A6M2 (USA)

▃A6M2

▃A6M2

USA

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.7	3.7	3.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Naval aircraft

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

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This page is about the Japanese fighter A6M2 (USA). For other uses, see A6M (Family).

Description

The ▃A6M2 Reisen is a premium rank III American fighter with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB/RB) and 3.3 (SB). It was in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27. A captured Japanese A6M2, this vehicle performs identical to its origin counterpart.

General info

Flight Performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 4,400 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
487	477	10300	17.9	18.1	10.2	10.2	175
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 4,400 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
533	510	10300	16.7	17.0	20.6	13.3	175

Details

Features
Combat flap	Take-off flap	Landing flap	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	✓

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
0	310	510	~18	~10

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 310	< 420	< 410	> 220

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
3,360 m	935 hp	1,055 hp

Survivability and armour

• No armour
• Fuel tanks in wing roots

Armaments

Offensive armament

The A6M2 (USA) is armed with:

• 2 x 20 mm Type 99 Model 1 cannons, wing-mounted (60 rpg = 120 total)
• 2 x 7.7 mm Type 97 machine guns, nose-mounted (680 rpg = 1,360 total)

Usage in battles

The Zero's lightly loaded, high lift wing and low weight make it a dream to fly at speeds below 400 kph, with an ability to execute wild gyrations and zoom climbs at the whim of the pilot. However, the Zero is hard to handle as it approach speeds of 480 kph.

Force an enemy pilot into a dogfight at 370 - 400 kph and below 6000 meters. At this speed and altitude, no enemy fighter can out-maneuver or out-climb you. Jump on cruising enemy aircraft from above. Fasten onto the tail of the bandit, use your superior maneuverability to match his evasive moves, and put enough rounds into him to bring him down. Use your machine guns first to "bore-sight" the enemy - once you get hits on him, finish him off with your cannons. Below 480 kph you can fling the Zero all over the sky to get on an enemy's tail or to shake off all but the most determined attacker. Climb away from most enemy aircraft, hanging on your prop in a near-vertical climb. Maneuvers like the Immelmann are easy, and heavier fighters can't stay with you. The Zero rolls faster to the left than to the right. Roll left to tighten your turn and get onto the enemy's six. Don't dive away from attackers - your plane doesn't have the power or weight to out-run most fighters. To exploit your plane's best performance, force the enemy lower and slow down the pace of the engagement.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable	Controllable	Controllable	Separate	Not controllable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Radiator		Offensive 7 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 7 mm MGs
III	Wings Repair	Engine		Offensive 20 mm
IV		Engine Injection	Cover	New 20 mm cannons

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Excellent turn rate
• Excellent roll rate
• Superior climb rate up to 4500m
• Extremely manoeuverable
• Decent cannon armament
• Very good at catching enemies off guard
• Can out turn most enemies
• Tail hook enables it to land on carriers
• Very short takeoff distance

Cons:

• No armour and no pilot protection
• Limited 20mm cannon ammo
• 7.7mm machine guns don't really do any significant damage
• Guns have different trajectories, you need to targets get really close to be effective
• Attacking bombers is one of the worst job for the Zero, as it can easily be damaged by their gunners
• Slow
• Strictly limited to air-to-air role, although it performs exceptionally in it
• No self-sealing fuel tanks and the plane is littered with fuel tanks, will ignite and burn to smithereens quite often
• Can easily be countered by just doing simple BnZ as the Zero lacks adequate energy retention
• Low dive speed, and easily compressed in a dive
• Has lots of bars inside the cockpit, limiting visibility

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === Encyclopedia Info ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skin and Camouflages for the A6M2 (USA) in Warthunder Live.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Wikipedia] Akutan Zero