Fighter able to do a wide array of missions. The man in charge of the project (1st Lt. Benjamin Kelsley) wanted the fighter to have double the payload of a light bomber, yet a faster top speed than a pursuit craft, and a better turning radius (for dogfighting) than the fighters of the day. Suffice it to say this “Fever Dream” of a contract wouldn't be approved under any existing category, so Lt. Kelsley invented the name “Interceptor” to get it approved.

Now it was the companies turn to balk at the requirements of this contract, which resulted in all but one company backing out: Lockheed. Now don't get them wrong, Lockheed themselves considered backing out when their Liquid nitrogen cooled concepts were dismissed for impracticality in wartime environments, However thats when Hal Hibbard Stepped up and suggested the brutally simple solution of using 2 engines of their best engines rather than the singular expected? This would give them double the horse power making the craft wicked fast, while accommodating larger payloads. Now the main setback was how to build it to survive the projected 300mph? 

In mid 1942 the US finally got a hold of an intact Japanese Zero (from the Aleutian Islands) to test and were able to confirm most of what they had learned through blood. However one other oddity came to light as a result of this testing. The control flaps for the Zero would seize up around 170 MPH making it have terrible maneuverability –but only when turning left. Better yet if a pilot could be persuaded, the Zero could shake its own wings off at speeds exceeding 300MPH. As such the US taught their pilots to dodge to the left when tailed by Zeros, and to never engage these planes under 200 MPH. While this increased US airmen survivability, few planes in the pacific theatre could meet these demands. 

Then the P-38 Lightning came onto the scene with an eyewatering 415 MPH Top Speed, making it the first Fighter able to actually outrun a Zero (and first military plane to reach 400mh). Better still was the fact that it was outfitted with an absurd 4: .50 cal machine gun, and a 20 mm Anti Tank autocannon all in the nose of the plane rather than the wingtips. Which was of course made even deadlier by the fact that every 6th round automatically came from the Autocannon.

They were among the first planes to have muffled exhaust making them much quieter and perfect for reconnaissance, a role in which they quickly became the primary aircraft in all battlefront. They could even shut off one of their engines to lure in Zeros, only to restart the engine before an enemy combatant could respond. Thus many Zeros and Messerschmits were shot down by yet another of America’s “Undead”. In fact these planes proved so effective that post war Hal Hibbard was allowed to spin off and create the Company “Skunkworks” which has maintained a reputation of building the impossible ever since.

Yet despite its pivotal role in the war for both the Atlantic and (especially) in the Pacific, the P-38 Lightning is largely forgotten today, because it rarely got in the news at the time, in large part to keep its capabilities and design secret.